Social media is a fundamental change in the way we all communicate. It’s not a passing fad, yet many artists and galleries are still intimidated and bewildered by the idea of joining the social media revolution. Learn these 5 ways to harness the power of social media and improve your art marketing.
1. Build your brand:
What is the brand? The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as: “A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those other sellers.”
- Social media is the fastest way to create a brand identity for you and your art business.
- A strong brand identity sets you apart from the rest.
- A strong brand is invaluable and serves to communicate credibility to your potential customers and collectors.
- Use Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to build your brand by posting images of your art, tutorials, and recent blog posts.
2. Networking:
- You’re not alone! Being an artist is a lonely occupation, but with social networks.
- Go beyond your niche art market and attract new clients.
- Get instant feedback or a critique on your latest painting or blog post.
- Learn from other artists and business leaders.
- Get inspiration from others.
- Become a business expert.
- Facebook is a great way to make ‘real connections’ within my art niche. Twitter quickly and easily reaches beyond the art niche. I have sold my art using Twitter.
3. Keep your finger on the pulse:
- Artists are the ones who move and shake the world and they need to stay informed.
- Artists must follow the new trends in design, decoration, fashion and technology and how it influences their art and sales.
- In this challenging economy, being a successful artist is not only about creating great art, but also about building a strong business.
4. Marketing:
- If you don’t have a website you are invisible. A website is a must, a blog even better.
- It’s time for artists to “think outside the box” about the commercialization of art!
- SM is already changing the rules of the market.
- Use YouTube to share videos of your latest artwork or art tutorial. This builds brand recognition and drives traffic to your website or blog. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google!
5. Don’t be a dinosaur:
- Artists and Galleries Must Evolve to Stay Competitive It is clear that those artists and galleries that do not come together are likely to go the way of print.
- Now is the time for natural selection and survival fit testing.
- Dive in even if you don’t understand it yet!