A Visual Artist’s Guide to Online Promotion

 

Among the artists who emerged from online and social networks environment there is the notorious success story of Federico Clapis, an Italian sculptor and visual artist. Federico started out as a Youtube influencer and gained a mass following, after which he decided to switch to a full-time independent artistic career. Federico says: "I figured out that the only way to gain visibility was to take advantage of the social media”. So, in 2010 he started his own Youtube channel and created entertaining videos that ranged from fun music videos to comedy sketches. 

 

Five years later, in 2015, after having grown a community big enough, he decided to finally confess to his audience "I have accumulated you for years, now I wish to dedicate myself completely to the artistic activity”. To date, Federico still has over one million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. He has collaborated with art talent agencies and startups, and, most importantly, thanks to being able to leverage his popularity online, he preserved his status as an independent artist - he successfully operates out of Milan and releases multiple art series annually.   

 

 

It goes without saying that a personal webpage is an indispensable reference tool for any artist wishing to take a professional stance. If you think about it, these days, in case a physical business or store does not have a dedicated web page or does not appear in Google - this certainly raises a lot of questions and does not contribute to its image and the general public’s trust. The same concept applies to visual artists as art industry professionals; according to Amy Whitaker from NYU Steinhardt: "One can think of artists analogous to entrepreneurs or venture capital investors, covering early operating costs at significant risk before later investment returns become known”. 

 

Therefore, like any business out there, an artist needs a web page with an artistic statement, contacts and a portfolio of artworks. That can be easily created on your own: customizing WordPress templates or using online website creating tools such as Wix. It is also possible to outsource this task to a webmaster freelancer on such platforms as Fiverr or Upwork for a fraction of the cost. 

 

 

On Instagram and Pinterest people interact through likes and comments on images and photos posted by platforms’ users. While Instagram is based on community features, Pinterest allows people to create thematic "boards” with images that are similar in color, medium or style. Instagram boasts, according to different sources, over 1 billion active users monthly, while for Pinterest that figure is more modest - about 100 million active users.  

 

One the one hand, it may seem logical to only go with the most used social platform for self-promotion. However, the right decision lies somewhere in the middle. It certainly is indispensable to have a certain kind of representation on as many popular social networks as one can, but at the same time, algorithms (and recent growth slowdown) of popular social networks should be taken into consideration. 

 

Important: since its 2019 update, it is possible to post direct links to products on Sale on Instagram - a feature you should not miss out on! You can use it by pinning the product link to an e-commerce platform directly to the Instagram post. No matter whether your artwork is sold on an e-commerce platform or a marketplace, it is still possible to sell directly to collectors: numerous success stories of artists kickstarting their careers on Instagram serve as proof. 

 

 

Have you ever dreamt of directing a movie about what you do as an artist? Youtube offers a great possibility to make that come true, of course if you dispose of the filming gear, minimal video-editing skills, and a certain amount of free time. 

 

Creating entertaining and educational video-content is indeed one of the most efficient and engaging ways to communicate one’s artistic vision, techniques used in one’s practice, exhibition video reports, Q&As with colleague artists and many more. Making Youtube videos is really all about storytelling and its various video formats. With over 2 billion active monthly users Youtube offers a great possibility to be discovered by a number of people interested in engaging with similar content. Unlike the evident arts-oriented profile of the image sharing network Instagram, the visual arts segment on Youtube has been mostly occupied by decorative arts, drawing and painting tutorials or interviews with established artists. It seems like we will live to see the first visual artist YouTuber emerge in the next few years! 

 

 

As reflected in the 2019 Artsy Online Collectors Report ever more people prefer to buy art online. In fact, 26% of the collectors said to have bought artwork online only in the last year. Apart from showcasing your work on social media, and occasional direct sales through the platforms, turning to specialized platform-as-a-service online stores is the next logical step. Among the numerous websites that suggest you can try selling through them, there are two very obvious market leaders: SaatchiArt and Etsy.

 

While Etsy is a global e-commerce that is targeting craftsmen and artists with modest price policy, SaatchiArt is a US online art sales platform positioning itself as "World’s leading online gallery” where artists are free to aim at setting higher values for their work. Etsy only takes a small commission on each sale (it is natural for a creator to make numerous sales), selling on SaatchiArt involves a 35% commission on most sales. 

 

Competition is the key obstacle one must be aware of whenever entering in an online sales platform: Therefore, it is important to know how to distinguish yourself, write detailed descriptions for artwork one puts up for sale and not to get discouraged if sales don’t instantly come one’s way. 

 

Important: Let it take its time - the online reputation is not built instantly. 

 

 

It goes without saying that for any of the above-mentioned promotion tools the actual performance depends on the quality of content and consistency of posting and interaction. Some of the online tools are more time-consuming, for example video-editing for Youtube will require significantly more effort and skills. 

 

Moreover, as with most platforms, the early subscribers are more likely to gain a loyal following. This happened with Youtube content creators and Instagram influencers: early adopters say it used to be "way easier to get popular on Instagram a few years ago than now”, when the late majority realised the actual power of leveraging online popularity as a sales driver. It is said that growing organically (e.g. based only on the innate promotion of one’s posts from the algorithm itself) is almost impossible due to the ever-growing user competition for each other’s attention and following. 

 

 

One of the most valuable features of social media is community building, which means involving people in what one does in meaningful ways. While surfing the infinite social online space as an artist, you will most certainly encounter like-minded people in the same location or area as you are: don’t hesitate to take those connections offline. 

 

Do breakfast meetups, networking coffee-breaks or speed-dating dinners. Some artists find it helpful to make common chats with their local art lovers and art professionals to form a group of people interested in participating in those events. Encourage users from your area who have reached out to you to do live studio visits: them tagging you in a featured studio post will certainly bring you more visibility and give you exposure to their group of followers. 

 

Important: Take your online presence offline by building a local community - it will pay off in the long run.