SIMPLE Social Media Strategy for Artists - How To Sell Art on Social Media Stress Free
Episode 9 Show Transcript - Empowered Artist Podcast
This episode is for you if you're a newbie or a social media veteran, but posting isn't going as planned. This chat is for you if you:
aren't posting on social media consistently
If you're overwhelmed by social media
or a little bit burned out
if you don't have a social media strategy at all
If you haven't started posting your artwork on social media yet
Then, you need a simple proven strategy. Because the more complex the strategy is, the less likely you are to stick with it.
Think kiss. K I S S = keep it simple, sweetheart.
I'm going to share the best social media platform for artists.
Where to post
What to post
When to post
How often to post
And the hashtags you should use
If you already have a social media strategy, but it's not converting to sales, I'm going to share the number one thing you need to change.
I'm going to hook you up with the next steps to get you results fast because your time is too precious to waste.
If you want your social media posts to convert to sales NOW, you need my Three Phrases to Sell Your Art lesson.
Inside, you'll learn:
The three magic phrases that you can copy and paste the next time you post your work online.
If you have any hesitation in asking someone to buy your art online, you'll overcome that in this lesson!
You get instant access and it's only 15 minutes. So that means you can post your next artwork for sale with one of my three strong proven calls to action today.
To get this lesson, click the button below now!
Before we dive in, I just wanted to say, I have been reading your amazing reviews on Apple Podcasts, and they are shaking my soul. I just wanted you to know how much they mean to me and how much they're helping the show. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. I love shouting you out on my Instagram when you tag me @jennawebbart. So, just thank you.
Buckle up. It's going to be a fast digestible episode that you can listen to on repeat. Let's do this.
The goal in social media is quality.
So, if you were stressing out about having to dance on TikToK, or sign up for seven different social media platforms or post four times a day, you can tell your heart right now to stop racing. Because the goal of social media is quality. And we're here to keep it simple.
And, to deliver something that you can stick to and feel good about.
We all need to be on the same page about one thing before we get started. You must have a public profile. As an artist, to be seen and get discovered your account cannot be set to private. You just need to check on this. You have to have a business account, and it's really simple to do that.
Turn it on in your profile settings. That way you can see analytics. And, you're going to be able to link your website in your bio.
So, where should you post?
What social media platforms should you be on as an artist?
You should choose one. Maybe two at most. You want to choose one or two social platforms that you can be amazing at.
Do not choose all of the social platforms only to be spread thin and to show up mediocre at best.
You want to be on the social platforms that are popular and are visual because you are a visual artist selling a visual product.
You also want to go where your audience is. So if most of your friends and your audience is on Facebook, you better be on Facebook. For example:
Instagram is still #1 for Artists to Sell Art Online
The social media platforms I recommend for artists:
Facebook
TikTok
Pinterest
And sometimes YouTube, depending on the products or services you're selling as an artist.
What should you post as an artist?
To keep it simple you should think about your content in three categories:
You with your art. This is fantastic content. Your audience wants to see you in the photo with your art. (Or the video.)
Your process, your materials, and your studio. Peeling back the curtain to your creative process usually gets the greatest engagement on social media. Most people, especially your art buyers, have no idea what the creative process looks like. Just think about it from your own perspective when you see another artist create - how cool and how immersed in their content you are.
Your artwork advertised for sale.
When to post.
You want to post when your audience is online. To find out when they're online, check your analytics.
If you don't have enough data to know when your audience is online, start with noon and 6:00 PM. These are great starting points because they are times when people are generally taking work breaks.
How often should you post?
I recommend posting seven times per week or more. Or, whatever you can feasibly commit to.
Because the best content schedule is the one that you're actually going to do. So if you heard me say post seven times a week and you just started freaking out and your heart started racing and alarm bells are going off… then just don't worry about that. Pick how many days or times a week that you can actually commit to and start there. Start small and build up.
If you're thinking, oh my God, Jenna, I don't know what to post seven days a week. Yes, you do: rewind. I just gave you three content categories to post. And for you, keep it simple. Just get used to snapping photos in the studio. And document as you go.
Keep it simple. Stick to a schedule that's actually going to work for you.
How many hashtags should I use?
The algorithm is always changing, but the fundamental best practice is to always maximize the hashtags and the keywords in your captions.
So for Instagram posts: 20 to 30 hashtags.
Instagram reels: about 3 to 5
TikTok: 5 max
Facebook: zero. They don't use hashtags on Facebook.
What are the best hashtags to use as an artist?
First, you're going to want to use hashtags that represent your niche. That way art buyers, who are looking for your style of artwork can find it. When they look for #landscapes or #abstractart, for example.
You're going to want to use hashtags that describe your art and anything unique about it.
Also consider using hashtags that vary in size. So hashtags that have 1000 followers and 1 million followers. What I mean by this are hashtags that are very niche, and also very broad. You want to mix those.
The strategy not only works for me and my own art business, but hundreds of my Artpreneur Academy students.
Like Vivian M, who applied the strategy to just one post. And on that one post, she got 730 interactions, 609 profile visits, and the best part, 121 website visitors. That is incredible.
Also for my student, Jenna L, who applied this simple strategy in a few different ways. She posted herself with her artwork. She posted her artwork for sale. She used 20 to 30 hashtags. And, she used hashtags that represent her niche, like reallandscapes and skypainting. This resulted in consistent art sales and so many customer reviews. She created her own testimonial highlight on our Instagram profile from her happy paying clients. Go, Jenna L!
My student Lori R. also applied this simple social media strategy. After she did it, this is what she told me:
“After not receiving any inquiries on actually buying my painting, I took what you taught me and moved it over from LinkedIn to Instagram. And I got a hit. I got a direct message from the Inquirer that my painting was sold. Very exciting. Instagram works. My original paintings are not cheap. So the hard work on social media has paid off and it's actually been fun.”
If you've been posting a lot and your strategy is not converting to sales, here's the number one thing you can do.
To change your post. Review your analytics for the past 90 days. Look at what posts were your top performers. Repeat key elements that were working in those posts. And double down on that amazing content, babe.
Then, go and check out what posts were the lowest performing posts. Your audience is telling you something. They're not resonating with that content. So eliminate those type of posts moving forward.
In Episode 5, I told you exactly how to hold a sales conversation on social media to close a sale. That was such a popular episode. I'm so glad you guys loved that.
But what you post needs to attract sales, so you can jump-start those conversations in the first place.
To do that, you absolutely need to use calls to action in your post captions.
A call to action tells your buyer exactly what to do next and guides them to a purchase.
Without it, your post is just flapping in the wind with no direction. That's when people are only browsing and you're getting so frustrated with social media that you want to give up. 😰
If you want your social media posts to convert to sales now, you need my Three Phrases to Sell Your Art Lesson.
Inside, you'll learn:
The three magic phrases that you can copy and paste the next time you post your work online.
If you have any hesitation in asking someone to buy your art online, you'll overcome that in this lesson!
You get instant access and it's only 15 minutes. So that means YOU can post your next artwork for sale with one of my 3 strong, proven calls to action TODAY!
To get this lesson, click the button below now!
You're going to love it. I'll see you there!
Love and Positive Vibes,
Jenna
PS - Would you do me a solid, my love? Would you take a quick minute to Subscribe + Rate the Podcast 5 Stars!? ⭐️ Your support means the world to me & it really helps artists like you discover a message they need.
Resources:
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