A lot of things are changing in the marketing realm, but one of the things that is not is the importance of social media (and digital marketing) for Artists. Social media makes it possible to connect with Artists (and patrons) all over the globe. A small differentiated niche can deliver tens of thousands of prospective Art buyers and supporters.
We wanted to show up in a new way today: providing a monthly advising post on some tips and pointers for taking your business to the next level. This is compliments of one of our new projects - Sigil Marketing. Sigil is a brand that does advising for creatives (Artists and beyond) to grow their brands into more profitable entities.
Without further ado, here are five tips on how to make your Instagram account a bit more successful for you.
Tip One: Choose a Goal for your Social Media
Social media isn't a magic wand. It works best if you treat it like a means to a particular end. Figure out what that goal might be - some examples include: generating more revenue, growing your audience, learning more about your target audience, and so forth. Now, something that's important to recognize is these all might be related, but making a singular purpose will be really helpful and will ultimately generate more success for your business.
Tip Two: Instagram is an Engagement Platform - Not a Portfolio.
One of the biggest mistakes I see people doing is making it all about exhibiting their work, and not doing what the platform is intended for: engagement. You have to continue to interact with other followers - and it doesn't need to be a time suck. In addition to commenting back on comments, you can also use features like live and stories to engage with your audience in a meaningful, sometimes behind the scenes way.
Tip Three: Do NOT buy Followers
This might ruffle a lot of feathers but I don't really care: if you are buying followers what you are doing is prioritizing a large scale following over people purchasing your products/services. Spoiler alert: most (if not all) of the followers that you will buy are bots: that means that your conversion ratios and engagement will no matter what go down. This is an amazing metric for determining whether or not you are successful.
Tip Four: Sell in Moderation
We have all experienced this: someone overselling. How does it make you feel? Well, I can tell you how it makes me feel. Icky. I feel like someone is viewing me as a dollar sign and I also feel like this person is probably struggling and desperate. Without a cause (like a tragedy or a personal struggle), people don't support desperation. This is not a great way to get people continually showing up for you. Definitely let people know that your products/services are for sale, but make sure to do different posts showcasing who you are as a person and why your product/services are so cool before selling. You'll see, consistent selling posts are going to eventually lower your engagement.
Tip Five: Use Your Voice
This is something that folks don't necessarily think about often but people don't actually buy your product/service: they are supporting you. They care about you and what you have to say. For some reason whenever we get on social media we feel like we are performing, which to a point I understand. But people want to support a real live human, not some sort of formalized machine like creation. Use your voice. Talk about things that you care about. These are things that are going to resonate with your audience and will generate more leads for purchases, followers, and more.
So in summary:
- Make a clear goal for your social media
- Engage with your audience
- Generate authentic followers, don't purchase fake ones
- Pace yourself in your selling posts
AND
- Use your authentic voice to remind everyone you are a human behind that screen
We'll be showing up once a month with more helpful advice on social media, marketing and developing your business here.
Sigil is doing a larger workshop on social media on February 25th, 9 PM EST. Click here to sign up.
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