As the precocious Olivia Bee once said,
“Promote yourself, because no one’s going to do it for you”
If you are an artist, and people have no opportunity to view your work online, fix that immediately. Whether you’re a fine artist, graphic designer, or a commercial photographer, showing your work is key. And what better way to do that than with free marketing platforms?
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Create a business page on Facebook and start posting your work.
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Don’t overload your audience – once a day is plenty.
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Invite your friends to like your page.
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Post behind the scenes, in-progress drawings, photographs, sketchbook pages, and photos of you in action.
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Tag your clients in their photos to extend their reach to their friends + family
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Post between 4-7pm, after people are out of work and online. Peak time gets 10-20x more reach than a morning post. Weekends receive less traffic than weekdays.
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Post on your personal page. Facebook has totally different algorithms for personal vs. business post reach, because they want people to pay to boost their posts on business pages. Make use of the organic reach of your personal page!
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Time saving trick: use Facebook Post Scheduler to schedule and auto-publish your posts for you.
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Post once a day or a few times a week, but whatever you choose, be consistent about posting.
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Speaking of consistency – approach your feed like you would approach a gallery of your work. Think of your brand’s color scheme, message, and aesthetic.
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To preview your grid and schedule posts for FREE, use Later.com
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Post Instagram stories!!! Let people get to know YOU.
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Use Later.com’s library to drag photos from your computer to your phone, wiping the timestamp so you can upload ANYTHING to your Instagram story.
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Think about what your ideal client would want to see on your Instagram feed and how you can post something of value to your clients.
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Utilize hashtags… but not too many. Choose accounts that fit your work, and tag wedding work strategically with big wedding blogs that all your brides visit. Features and getting your work out is the point, but don’t be too obnoxious about it.
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Save those hashtags in a note on your phone – then copy and paste into the caption when you post a photo!
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Combine personal + business accounts, but always keep your brand in mind. Be down to Earth, real, and connect with your audience, but all your followers don’t need to see your dinner every night or your dirty laundry.
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Post your favorite quotes, photos from your personal life, and behind the scenes
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Retweet photography + marketing content from your favorite artists + business gurus to create a resource page that helps other creatives
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Twitter generally has less of a general audience than Facebook + Instagram, but it is important for creatives to be on every and all platforms they can. Fun fact, I got signed to my second stock agency because one of their editors found me through Twitter, and then went to my website. It pays to be on all platforms!
Bottom line –
The more people who see your work, the better.
Organically build your following on all platforms. Don’t be tempted to pay for Facebook boots or Instagram followers… real people will become real clients. Slow and steady wins the race.
Be the real, authentic you and let your personality shine.
