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How Artists Use Instagram

to Present and Sell Their Art

Instagram is a great place for artists to sell art. It's no panacea and it certainly doesn't work for all artists and all art, but by using it effectively, you can certainly achieve positive results, not only in terms of increasing your following, but also in terms of showing and selling your work. If your approach to making and getting exposure for your art happens to match up with what you're about to read, you may well fall into the category of Instagram artists who sell, many of whom sell their art quite well. For those of you who either don't yet have an Instagram account or who already do but aren't having much success, the following information will help you understand and put together an image feed that users will hopefully find worth paying attention to and following.

What differentiates Instagram from other social media platforms is the pronounced lack of words; it is overwhelmingly visual and experiential. While on one level, words are essential to describing, explaining and understanding art, on another level, tons of people out there are not big fans of how words intrude on the pure art experience. Not only that, but all kinds of artists simply hate having to come up with verbal explanations for everything they do, and for every work of art they make. And all kinds of people who love looking at art also hate having to plow through tons of difficult or inscrutable verbiage in order to get to the prize-- the visual pleasures of the art itself.

The mobility of Instagram is another reason it's so successful. The simplicity and directness of it all coupled with the way you can instantly communicate whatever you're up to no matter where you are or what you're doing is perfect for today's mobile lifestyles. No need to go home and fire up the desktop or find the nearest coffee shop and haul out the laptop; everything's done right from the convenience of your phone, posting as well as viewing. You upload the latest images of your art and your artistic life, and your followers get the experience of being right there with you. The best part is that you get instant feedback in the form of "likes" and comments, and often plenty of them.

But it's not all fun and games. Serious buyers, collectors and people who just plain love art use Instagram to find out which artists are making compelling work, how they use their creative time and how productive they are. They also keep track of what kinds of art those artists produce and how consistent they are. Potential buyers can evaluate whatever art they like without any pressure or without anyone yapping in their ears about what it means, why it's significant, why the artist is hot, why it's a good investment, why they should buy now, and on and on. In a sense, the platform strips away all the pretense and bullshit, and forces artists to make cases for their art with little or no hype, to connect with people on personal, visceral and fundamental levels, and to present themselves in visually engaging ways. In other words, Instagram is the perfect way to display your full range of your skills and talents and show the world how committed and serious you are about being an artist.

Of course, fans who follow your feed are key to your success. For example, when they "like" or comment on certain images, their followers can see those images, and if those people like them too, can decide to follow you as well... and then tell their friends... and so on. News of an interesting or entertaining page can travel lightning fast and you can attract hundreds or even thousands of new followers in surprisingly short periods of time. But simply getting more and more followers is not enough; you also have to keep them and hopefully turn them from lookers into buyers. The way you do this is through your story, your narrative and how you live your artistic life. What you show and say about it has to be cohesive, coherent and appealing; it has to get people involved and hold their attention for more than short periods of time.

Now if you happen to fall into that category of artists who think they have no story, as quite a few artists do, think again. Take a moment to reflect on what inspires you, how you decide what to make, how you prepare to make it, how you get your supplies or materials, where you make it, how you make it, how it progresses from initial idea or concept to finished piece, and once you're done, what it looks like on display, who shows it, who says what about it, who buys it, etc. That's pretty much all you need. Any artist can do this; every artist has a story. The only thing holding you back is your own imagination and ability to tell that story in pictures and brief captions.

You also have to be patient. Don't expect to thrill your fans right off the top. As with everything else in life, practice makes perfect and experimentation is a big part of that. So don't be afraid to continually test new ways and approaches of posting. If one type of post doesn't work, try another... and another... and another. Learn to use hashtags. Follow people, institutions, galleries, publications and others you like and respect. Get active and involved. Like and comment on their posts as you see fit. Sooner or later you'll figure out how to attract and engage your viewers, but you have to be willing to put in the effort to get to that point. Sure, you'll occasionally make mistakes or even embarrass yourself along the way, but that's how you grow and learn.

If you're going to take Instagram seriously, posting at least several times per week is definitely recommended, and anywhere from one or two images or videos on up to a handful (but not much more than that). They don't all have to be art, but should at least relate to your art in one way or another, make sense within the context of your other images, and give followers insight into who you are as an artist and what you believe about your work. You also have to be making new work on a reasonably regular basis because that's what your followers really want to see. You're giving people a window into your artistic life and hopefully that life is a productive one. All kinds of people out there are fascinated with artists, how inventive they are, with the ways they live their lives, and of course with the art they create. Keep them coming back for more with ongoing action and they'll become dedicated followers and fans.

Being open, honest and giving is another essential part of getting "likes" and comments on your posts and growing your audience. Don't be afraid to show people where or how you work, images of art in process, and other snippets of your artistic life. Let them in on what happens behind the scenes, what you do and how you do it, and don't obsess that someone might steal your secrets or ideas, or copy whatever you're doing and make one just like it. You don't have to tell everything, but people genuinely appreciate being able to glimpse the world and the person behind the art. If you want to be stingy or proprietary about how or what you post, Instagram is not for you. New followers come as a result of sharing in unselfish ways. Give people what they want and the "likes" and comments will pour on in. At some point, they'll start spreading the word about you by adding names of friends (@person'sname) to their comments in order to call their attention to what you're up to, and encourage them to follow you as well.

Once you get the hang of things and start posting regularly, an ongoing documentation and account of your artistic life begins to unfold. If you stick with it over time, your image stream ultimately evolves into a journal, an autobiographical record or diary of where you've been, where you were headed at various points in your life, and every bit of it richly illustrated with images of art you made along the way. As for your followers, the platform is a great way for them to take time out from whatever they're doing, instantly tap into your ongoing saga, and catch up with you as well as their other favorite art and artists-- all this without any obligation, interaction or other interference to slow them down.

Artists and collectors alike will tell you they love Instagram because they can see huge amounts of art all at once without having to wade through tons of non-art-related posts, videos, news stories, discussions, announcements and so on like you have to on sites like Facebook or Twitter. It's instant visuals and plenty of them. Artists can see who's commenting on their art, quickly check out anyone who makes interesting remarks or observations, see what those people's feeds look like and who they follow, and decide whether to follow them, contact them or maybe even follow some of their followers if they're engaging enough. Not only is communication fast and easy, but artists are able to make genuine in-depth connections that often end up playing out in real life.

As for the buy/sell part, sales are being made at pretty much all price points, not just for a few hundred dollars or less, but well on up into the thousands... and beyond. In addition, artists are getting commissions, invitations to participate in shows or exhibitions, offers to use their art for commercial purposes, to be featured on respected art websites, and more. Unfortunately, they're also getting increasing numbers "offers" to pay for various types of exposure. Keep in mind that anyone who offers exposure for money believes in your bank account more than your art, and that in the conventional art world, ARTISTS DO NOT PAY FOR EXPOSURE. Galleries show art, websites feature artists, and collectors buy art because they believe in it, not because artists pay them for favors. Period. End of story.

Getting back to Instagram, interested buyers usually begin by direct-messaging artists about specific works of art. If the artist isn't familiar with a potential buyer, they can look at that person's profile, posts, see who follows them, who comments on their feeds and what they have to say. In the process, they can decide if or how to respond, and assuming the conversation continues, cam go back and forth with each other by email and eventually move on to completing a sale.

Now here's the important part. Any artist who wants to sell their art on Instagram must be prepared to sell just as easily and immediately as they post. In other words, you have to know exactly how much you want for the art, how buyers can pay, how you'll pack and ship the work, and be able to respond to any other concerns a potential buyer might have. Things happen fast here; the last thing you want to do is slow the momentum of a potential sale with uncertainty about how to move forward.

The pieces you have for sale also have to be updated regularly, preferably somewhere else on the Internet like on your website, a group art website, or other social media pages. New works have to be added; sold ones have to be moved from galleries of available art to files or galleries of sold art. Some artists have PDF files that they email to interested buyers showing what's for sale. Some regularly update their most avid followers on what's happening in their careers. Others post art for sale on e-commerce sites like Big Cartel or Shopify. Paypal, Venmo and similar services are also great ways to complete transactions directly. Since Instagram allows users to have only one active web link, a number of artists have that link go directly to their galleries, websites, storefronts, or wherever else their art is for sale.

Several additional pointers:

* Respond to comments, questions or messages from people in a reasonable period of time. Be easily accessible and don't make them wait. They appreciate that.

* Follow artists, galleries, institutions, publications or any other pages with posts interest that you. "Like" or comment on posts when you find them helpful, entertaining, informative or worthwhile in other ways. People you follow will see your likes or comments and will likely check out your page at some point. If they like what they see, they'll follow you back or maybe even contact you.

* Do not promote yourself on other people's pages unless you first ask permission or they invite you to post. Also, don't message people and ask them to follow you, look at your page, go to your website, etc. This is not good online etiquette. If you make contact with anyone about your art, have a really good reason.

* Follow pages because you want to follow them, not because you want them to follow you back.

* Keep your captions short but interesting, entertaining or engaging in some way. Avoid captions like "My latest art," "New art," and so on. People like and respond more frequently to good captions than boring ones or ones that tell them nothing. You'd be surprised how few words it takes to get your followers involved.

* Post images of your art hanging in homes, offices or other complimentary settings that make it look good. This way, people who like your work will be able to see how it might look in their residences or businesses.

* Post prices on pieces of your art from time to time. That way, your followers have some idea of how much your art costs and whether they can afford it. Many people are reluctant to ask prices, so make it easy on them and periodically price new art. People who know what price range you sell in are more likely to inquire about buying than people who don't.

* Do hashtag research. Find out which hashtags show art similar to yours and tag art that matches up. People who like certain kinds of art often follow specific hashtags relating to that art.

* Don't overuse hashtags, especially common ones that can have as many as several hundred million images like #art, #artist, #painting, #abstractart and so on. Your images almost immediately vanish into vast ocean of images on hashtags like that. General hashtags only take up space and get you nowhere.

* Organize your art into galleries by hashtagging similar pieces with hashtags that you make up yourself, like #(yourname)landscapeart or #(yourname)abstractsculpture. That way, people who like certain subject matters or types of your art on your page can see all similar pieces at once simply by clicking those hashtags.

* Quickly be able to tell anyone interested in buying your art how to pay, how you ship, how soon they'll receive the art, and any other details they'll need to know. Art is often an impulse buy, so be prompt in your responses.

There you have it. Used effectively, Instagram is not only a great way to get your name and art out in front of the public, but also to get your art in front of those who appreciate it most, including into the collections of people who will love and cherish it for the rest of their lives.

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Thanks to Ferris Plock, Amandalynn, Porous Walker, Bunny Reiss, Scott Hove and June Leeloo for their generous assistance with this article.

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If you're interested in consulting on any aspect of your art or art career, or on buffing up your social media profile, you're more than welcome to call me at 415.931.7875 or email alanbamberger@me.com.

(art by Wanxin Zhang)