5 Effective Ways to Promote Art on Instagram

Artists love Instagram because it allows them to showcase their work and connect with like-minded audiences.

It also provides a platform through which they can sell their creations, which may include paintings, sculptures, or another unique art form.

If you’re an artist and you would like to get your art noticed by a large online audience, you won’t go wrong with Instagram.

Follow these steps to establish yourself and your artwork on this highly visual social media platform.

1. Make a Statement with Your Instagram Bio

In addition to completing your Instagram bio, you should aim to make a statement with it.

For example, what makes your art stand out? And for that matter, what type of art do you create? Are you a painter, or do you draw? Do you make sculptures, or do you make pottery? Are you a photographer or an applied artist?

The more details you add to your bio, the quicker users can find you. If you have a website, be sure to add the link. If you sell your art on other online platforms or if you have a physical shop, add addresses and links.

2. Start at the Beginning

Unfortunately, getting to the point where people look you up to buy your artwork on Instagram doesn’t happen at the snap of a finger. First, get the basics right, grow your following, and connect with others on the platform.

Doing this means posting about your art and where people can buy it regularly. Once you get comments and likes on your posts, you should engage with the users who show appreciation for your art.

As your follower number slowly grows, you can look into partnering with other artists who create artwork similar to yours or getting influencers to encourage more engagement.

You may also want to consider posting user-generated content. For example, someone may have purchased a painting from your shop for their new home.

You can ask the buyer if they would share a photo of the artwork on the wall. Or, if someone commissioned a sculpture for a specific event, you could ask them to share images of the venue and indicate where the sculpture fits in.

3. Visualize Your Process on Instagram

There is a reason so many people follow how-to-paint tutorials on the Internet. People love creating beautiful things, so society reveres artists because they beautify the world.

Online users will already be fascinated with your artwork, meaning you can engage them further by taking them behind the scenes.

Show your followers what goes into creating a landscape painting or how long it takes to make a sculpture.

If you do woodwork and construct niche items, give your audience the scoop on what type of wood you prefer and how easy or difficult it is to work with.

You can even use Instagram to encourage new artists by posting some of your old work and showing them how far you’ve come.

You can do this by adding videos or reels to your Instagram Stories. You can also use the stories feature to share sneak peeks of art projects you’re busy with or an exhibition you’re planning.

The photo carousel feature will let you add multiple images to highlight a series of artworks.

One of the best Instagram features you can use to promote your art, apart from stories, is the poll feature.

You can add a collection of your artworks or sculptures as a post and have a poll asking your followers which one they prefer for their homes.

4. Make the Most of Videos

Instagram videos are a great way to market your artwork gallery, and you can even do time-lapse videos of your painting or sculpting process.

Use relevant hashtags to elevate the visibility of your videos. If you’re unsure which hashtags to use, search for artist accounts promoting the same type of art as you and look at what they use.

While searching for these accounts, you can tag them in your video posts. Doing this will help you increase your engagement rate.

Tagging other artists also lets them know that you see their work on Instagram and that you appreciate their art.

In addition to videos, you can use Instagram Live to share real-time information with your followers. These posts could include updates on your next painting or details on the venue for your next sculpture.

5. Make It Easy for Online Users to Make a Purchase

If you’re serious about selling your art and don’t plan on painting or sculpting as a hobby, you should set up an Instagram Creator account. This account will allow you to access details on your target audience’s demographics, engagement, and reach.

Before setting up your profile, you should decide on the dominant color you want to use to attract attention to your content.

Color is the main deciding factor for people who scroll Instagram looking for accounts to follow. Your chosen color should be visible in your bio and all your posts to create a cohesive look.

If you have a website, you should link it to your bio. Your website link must also be visible in all your posts, especially those that promote the art you want to sell.

If you don’t have a website, you can use an online platform like Etsy, but this should be Plan B.

Your own website will give you control over every step of the selling process, which is something Etsy doesn’t offer. You can also customize your e-commerce page on your website to match the colors and fonts you use on Instagram.

E-commerce pages, especially those on WordPress websites, provide features like individual product customization, which means you can add and delete shipping fees where necessary.

You can also add a space where your customers can type in their requirements. For instance, it will allow them to request a specific color, frame, or other extras you offer with your art.

Conclusion

Every artist should be on Instagram. The platform is the perfect extension of the creative arts because it is visual-first. Instagram is also the go-to social media app for discovering new art.

If you’re not on Instagram yet, you’re missing out on a golden opportunity to connect with existing and prospective customers and present your art to an entirely new audience.

What are you waiting for?