| We recently interviewed artist and Instagram expert Dina Brodsky in our AMP Webinar series and she was kind enough to share some of the Instagram marketing techniques that she has utilized to grow her account to well over 400,000 followers. In the article below, I've extracted some of the main ideas from that webinar to share with you today.
I sincerely hope this article helps you take your Instagram marketing to the next level.
By the way, for my latest thoughts on art marketing, posted daily, follow me on Twitter.
So let's connect on Twitter! Or simply reply to this email. I'd love to hear what you thought of this article or what further questions you have.
Enjoy, Clint Watson
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| Instagram currently boasts1 billion active users every month.As an artist looking to sell and market your art, it can be an incredibly profitable platform to increase your art sales.
If you only have time to be on one social media platform, it should be Instagram.
Take a look at Dina's Instagram profile below. She's been able to grow her following to 428,000 using 7 key marketing strategies.
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In this current series, we are discussing the 7 key marketing strategies for Instagram that every successful marketer follows.
The 7 Key Strategies include: |
| 1. Recency of Impressions 2. Initial Post Engagement 3. Dwell Time 4. Caption 5. Hashtags 6. Timing 7. Giveaways
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| Last week, we discussed the importance of Recency of Engagement (click here to catch up now).
If you recall, Recency of Impressions, in a nutshell, refers to how recently you've posted on Instagram.
Instagram's algorithms track this information and tends to favor profiles who have been active within the past three months or so. The more recently you have posted, the better.
So, the key takeaway last week was to make sure that you're actively and consistently posting on Instagram every week so that Instagram considers your account "recent".
This week, I'd like to discuss Initial Engagement.
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| When you post to Instagram your post will only be shown to about 10% of your followers.
Instagram then decides whether or not to share your post with the rest of your followers based upon how those people engage.
That is Initial Engagement
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| That means that it is critical that your content grab the attention of that initial 10% so that they engage with your post. If enough of those people engage (by liking, commenting or sharing) then the algorithm will go ahead and show your post to the rest of your followers, and possibly show your post on the coveted explore page.
Usually, that means that just posting images of your artwork is not enough.
People on Instagram are looking to connect with you, the artist, as a person more than they are looking to simply view or purchase artworks. So your posts need to feel like a "behind the scenes" look into your studio or your life.
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| People connect with other people through stories.
So, post images that give people a glimpse into your studio, your life and what's happening "behind the art."
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| This could be something as simple as a picture taken from the viewpoint of looking over your shoulder while you paint, or you, in your studio, holding your latest painting.
The tweet I've shared below is a dramatic example of the power of personalizing your posts. This lady on Reddit first shared an image of her painting on reddit which received only 300 votes.
That may sound like a lot, but when she posted an image of her holding the exact same artwork, the second post received an astounding 70,000 votes.
Personalizing and humanizing your posts makes a huge difference. |
| Learning what your followers do and don't respond to will take some time. But, don't be afraid to experiment with different types of content to find what works for you.
Videos tend to outperform standard image posts when it comes to initial engagement because people nearly always stop to view the first few seconds of a video. And Instagram will notice that those people stopped scrolling for a few seconds.
Creating video content doesn't need to be a big production. It can be as simple as creating a simple animation of your latest piece of artwork in video form rather than simply posting a static image.
Just remember that no one gets it right on the first try. It's all about learning what works for your Instagram profile and interacting with your followers.
In upcoming articles, we will explore how the timing of your posts and shortening your captions will further increase overall engagement with your posts.
Stay tuned for next week's article where we'll discuss the importance of Dwell Time, which is another signal that Instagram uses to determine if it should boost or bury your post.
Until next time, please remember that Fortune Favors the Bold Brush. I really do want each and every one of you to succeed in your artistic endeavors, please let me and my team know if there's any way we can help.
Sincerely, |
| Clint Watson BoldBrush/FASO Founder & Art Fanatic
PS - Dina Brodsky has an incredible class available, Instagram for Artists,that will teach you, in more depth, everything we plan to cover in this series and many other things you need to know, as an artist, to maximize the marketing value you get from Instagram, including ideas about how to present and sell your art. Get her course by clicking this link.
PPS - We've temporarily made the video of Dina's webinar free on BoldBrush Studio. Watch the entire video by clicking this link.
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