Practical Social Media Tools to Show Off Your Art

One of the best ways for artists to showcase their works is through social media. If you stick to in-person galleries, you are limited to people in your immediate community. The internet, however, can reach billions of people worldwide, and that’s (probably) the kind of exposure you are hoping for.

Social media can be complicated, though. It’s not as simple as making an account, posting your work, and hoping people see and like it. Almost every social media platform is saturated with all kinds of accounts—including other artists—that you need to distinguish yourself from, and doing so means posting at the right times, following the most advantageous people, interacting with your audience, and more.

Is there anything that can smooth out this process? You just want to share (and maybe sell) your art; you didn’t sign up to participate in a game billions of people are playing. Never fear: there are various tools available that can help you optimize your channels and grow your audience without making your social media efforts a full-time job. Here are a few resources artists should consider:

Filmborn

If you are a graphic artist, then most of your material is ready to go online as soon as it’s finished. For everyone else who creates physical work, you need to take flattering photographs of your pieces and upload them. Capturing the right shot can be tricky, though—you do not want to compromise the integrity of your work or make it seem too different in the editing process. Unfortunately, without top-notch images, your pieces won’t look as impressive online as they do in real life.

The app Film born helps you take photos with your iPhone that require very little post-editing. Filmborn offers innovative features that you can use with your device’s camera itself rather than brightening or sharpening everything afterward. Do you need to snap a photo of a 2-foot sculpture or a 6-foot painting? Filmborn helps you showcase your work without feeling like you are cheating with photoshop.

Socialsteeze

Besides making your work look great on your feed, you need to make sure that people will see it. Instagram is one of the best places for artists due to its image-heavy nature, but with its recent algorithm changes, strategizing when to publish content becomes a matter of trial-and-error if you do it without aid. You need some guidance—and SocialSteeze is prepared to offer it.

It’s arguably unethical to purchase fake followers and likes. Not only are they not real, but people are also getting better and better at identifying when an account looks too desperate. It’s suspicious if a profile has a huge following but very little engagement. Instead, SocialSteeze connects you with Instagram experts that can help you grow Instagram followers organically. They know the platform inside and out—it’s all intelligence, not falsity.

Facebook Audience Insights

Facebook is another advantageous platform for artists to use besides Instagram. There is definitely an audience for you somewhere amongst the site’s two billion users. Instead of struggling to reach the right people with only your own wisdom (or lack of it), Facebook Audience Insights can give you detailed information about who your artwork appeals to. Insights include education, lifestyles, purchasing behaviors, locations, and more. With this kind of actionable intelligence, you can adjust your Facebook marketing strategy as necessary to reach the people you need to.

ViralWoot

ViralWoot is a resource that puts a heavy emphasis on Pinterest. Pinterest is a prime spot for art—and you can sell directly through the site—so ViralWoot can help you find the best times to post and even connect you with influencers that can promote your pieces. Pinterest’s categorization structure can display your work to people who would be interested in it, so why not get a little help navigating it?

Pick the right platforms

While this tip is not a “tool,” it’s critical to discuss the most pragmatic platforms for artists to be on. You know the obvious ones like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.—but have you heard of Behance? Behance is a leading internet platform for showcasing and discovering creative work, like illustrations and graphic design. It provides you with opportunities to find potential commissions and establish yourself as the premier talent in the art world.

There are other platforms you should consider using, like classic DeviantArt, or CGSociety (for digital artists), Azucar Gallery, Artfinder, Art Please, and more. Social media is an immense web, so when you link to your profiles on these platforms on your Facebook and Instagram accounts, you can distribute your name and style to the world.

Sharing your pieces on social media with as many people as possible requires strategy, but one advantage you have is that everyone loves to see art. What tools will you use to showcase your work?