There's an outstanding book that is most widely read by tech entrepreneurs titled Traction. A key theme is that 50% of an a start-up's time should be spent on product development and the other 50% on traction, which simply stated is finding your buyers.
As artists, we tend to spend all our time developing our art, following the thinking of "if we build it they will come. The point is that if no one knows you exist you can create amazing art but you won't make any money.
In the book Traction, 19 possible channels are identified as potential to help build your business. They cover a range from blog posts, PR, events, networking through local organizations, SEO, display ads and so on. Traction channels for artists can include the same as other businesses, but some specific to artists are gallery, exhibitions, and local weekend markets to name a few. (I'll be writing another blog post with more ideas here).
This is the first in a series of articles where I will focus on how to build your audience through social media channels that include Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN, Pinterest, and Facebook. I'll cover key social media audience building principles and how automation can accelerate growth in all of these channels.
At the core of building all social media audiences is content creation. Without content to show your work, your processes, and a little about you and your artistic philosophy, you'll struggle to build an audience in any of these social media channels.
Let's start this series with Instagram.
Of all the channels, Instagram seems to be the best fit for artists because it is almost 100% visual; whether it be photos or video. Yes, there is some written content, but I don't think it's what most Instagram users are looking for.
Tactics to Build Followers
Here art 12 tactics to help get more followers.
Optimize your bio
Find your best time to post
Post consistently
Understand the Instagram algorithm
Experiment with different content types
Create unique content consistent with your brand voice
Write great captions
Research and use hashtags
Engage your audience
Collaborate with others
Link your Instagram from elsewhere
Analyze your results
There's a lot to unpack to fully understand each of these tactics. To get all the details go to the Buffer article link, 'How to Get More Followers on Instagram: 12 Tactics for Instagram Growth'.
Watch for more blog posts about how to reach and engage with your market through Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Facebook.
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