hello dear readers and subscribers for many years Instagram has been theg goto social media platform of the art world and it actually is still up to this very day however over the years Instagram has changed a lot today it is marked by short form vertical video content with trending audios and drills and especially the engagement and reach of content creation that is focused on the Arts most often in the form of uh photographs pictures of the actual artworks has dropped in reach tremendously drastically actually so is Instagram still the best social media platform for artists
today and if so how can we get the most out of this medium what is the best way to use it what are the main strategies to grow an audience that not only goes beyond gaining many followers likes and Views that also results in actual results in the form of exhibitions at galleries sales from collectors and using it as a Catalyst for your art career therefore I am pleased to welcome you for this video in which we'll analyze the current state of Instagram and also eight ways how you can use it to your advantage let's
get started before we continue any further my apologies but perier is a little bit camera shy today so she's facing backwards to the [Music] camera no matter what people say about Instagram today that it has died a silent death and that it's no use for artists or that we have to adapt and go along with all the trending Tik Tok audios and reals if we go to an art fair the reality is that if we talk with a collector or a gallery director about another artists that nine out of 10 times if they want to
look them up they will do it via Instagram and not necessarily with Google this is a very telling anecdote because we got so used to using Instagram and yard tool that we still do it up to this day however with the changes of Instagram we also need to change our approach across the web with blogs uh some gurus here on YouTube that advise you to post x amount of times or use y amount of hashtags they all are focused very much on growing the amount of followers but do those followers also result in actual art
Career Success the truth is with the current state of Instagram with all the latest changes in which it's promoting video content due to the arrival of uh Tik Tok for instance and we also see this with other platforms for instance YouTube is also featuring a lot of YouTube shorts these days the Instagram reals are being pushed very much by the platform so it is often advised to jump on with the trends to grow your audience as well furthermore the algorithm and the way your feed works has changed as well we used to see everything first
chronologically even from the people who we follow but today we know longer see all the posts of the people we follow we get suggested Reals in our feet alongside other sponsor spored content so this results in a drastic drop of Engagement of your post something we have experienced firsthand with our Instagram account of Contemporary Art issue which has over 60,000 followers but still when we publish a post that our audience used to adore nobody of our audience gets to see it or at least a very small percentage the audience is being soaked up by these
suggested Instagram reals and the very popular artist variations are for instance artist slowly turning around revealing their canvas abstract painters spectacularly splashing their paint onto the canvas or Studio vlogging showing works and progress time lapses or posing on camera with various audio Trends please note how these reals are successful when you focus on the trends when you focus on the content creation and also when you focus on the Artist as a social media figure as an influencer however sadly the art is often just a couple of seconds visible and rather small in the frame so
it seems to be like this strength is favoring the content creation and not necessarily focusing on the art Itself by doing so the online behavior of artist is being kind of forced to be more and more like influencers and less and less like artists one also needs to be aware of that this on camera behavior that these suggested reals adore is actually rather frown upon in the art world so it seems like we're standing at a Crossroads do we adapt and go for the Instagram reals but lose our chances in the highend art world or
do we go all in on the influencer model and go along with all the reals and other Trends with vertical video content this brings us of course back to our discussion that we have talked about very thoroughly on the different career paths for artists do you follow the traditional art world the gallery circuit and critical recognition for your art or do you go for the so-called influencer model in which you grow an audience sell your work directly Etc ET Etc do we adapt to what Instagram expects us to do or do we adapt to what
the art World expects us to do this is a decision you have to make for yourself of course you have to do whatever feels natural or most fun to you however here at Kai we have always formulated advice in order to Pursuit success in the highest Realms of the art world so before making this decision make sure to watch that other video next or at least take the following points into consideration with the influencer model especially with Instagram there is is not always a clear monetization strategy as followers do not always result in clients most
artists follow other artists hence a very low conversion rates short-term successes are a lot more likely via the career of self- representation and the influencer model than it is the case with uh the uh pursuit of gallery uh success in the highend art World however please note that you'll reach a ceiling because you're targeting a different audience most often via self representation and social media you sell your art to people who are looking for something nice to decorate their home and they are willing to pay a decorative value for it however this kind of tops
Out Below $5,000 whereas in the art World immediately you get the right price and it is possible to see your prices rise to astronomical Heights and to conclude one must also ask questions about the Integrity as you as an artist but also about the longevity of your career if you follow a career via social media because it changes all the time Trends and Technology do not age well and as a result the Heyday of your success that you've worked so hard for can end prematurely as we have seen with numerous uh Facebook groups and accounts
uh a couple of years ago with a lot of Instagram accounts today and with a lot of growing Instagram accounts with these vertical video content that in a few years will also become obsolete so be aware of these things before making a decision that being said it is time to disc discuss eight Instagram strategies that are industry approved that will result in growing your audience online with your Instagram account and that will also actually convert into art World results exhibitions sales and actually improving your overall profile which can be accumulated over time to do so
first we must change the way we think most often with advice for Instagram strategies we're always focusing on the follower accounts however the follower accounts can be tremendously Irrelevant for instance many established artists have very few followers in comparison to some very popular viral social media accounts Instagram artists however those accounts are doing a lot less in terms of exhibitions collectors sales income Etc so instead of pursuing followers for the sake of followers Instagram strategies is all about providing the right context and appearance so that you get seen in the right way by the right
people and and this is something we can control first we need to set up a professional account and bio so let's start at the top of our account the little description of who we are and what we do a professional bio May consist of the following information your artistic discipline for instance a painter or multi-disciplinary artist or sculptor your nationality where you are based and by whom you are represented tagging your art galleries in your bio this will also improve the long-term collaboration you have with those galleries as you're openly supporting them and openly referring
clients to your gallery it also makes you look a lot more professional because it shows there are actually galleries representing you and interested in you so it's is also good for your credibility you could also include any ongoing or upcoming exhibitions in your bio however it is very important to keep it as concise as possible don't use emojis or start to talk about your own backstory your own story as a person or your mission with your art remain formal concise and a little bit elusive as if you're not trying make sure to include a link
to your artist website or to the uh artist page of your galleries website or you could also link to an ongoing exhibition or a recent interview here you can use a link Tre however the use of Link trees is more associated with the influencer model so I would advise you to Simply refer to your website next posting industry approved content it is a very common and of course important question what to post because your Instagram feed is actually also kind of uh more extensive online portfolio if a gallery director or collector goes to your feet
it needs to look the right way we can share our art and also a little bit of ourself in the right context in the art World appearances matter and you only have one first impression both in real life and online therefore the following post types are industry approved and used commonly among successful industry approved artists for instance different post types to show your Works in a versatile yet professional manner consist of IM Imes of artworks old or new that are cropped out images of artworks on the wall details of specific artworks images of artworks in
an exhibition context or images of artworks in a studio context you could also share some exhibition posts for instance sharing some behind the scenes Impressions or the high-end installation views as the final end result to elevate your credibility as an artist and to communicate your level visually think of installation views of a past or ongoing exhibition exhibition views during the opening pictures behind the scenes when installing the exhibition pictures of the artist and the gallery together in the gallery Spades or pictures of an artist talk you can also post a little bit about your life
and have a glimpse into who you are and add a little bit more personality uh on top of the artist on top of the art the best way to do this is for instance by sharing some professional portrait pictures of the artist with a charismatic and Arty appearance or pictures of the artist in their Studio pictures of the artist visiting other artists or art events or perhaps even a few glimpses of your personal life while remaining professional and maintaining a balance favoring art related content next we want to post frequently it is also a very
common misconception that you have to post daily to grow on social media with our strategies the focus to grow will be predominantly via networking opportunities so posting daily is not necessary however it is important to post enough so they don't get you and that you show up frequently in the feets of the people you have been networking with so I advise you to share at least one post every week up to two to three post every week try to make a good habit of it for instance every Sunday evening you prepare the tree post for
the week and then you set some alarm clocks in your schedule to post them on those specific days of the week by doing so you can create a good habit and never underestimate the power of a good habit it could make the difference don't use too many hashtags many gurus on YouTube or online blogs or about art are all trying to talk about finding shortcuts to hack the algorithm by using many different hashtags however these strategies most often have underwhelming results in fact hashtags have become less and less important and if we have a look
at the established artist and galleries they use very few to no hashtags at all and this also fits with her strategy as it is focused on the content itself and also the networking aspect so as a result I would advise you to do the same and use no more than five hashtags also make sure not to use those typical growth oriented hashtags such as like for like follow for follow or viral use hashtags that actually matter and are actually a part of the content that are relevant reals are okay but avoid following all the trends
who are most often very superficial and fleeting with an average view time of just a couple of seconds instead you should try to go for the following video content if you post videos artist interviews in the studio in which the artist talks about their work their process an upcoming show and also combining some art with some studio views Etc with actual relevant information and content or artist interviews in the gallery where the artists can talk about the show promote it or discuss the content on display some studio video of the artist working in their studio
is also a possible format but do it in the type of Studio visit film format and not necessarily uh showing the uh work in progress or time lapses um because you're not really sure that this artwork will be part of your eventual over so if you film this you can post it later when the artwork has already been on view next we want to Target interesting contacts with our uh following [Music] strategy don't don't follow randomly although many sources will recommend you to follow as many people because they can always follow you back instead try
to follow all the industry approved galleries all the established uh artists the renowned art magazines and the most important institutions to have your finger at the pulse of the art world and really have your feet being filled with topnotch art so that you can have the right inspiration and develop in the right direction simultaneously it will also increase your credibility if they see that you're following all these high value institutions then they will see that you Aspire a high value as well you can also Target a little bit locally here for instance in the closest
art center uh near to you you can follow the um authors of uh a local art magazine uh some entry-level galleries [Music] Etc next we're going to support and connect with artists most often artists have the reflect to kind of think who do I need to grow my career Galleries and collectors and they all start to try to network with them however most often without having an entry this never works so start with connecting generally connecting with other artists you like who are already in the uh in the art World they can be your ticket
and if you are generally interested in them and you support them they will and might return the favor for instance by introducing you to their Gallery director Network organically and consistently and if you repeat this process it will always be a matter of time when the profile is right and the Art Is Right to see some successes via these artist contacts that we have acquired in the previous stage we can now also Network or engage with their Network for instance the gallery director we were introduced to by the artist in question or we can direct
message with the art critic we met during the opening we can follow and get followed by collectors interested in the artist working in the same style or niche so instead of gaining irrelevant followers our account engages with relevant other accounts that can make an actual difference in your career when making the right Impressions posting and networking frequently our art will show up in the Feats of those interesting contacts and if you repeat this process it will always be a matter of time when the profile is right and the Art Is Right to see some successes
if you want to learn more about how to do this make sure to read the complete article of this video and also consult our overview page with advice for artist next thank you so much for tuning in today feel free to watch our video on the best art cities in the world next support us on patreon and please consider subscribing to stay posted for more contemporary art [Music] bye
