13 Strategic Instagram Story Ideas for Artists
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13 Strategic Instagram Story Ideas for Artists
Instagram is one of the best social media platforms to connect with your audience and actually sell your art. With galleries shutting down, and exhibitions being postponed from the quarantine, online art sales are becoming much more of a necessity for artists to continue bringing in consistent income.
As a creative online, you’ve probably been feeling the pressure of needing to post & be seen, but are unsure of how to start the conversation, what to say… and can’t even think about bringing up selling.
We’ve all been there. It can be super hard to come up with new ideas consistently, especially when you’re already using your creative juices on actually making art. You really want to connect with artists and potential customers on Instagram, but you’re getting tired of constantly trying to come up with new, fresh ideas. Sound familiar?
Are you taking advantage of Instagram Stories?
Instagram stories are a great place to focus on. According to statistics, over 500 million users now use Instagram Stories every day. It’s typically the first place a person goes to when opening the Instagram app, and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon.
Since posted Instagram Stories are only available for 24 hours, they are a great place to play, test what your audience responds best to, and worry less about the polished perfection we’ve come to expect in a curated Instagram feed.
All you need is a little inspiration, some new ways to spice up your instagram stories and get people to actually NOTICE your work. Try some of these tips and tricks to become inspired and get people to notice your art TODAY!
Tell a story
We all love a good story. Something that makes us feel connected, like we are getting to know you and your work. Creating art is a very personal process. By opening up and being raw with your process, intention and inspiration, you’re allowing for potential connection at each and every stage of creation, increasing your chance to make an impact (& hopefully a sale)! Plus, sharing these more intimate moments of your real life & work, gives people the chance to really get to know you as a person. Just like you’d be eager to hang up a piece your best friend created, it’s much more likely someone will want to purchase art from someone they feel like they already know, admire and want to support.
HOW CAN YOU DO THIS?
1) Give your audience the story behind your new art piece.
Where did your current inspiration come from? Did you see a palette in nature you simply had to recreate – share it. People love seeing the origin of where things come from. Use Instagram Stories to share a mini ‘How It’s Made’ episode of your own.
2) Provide a sneak peek of you setting up before an art opening.
Not as applicable during the pandemic, but when things get back to normal, be sure to make an effort to include further away people into your in-person events. Instagram can connect us, with a quick tour of the space, your followers can virtually be in the gallery and enjoy your work. Quick video clip – big impact.
3) Don’t be afraid to open up and be vulnerable.
Don’t feel like you have to reveal every detail about yourself or cross any personal boundaries (i.e. maybe you don’t want to share about your kids) that’s fine! This can be as small as sharing the weather where you live, your messy palette mid-project, or your pet trying to interrupt your work session. These little real-life details can transform the way your profile is perceived and the impact you make on people – easily step away from looking like a stale business and instead be seen as the authentic artist you really are!
Many artists are a bit squirrely about sharing their personal lives on social media – and that’s perfectly okay! Just realize that Instagram stories offers the perfect opportunity to do so, in the least committal way. Stories only stay available for 24 hours (unless you add them to a highlight), so they don’t need to be orchestrated. Share without makeup, don’t perfectly align your brushes – this is your opportunity to get messy & real (without it living forever on your profile).
4) Let your viewers in on some of the top-secret ways you run your business.
How do you keep things moving day-to-day? How do you balance mom life with creating new pieces? Share these obstacles you’ve tackled (or are currently dealing with – no judgement). You’ll start to attract other artists looking for tips on furthering their own dreams, and you’ll begin to stand out as an expert to potential buyers. You really know your stuff – own it.
5) Give a tour of your work space. People love a peek behind the scenes!
Who doesn’t love a good studio tour?! It’s always interesting to see what people choose to put in their space, especially when it comes to a creatives like you! Be proud of your knick-knacks, celebrate that odd painting your grandpa gifted you, tell people the name of your studio plant – make people feel like they really know your studio and are truly a part of your process.
6) Show where your art goes, and the people who buy it.
When your art finds a forever home – share it!! Doesn’t matter if it’s hanging in your mom’s kitchen, show the piece settled in it’s space – this will help potential buyers envision how your work might look/feel in their space.
Get your viewers involved
What is instagram really about? Or any social media? CONNECTION. By working to promote others, and engage with your followers, you’re not only networking and meeting potential customers, but you’re also able to leverage the audience of other users (sharing is caring) and getting a large account to re-share/promote something of yours is a great way to get a lot of extra eyes on your work. While some of the larger companies I’ve designed for in the past pay big bucks to influencers for posts including their products, authentic networking opportunities can accomplish the same level of exposure for individuals/smaller brands, with no investment needed.
SIMPLE WAYS TO GET YOUR VIEWERS INVOLVED
7) Get viewers involved in picking the color palette for your next work.
People love feeling included. Give them the opportunity to influence your next piece! Not only will it make them feel a part of your process, it’ll also give you a starting point you may never have considered otherwise. Use the poll (if you’d like to somewhat curate their options) or have a free response question where people can write in suggestions. If you go this route, be sure to be clear about what you need included… i.e. give me 3 colors to work with, or what animal should I draw next? Be specific so you have enough to take their suggestion and run with it.
8) Host a Q&A session with your viewers.
This would probably be better as an Instagram Live (as there’s an hour time limit for these) and you can engage with followers in real time. Be sure to save the Live to your stories when you finish, so people can still access it for 24 hours, if they missed you while filming.
9) Share other people’s posts you find interesting.
Leverage other audiences and reach new people without spending a time on exposure. Share work you admire, feature another artist on your blog, fill out a Instagram Story template and tag a few people to do the same. Consistently share the love and pay it forward – you’ll be surprise to see it come back tenfold.
Careful to only post or share what is inspiring to you. Don’t waste anyone’s time with stuff that you don’t care about. Chances are, they won’t either. + the energy around something you’re super excited to put out there is much more likely to attract and connect with people, every time. Don’t forget that Instagram is a great place to visually share some of your creativity! You're an artist, so that should be easy! Harness that and make the app work for you.
10) Post a work-in-progress!
Getting people excited about a piece before you’ve even finished it increases the likelihood that someone will fall in love and need to make it theres. Don’t be shy about the work not being finished – people love peeking behind the scenes and seeing how the magic happens. Sharing the evolution of a project: the step-by-step process of how you created it allows people the unique opportunity to connect with your work on a deeper level – encouraging a purchase from you.
11) Share a time lapse video of you working.
You’re doing the work anyways, record your process, speed it up and share! This is a great option for introverts (like me!) as you don’t need to talk or interact with the camera – just do what you do best and take viewers along for the ride.
12) Educate
We use social media to connect, and be inspired, but don’t forget – we also like to learn new things. Be useful for your viewers. Bring them inside information and helpful advice:
Post the tools you use for different projects.
How you find inspiration for new pieces.
Show the process of how to set up a home work space.
13) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Encourage the sale!
This is the key to making more sales online – for any artist or business. People CAN’T purchase from you if they don’t know HOW. Make it ‘stupid simple’ for followers to purchase work from you. There are many ways to do this: a simple link in bio that links directly to your shop, including the a ‘shop now’ call-to-action (using your swipe up feature if you have it), sharing specific available pieces with price included with ‘DM to claim’ verbiage. The less barriers to buy, the better.
You don’t need to go it alone!
You want to sell more art, but don’t know where to begin. It might be time to call in reinforcements, and hire a professional to help you design your brand and build the business of your dreams!
If you’re ready to simply show up and MAKE THE ART, know I’m here and super excited to handle the rest of the heavy lifting to get you looking great online.
