Social Media Growth Hacks: Proven Tips for Digital Artists
Hello you — the talented digital artist who is stressing over their follower count, having trouble finding effective strategies for social media, and struggling to come up with what to post on Instagram. We hear you and are here to help!
As our attention spans get shorter than those of goldfish, digital artists feel pressure over keeping their audiences engaged — but navigating social media growth is honestly easy when you follow a bulletproof strategy.
In a nutshell — you need to create value for your audience for them to engage and interact with your content. This can be something cute, beautiful, strange; art that evokes emotions and/or is visually pleasing. You can share useful information — tips, tricks, tools that helped you as an artist that can bring value to others. And, reflect your personality: by asking your audience questions, answering their questions, sharing your artistic process and your story, you can get your audience feel closer to you and get excited about your art.
Here’s the digital artist’s practical guide to social media growth.
The WHY — Why you should care about growing on social media in the first placeThe WHAT — What content to share on social media for high engagementThe HOW — How you come across online, aka your toneThe WHO — Defining a target audience and knowing your followersThe WHERE — Which social media platform would be best for youThe WHEN — When and how often to post on social media
WHY
Whenever you feel overwhelmed because the algorithm doesn’t push your art in front of as many people as you’d like it to — remember that the actual goal of social media is to build relationships.
That’s why it’s best to focus on cultivating existing relationships with your followers by responding to all the messages and comments about your posts and work. As you build a relationship with your existing few, hundreds and thousands and — hopefully one day — millions will follow because they will want to be part of your lovely online community.
In the world of digital art, social media is the perfect space for building lasting relationships and fostering a deeper connection between artist and audience. This transparency not only demystifies the art-making process but also humanizes you, the artist, making your work more relatable.
It's a place to receive instant feedback, encouragement, and even constructive criticism – a dialogue that enriches your creative journey. Most importantly, it allows artists to express their gratitude and give back to the community that supports their passion.
Aside from building relationships with your audience, social media is the best tool for marketing yourself and your art for free so you can reach more people. It's like having a 24/7 art exhibition where you can engage with people who resonate with your art from all around the world, anytime.
A bigger audience can help you make more sales as there may be more eyeballs on your art.
It may help attract the attention of online and offline publications, as well as art galleries and curators all around the world.
This may open doors for opportunities for partnerships with organizations and brands.
WHAT
Now that we know why we should care about sharing on social media to promote our art business, it’s time to figure out what to actually post!
Algorithms change and may value quantity over quality, but this doesn’t necessarily have to be bad news for you as there are so many ways to share your art and story with your audience.
Your art, obviously, but also the process and behind-the-scenes visuals
Events and exhibitions you or your art have been featured in
Interviews — if you don’t have any yet, apply to be featured on Digital Arts Blog!
Conduct ask me anything sessions — each response is new content for you!
Share your mistakes or artworks that didn’t come out as you imagine
Details and closeups of your popular works
Your face — A study shows that photos with faces are 38% more likely to receive likes and 32% more likely to receive comments on Instagram
Never run out of ideas of what to post — we created a guide with 172 content ideas for digital artists for you to download for free!
HOW
Maybe more important than what you post online is how you frame it — your tone is crucial to have an engaging and relatable social media presence!
Reflect on your personality and what sets you apart as an artist. Are you playful and whimsical, or perhaps more introspective and mysterious? Your tone should be an authentic extension of yourself, allowing your audience to connect with your art and who you are as an individual.
Experiment with different styles of content, whether it's engaging in casual conversations, sharing personal anecdotes, or infusing humor into your posts. Pay attention to the type of engagement and response you receive from your audience to fine-tune your approach.
Ultimately, finding your tone is a dynamic process – it evolves with your art and the evolving digital landscape. The key is to be true to yourself, keep experimenting, and let your unique personality shine.
Practical tip — Imagine you’re only addressing one person; that one follower who likes every single one of your posts, comments how your art speaks to them, and is in your DMs after you share a story. Identifying your one perfect target audience can help you find a more personable and authentic tone online. WHO
Now let’s talk about who you’re hoping to reach with your social media posts — Potential buyers? Curators? Galleries? All of the above?
Discovering and connecting with your ideal audience as a digital artist on social media is crucial to your creative journey. It's not just about chasing likes and followers, remember — it's about building a dedicated and engaged community that appreciates your work.
Your ideal audience is your compass, guiding your artistic evolution and providing the valuable feedback you need to grow. They are your supporters, advocates, and potential patrons. By understanding their preferences, tastes, and values, you can tailor your content and message to resonate deeply with them.
This connection not only amplifies your reach but also adds depth and purpose to your art. It's about creating a two-way conversation, enriching your creative process, and ensuring your work finds its rightful place in the hearts of those who truly cherish it.
You should care more about the quality of your followers over how many they are — an artist with a relatively small following can be making as many sales as another artist with larger following if they have a more engaged audience who truly connects with them and their work.
Practical tip — Make sure you have a business account on Instagram so you can see your Insights. Instagram Insights help you learn about:Who your content reaches such as their gender, age, and locationYour top contents based on reach and engagementEven the days of the week and hours of the day your followers are most active
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights let you know where the most of your audience is located
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights let you know the gender distribution of your audience
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights lets you know the age range of your audience
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights let you know your top content based on reach
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights let you know when your audience is most active
Screenshot from Instagram Insights: Your insights let you know when your audience is most active
WHERE
Every social media platform has its own culture — like how film buffs love Letterbox and corporate world thrives on LinkedIn — all have specific audiences with distinct expectations in terms of what’s shared on the platform. Think about how you’d like your story, art, and business to comes across online and choose the perfect platform for yourself!
Instagram is obvious choice for most artists because it’s a visual platform. Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, for example, uses the platform to not only share finished artworks but also their story, notable exhibitions they’ve visited or been featured in, publications that moved them, and more — everything that will make their audience feel closer to the artist and their art. The artist also creates AR filters available via Stories, creating a brilliant ecosystem on Instagram.
X (formerly Twitter) may be the go-to social media platform for NFT artists, those who make use of verbal communication, maybe creating political art. For instance, Grant Riven Yun’s primary social media platform is X, as the digital artist who has come to prominence in the aftermath of the NFT revolution, and the crypto art community is highly active and engaged on the platform.
Grant Yun recently curated the AI art exhibition called FigurAltion at Bright Moments Gallery in NYC
YouTube — if you’re interested in sharing tutorials and tips and tricks and not shy to speak on camera, YouTube may be perfect for you! Take Genevieve's Design Studio as inspiration, she is a full-time children's book illustrator and content creator based in Québec City, Canada. On YouTube the artist shares easy to follow and creative step-by-step tutorials.
Similar to YouTube, Twitch may be an excellent choice for you if you’re interested in sharing tutorials or stream as you create your artwork. Stephy Fung is an incredible inspiration for this, she is a digital fashion artist based in UK. She designs virtual clothing using Adobe Suite, Cinema4D, Clo3d, Substance Painter, and Daz3D, and is sharing her tips on digital fashion design on Twitch twice a week.
Stephy Fung is also featured in 10 Digital Artists: Digital Fashion and Style in Web3
WHEN
You already know this as an artist, but like with everything, consistency is key when it comes to growing on social media. Just think about it — how likely are you to follow or subscribe to a page if the last time they shared something was months ago? Your followers expect to see more from you and stay up-to-date, that’s why a consistent upload schedule is crucial to achieve significant growth on social media.
Social media algorithms keep changing, so you may need to adjust and fine-tune your frequency in consideration with what your followers expect from you as well as what realistically works with your personal schedule.
Instagram — Use your Insights to optimize and post content when you’re audience is most active!
X (Twitter) — There’s a beautiful GM/GN (good morning/good night) culture of NFT artists on this platform, so you can take part in it in crypto communities without overthinking what to share!
YouTube — YouTube audience is used to content creators having a specific posting schedule. Whether that’s once or twice a week or even once a month, your subscribers will appreciate knowing when and how often to expect videos from you.
Don’t overthink it — the most mundane parts of your artistic practice is fresh and mind-blowing for many! So share your art and your story with your following without taking it too seriously. If you have fun with it, your ideal audience will find you, naturally and organically.
What’s your strategy this year to grow on social media? Tell us in the comments!
We share works by digital artists as well as digital arts exhibitions, events, and open calls daily on our Instagram — follow us for more and subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss new blog posts.
