ART NEWS
Stained Glass- Blues on the Mirror depicts how artists and art institutions are using social media sites. Some social media networks include Google, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, and others. Photo KAZAD/ARTCENTRON
ART & SOCIAL MEDIA: Photographers, artists, and art institutions like museums and galleries are now using social media sites to communicate with friends and audiences.
BY KAZAD
BALTIMORE, MD — How do you get your artwork noticed? This is one of the questions many young artists and designers are asking. Every day, they ponder how to get their work in front of a larger audience. While many are unable to answer this question, others are turning to social media sites to bring attention to their artworks.
Many of the social network platforms spread across the web are providing opportunities for artists to share their artworks with a large audience of art lovers and potential customers. Although these sites have their strong points, creatives and art institutions have their preferences.
Artists and Museums on Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, YouTube, DeviantArt, Snapchat, and LinkedIn, are essential for many visual artists. These social network websites are used by painters, sculptors, architects, fashion designers, graphic artists, web designers, and many others in the creative field to communicate with their friends and colleagues.
Additionally, art institutions including museums, galleries, and art auction houses are effectively using these social media sites to reach out to their audience. These social platforms are the place to discover innovation and share artistic expressions.
Many artists and art institutions understand the advantages of social media using social media. Therefore, they are doing a lot to tap into the benefits social media sites bring. Besides the global reach of social media platforms, the millions of people on these sites make it possible to reach a larger audience. One way art professionals are using social media to reach their audience is through Social Media Marketing.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has been known by different names over the years. While some people called it e-marketing others have called digital marketing. Of late, however, social media marketing has gained ground and become acceptable to those in the social media world.
What is Social Media Marketing (SMM)?
So what is Social Media Marketing? Simply put, it is a form of internet marketing through which organizations reach their target audience. Social media marketing is made up of many parts that will take a while to explain. However, the essential elements include creating and sharing content on social media networks with a specific objective of reaching the target audience and achieving branding goals.
How Artists and Art Institutions are Using Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing is one of the powerful ways artists and art institutions of various sizes are exploring to reach their target audience. They also use it to promote their products and services. To achieve these objectives, they combine different social media marketing strategies. While social media platforms are different, these artists and art institutions are navigating and transcending different thresholds to reach specific audiences. In addition to creating and sharing engaging content, they also call their audience to action on specific issues.
Through innovative social media marketing strategies, art professionals and institutions are able to speak directly to their audience on social media platforms, In addition to creating and engaging content, another way art professionals and institutions are achieving their goals is through social media advertising.
Social Media Advertising
Over the years, social media advertising has helped artists and art institutions generate an audience for their websites and promote their programs. They use eye-catching images and videos that are shared millions of times.
How artists and art institutions are benefiting from social media sites:
- Generate attention for events/Exhibitions/Auctions/Art Talks
- Have direct communication, contact, and interaction with art lovers
- Drive traffic to websites
- Build conversions
- Grow brand awareness
- Create a brand identity and foster a relationship
- Expand reach beyond the target audience
Social Media Apps
To make networking easier, all these social media sites also have mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. Mobile apps for Android, iPhone, window phones, and several other operating systems provide users with the ability to easily share content and connect with others.
The 10 Most Popular Social Media Sites For Artists and Museums
For many artists and designers, Facebook is indispensable. Since it was started by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook has become one of the largest social media websites in the world, attracting over 1 billion users. Facebook users can join groups, start groups, and send messages. Artists, museums, galleries, and other institutions are effectively taking advantage of the features on Facebook to promote their events and also reach a larger audience. Business-minded creative people are also setting up their own on Facebook business pages, which they use to promote their art business.
MET On Facebook
One of the museums effectively using Facebook is the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). On the museum’s page is information about its activities, including art exhibition openings, art talks, and new art projects. Additionally, the museum shares videos of events and other projects.
The Met is not alone in utilizing Facebook to share upcoming and past art events. There is also the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA). The museum has information about ongoing exhibitions and upcoming shows on its Facebook page. There are also videos and photos of activities at the museum.
BMA has been very successful in reaching a large audience through Facebook. One example is in the promotion of free days at the museum and the Jazz in the Sculpture Garden events. Announcements on Facebook have helped increase the number of people at these events.
A shortlist of some of the other museums active on Facebook includes the following:
- Museum of Modern Art MoMA
- The Walters Art Museum
- American Visionary Museum
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- Whitney Museum of Art
- Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Art
- The British Museum
- The Louver Museum
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Soon after this article was published, there was a clamor to include Instagram on the list. After detailed research, we are compelled to add this great social media. When Instagram was established, the focus was on simplicity and encouraging people to tell visual stories about their lives.
Under the leadership of CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger (CTO, co-founder), Instagram began generating great attention in the social media world soon after it was formed. It did not take long before its growing popularity came to Facebook’s attention. In 2012, Facebook acquires Instagram for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. Since the acquisition, Instagram membership has grown exponentially to over 80 million users.
Today, Instagram is one of the most popular social media in the world. It is home to people willing to share images and tell their stories. For artists, photographers, designers, fashion designers, and art institutions, Instagram has become home. They share images and videos of events and activities.
Artists Benefit from Instagram
For artists and art institutions, there is so much to benefit from Instagram. In addition to promoting art exhibitions, it is also a place for artists, photographers, and designers to present new works to the public.
While many art institutions and organizations have a presence on Instagram, artists are the ones benefiting from this site which also belongs to Facebook. One such artist is Banksy. Banksy is one of the very few artists effectively using Instagram to reach his audience. Whenever he creates new work, he posts it on Instagram. One important example is when the artist created new works in Paris addressing migrant issues. The response that followed the announcement showed the power of the artist, and how Instagram has become an effective way to reach a larger audience.
.Another artist who is effectively using Instagram to promote her art and reach a large audience is Cj Hendry. In addition to posting her new and unique works for her fans to see, she also uses Instagram to reach her client and collectors. Videos of her working process help her fans understand her process. Some of the other artists using Instagram include:
Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone are well-known in the online business. When they started Twitter, the free social networking and microblogging service in 2006, it was clear that they had arrived at a great idea. On Twitter, users are allowed only 140-character called tweets to communicate their idea. Since it started, artists, photographers, sculptors, painters, celebrities, politicians, and others in the creative field have been using it to communicate with friends and other creative people.
Artists and Museums on Twitter
Museums, galleries, and art institutions are also using this important social media site to inform followers about their programs. Although some people are still transfixed on the140-characters, the opportunity to add links and images has made Twitter very valuable to artists and art institutions. Twitter has more than 500 million registered users and that continues to grow.
Over the years, many artists, art institutions, and organizations have come to understand the power of using Twitter to communicate with their audience, share new works, and explain their process. Based on the reach Twitter provides, it is not surprising that many art institutions, organizations are artists are using Twitter. One of the well-known artists using Twitter is Ai Wei Wei. The Chinese decedent artist who uses Twitter to reach fans as well as communicate his objections about events around the world.
Another artist is Olafur Eliason. The artist who works in different media uses Twitter to showcase his works some of which are quite large and experimental. Although he has a large following, he continues to reach out through his Twitter account to even more audience as his works get shared over and over again.
YouTube
Many young musicians, including Justin Bieber, Arnel Pineda, Marié Digby, Esmée Denters, and Charice Pempengco were discovered on YouTube. Founded in 2005, YouTube, a video-sharing website where users can upload, view, and share video clips, allows artists sculptors, musicians, and all those in the creative field to share videos of their work, promote their designs, and anything that is of interest to them. YouTube slogan says it all: “Broadcast Yourself”. In 2006 Google bought YouTube and in 2011 redesigned it, introducing new features that have made it easier to use. The new YouTube design underscores “Channels.”
Youtube Channels for Museums
Many museums, galleries, news media, non-profits, artists, politicians, celebrities, auction houses, and designers now have their own Channels on YouTube. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Christie’s Auction House, Sotheby’s, Gagosian Gallery, are just a few of the art institutions on YouTube. Since its inception, YouTube has been the fertile ground for the discovery of new artists and musicians. Of course, there are lots of funny videos about grumpy cats and funny people.
Christie’s Auction House is one of the auction houses effectively using YouTube to reach art lovers across to the globe. One way the auction house has been doing this is by live streaming auctions. It is always captivating to watch the dramatic auctioneer as he calls out prices.
Tumblr
Tumblr is one of the best social media platforms to see new art and photography. A microblogging platform and social networking site, Tumblr allows for the posting and sharing of anything: text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos. Started by David Karp, Tumblr is a fun place to be as it provides more room to customize and present ideas the way users want to. Young artists, photographers, illustrators, and designers are the major users of Tumblr. They share photographs, illustrations and paintings, designs, and other creative thoughts.
Even as young users are growing, older artists are also registering their presence on Tumblr. Additionally, museums, galleries, studios, and other major art institutions are using Tumblr to connect and link with their audience. Tumblr allows users to set up blogs that they can keep private or share with friends and followers. Presently, Tumblr which was bought by Yahoo! Inc. on June 20, 2013, hosts more than 152.2 million blogs. You can follow Artcentron Tumblr.
Flickr
Created in 2004 by Ludicorp, Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website. Unlike its video hosting, Flickr is better known for its image hosting. It is one of the most popular sites for users to share personal and event photography. Flickr is also a place to meet people with similar interests, engage in conversation, and build a sense of community.
Professional Photographers
More than 4 million new images are uploaded and shared every week on Flickr. There are many professional photographers who are effectively using Flickr to connect with their colleagues, share ideas, and also educate their teeming fans. Some of the top photographers using Flickr include Annie Leibovitz, Strobist, Thomas Hawk, Scott Bourne, Nobuyoshi Araki, Gary Arndt, Michael Zelbel M, Katharina Jung, Lizzy Godd, Iwona Dodlasinska, and Albert Dros and many others.
Flickr occupies a unique position in the scheme of things because the focus is on photography. Besides photographers, many art institutions like museums and galleries are also now using Flickr to share photos with their audience as well as photo management. Acquired in 2005 by Yahoo! Inc, Flickr is not just a photo-sharing site but also an online community that is used by teachers, educators, researchers, and bloggers.
Flickr is an amazing treasure trove of visual resources necessary for any area of academic studies, including art and science. The site is vital to higher institutions of learning that use the images in the education of students. With almost 90 million registered users, Flickr continues to grow.
DeviantArt
DeviantArt is perhaps the best known social networking site specifically for artists and art enthusiasts. It is one of the largest artist gatherings with over 9 million members who are referred to as “deviants”. On the DeviantArt platform, artists have the opportunity to exhibit and discuss their artworks with their peers. They can also join discussion forums and also interact with other artists,
Started in 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira, and several others, DeviantArt has almost 30 million registered users, who upload more than 160,000 original artworks daily. The works include photographs, videos, digital art, painting, sculpture, pixel art, skin art, poetry, anime, drawing, and many others. Members upload pictures or videos of their work to personal galleries that guests or other members can view and make comments. DeviantArt has a global reach.
Whenever LinkedIn is mentioned, many people do not think about visual art. The fact, however, is that many artists, writers, photographers, designers, and others in the creative field, across the globe, are using Linkedin to promote their works, share ideas and connect with other professions. Founded in 2002, Linkedin is a professional social networking site where people can link with other professionals, colleagues and also search for jobs.
Linkedin also provides news, updates, and insight that can help art professionals enhance their creativity and also become better at doing what they do. When it was launched in 2003, many professionals were happy as it brought to bear the seriousness that many other social networking sites do not have. Since it was launched, Linkedin has continued to grow. It has over 260 million users drawn from across the globe. One great advantage of Linkedin is that it is available in 20 languages.
The basic concept of Pinterest is that whenever you find something on the web that you like, you can pin it on your pinboard. Founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp, this photo-sharing site allows users to create and manage pinboard on which they can pin photos of anything that is of interest to them. They can also re-pin photos and images found on other boards, or anywhere on the web on their own pinboard.
While many people continue to live up to the basic idea behind Pinterest, visual artists, painters, photographers, sculptors, fashion designers, are using Pinterest to introduce their work to a larger audience. Pinterest holds a great advantage for young artists, photographers, fashion designers, and others in the creative field. One great advantage is that their images can be continually shared on many pin-board, making more people aware of their creativity. Additionally, these young creative people can actually get their works in front of curators, galleries, and museums, something that might be difficult in the physical world. With more than 11 million daily visits, Pinterest continues to grow, making a great impact in the lives of many young photographers, artists, designers, and those in the creative field.
MIX
Mix is not one of the websites that readily comes to mind when it comes to art. However, this is a great website art professionals, including photographers, artists, sculptures, video game developers, museums, galleries, and other major art institutions are using to reach their audience.
StumbleUpon moved over to Mix several years ago, making it one of the major platforms for curated art content. It is a place to discover important content in the arts. Since it began in 2001, the site has attracted more than 25 million users. Because of its reach, many artists, photographers, designers, architects other creative minds have been using it to great benefits. Besides reaching a large audience, there is also the opportunity to interact and share ideas with other creative minds.
Mix Fierce Competition
Although Mix is in fierce competition with other content discovery sites like Pinterest, it continues to hold its own. With the introduction of a new app and a redesign of its website, Mix has become even easier for many in the arts to use to get their works in front of a larger audience, and also drive traffic to their websites.
It is now a culture to have Mix buttons on artists and art institution websites.
Mix is easy to navigate. Users have the opportunity to share their interests with friends and other users. Artists also have the opportunity to share their pages on other social media websites, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This is very useful as artists and those in the creative fields have a greater opportunity to reach a larger audience beyond the StumbleUpon website. You can follow Artcentron on Mix.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a photo and video sharing media app. Although it is like Instagram, the interface is different from Instagram. In nine years, Snapchat has become one of the most important social media platforms for artists and art institutions. Users of this platform are allowed to share a wide range of content such as photos, stories, and live videos. There are more than 300 million active users on Snapchat
A major advantage of artists and art institutions get from using Snapchat for branding is that they can easily connect with young art fans. This allows them to get rich analytics of their profiles and post. Furthermore, they can schedule when they want to post pictures and videos on Instagram using third-party tools. They can also schedule their posts.
Photographers and Artists on Snapchat
Snapchat is a major center for everything art. Photographers, artists, painters, sculptors, ceramists, web designers, and fashion designers use this social media platform to showcase their works. A growing number of artists now use features available features to share and connect with other artists and friends.
But Snapchat is not just a social media and networking site. It also has other tools that help connect and reconnect. One of the major areas Snapchat has excelled in is photography and videos. Snapchat stories are even more popular. Over 400 million stories are created daily. Almost 2 million photos are uploaded weekly from across the globe. To make the uploading of photos easier, Snapchat continues to improve its app and algorithm. New developments have has been very helpful to professional photographers and beginners in the presentation of their photos to a larger audience.
Snapchat is constantly developing the platform to further enhance the experience it users. Now, artists and art institutions are freely sharing Art projects and exhibitions on Snapchat. This provides opportunities for art lovers to view high-resolution images of artworks selected from museums and art institutions across the globe.
ADD TO THE LIST
Top 10 Social Media Sites for Artists And Cultural Institutions
These are just a few of the top social networking sites that artists, designers, and art institutions are using to effectively link with their friends, audience and also promote their project. Please let us know if you have a preference or something to add. You will be adding to the list as provide valuable information with your contribution.
