As an artist trying to build an audience on Facebook, getting your work seen can feel like an uphill battle. With over 2 billion monthly active users, standing out from the crowd is no easy feat. However, with the right strategy and consistent effort, it is possible to get your art noticed on the world’s largest social media platform.
Optimize Your Artist Page
The first step is to create an artist page that is optimized to showcase your work. This allows you to separate your personal profile from your professional work, and gives fans a dedicated place to follow your art career. When setting up your page, use an artist name or brand that is consistent across platforms, and make your profile photo your logo or an image that represents your work. The “about” section is valuable real estate – use it to briefly summarize your artistic background and style.
Facebook allows you to organize your page into different tabs – take advantage of this by creating individual tabs for your portfolio, exhibits, press coverage, etc. Post your best work regularly so new visitors immediately see examples of what you can do. Make sure to fill out your website URL, contact info, and anywhere else you are active online so fans can engage with you.
Use Relevant Hashtags in Posts
Using targeted hashtags in your Facebook posts allows them to be discovered by people interested in those subjects or following those hashtags. For example, if you are sharing a new watercolor painting of a landscape, you could include hashtags like #watercolor, #watercolorpainting, #landscapepainting, #artforsale, etc. The more relevant hashtags you add, the greater chance of your post showing up in searches for those terms. Just be careful not to go overboard and make your caption look spammy.
Post Consistently
One of the biggest factors in getting your work noticed on social media is consistency. Posting frequently keeps you top of mind with existing followers and gives new audiences multiple opportunities to discover you. Try setting a regular schedule for sharing new pieces, works in progress, inspirations, or behind the scenes of your artistic process. Posting daily or a few times a week is ideal, but any regular cadence is better than randomly disappearing for weeks on end.
Interact With Followers and Share User-Generated Content
Social media is a two-way conversation, so make sure to interact with any comments, tags, shares, etc. from your existing fanbase. Thank people for their support, answer questions, and respond when appropriate. You can also re-share user generated content like photos of your artwork that fans have purchased or art challenge submissions they tag you in.
Seeing an artist actively engage makes followers feel valued. It can turn casual fans into brand ambassadors who help spread the word about your work. Make sure to check notifications and respond in a timely manner whenever possible.
Use Facebook Ads
Once you have built up a base audience, consider running Facebook ads to expand your reach even further. Their targeted ad platform allows you to dial in exactly who sees your ads based on location, demographics, interests, behaviors and more. You can choose to boost existing posts to followers of similar pages or create new ads driving traffic to your website or Facebook page. Their detailed analytics show you which messages and images resonate best with potential buyers.
Even starting with a small daily ad budget can dramatically widen the pool of people discovering you for the first time. And you only pay when users actively click or engage with your ads.
Collaborate With Relevant Brands or Influencers
Partnering with compatible brands, galleries, or influencers in your niche can introduce your art to whole new audiences already passionate about that subject matter or style. Is there a travel blog focused on landscapes that would feature your landscape paintings? Could an interior design brand highlight your portraits as stylish home decor? Look for accounts with engaged followers who would genuinely appreciate your aesthetic.
Ideally choose brands you authentically like and already follow, then reach out proposing a beneficial collaboration for both parties. Offer to create custom artwork for their platform or products, or have them share a post genuinely admiring your style. Aim to build relationships that feel mutually supportive, not just transactional.
Share Work In Progress Shots and Videos
People are fascinated by the artistic process, so giving them a behind the scenes look at your work can be intriguing. For paintings or drawings, you can share in-progress photos showing how a piece evolves from early sketches to near final. For visual arts like sculpture or pottery, short video clips can showcase your methods and techniques.
Time-lapse videos compressing longer projects into just a minute or two can also mesmerize viewers. This engages existing followers who want to see your creative journey, and offers an accessible entry point for newcomers into what you do.
Join Facebook Art Groups
Seek out active Facebook groups focused on visual art, your specific medium, or your geographic area. Larger groups like “Artists Community” have over 150k members you can potentially connect with. While avoiding overt self-promotion, try posting work when it fits the group’s theme or commenting on other member submissions. You can also search for groups specific to the type of art you make.
Participating in group discussions raises your profile within the artist community organically. It lets you meet fellow creatives, share advice, and potentially collaborate down the line. Make sure to read group rules before posting.
Cross-Promote On Other Social Platforms
To maximize exposure, maintain an active presence on multiple social sites like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube etc. and cross-promote between them. When you share new artwork on Facebook, also post it on your other accounts. Mention in the captions that you just added it on Facebook and encourage following you there for more.
This drives fans on one platform to check out your art across multiple channels. Linking all your accounts in your social media bios makes it easy for them to find and follow you in just a click. A multi-platform social strategy casts a much wider net for potential new fans.
Run Facebook Contests or Giveaways
Contests, giveaways and challenges are a proven way to engage your existing Facebook fans while also attracting new ones. Offer to give away a print to a random new follower, do an art supply gift card giveaway for those who share your post, or create an art challenge where you pick a winner to receive a prize.
Require users to follow your page, tag friends, share your post publicly, or take other actions to enter. This incentivizes shares that spread to fresh audiences. You could even partner with a relevant brand to provide the giveaway items.
Use Shoppable Facebook Posts
If you sell high quality prints, originals or other art and merchandise through your website, Facebook shoppable posts make it easy for fans to browse and purchase right on Facebook. You add tags to your images highlighting specific products that users can then tap to view details, pricing, variants and checkout without leaving the app.
This removes friction from the sales process. Interested buyers can immediately purchase art they discover on Facebook without any context switching. Driving frictionless sales also boosts your chances of appearing in more feeds.
Conclusion
Standing out as an artist on a platform like Facebook comes down to actively engaging your audience, posting eye-catching content consistently, and utilizing all promotional tools available. Set up your page for success, connect with fellow artists and influencers in your niche, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies. With a thoughtful and sustained approach, you can get your incredible art in front of its ideal audience.
| Strategy | Overview |
|---|---|
| Optimize Artist Page | Professional page with portfolio, bio, website links, etc. to showcase work |
| Use Relevant Hashtags | Improves discovery and drives new followers from hashtag searches |
| Post Consistently | Stay top of mind and gives frequent exposure to new audiences |
| Interact With Followers | Engage fans and share user generated content to build community |
| Run Facebook Ads | Expand reach beyond existing followers with targeted promotions |
| Partner With Influencers | Collaborate on co-promotions with compatible brands or influencers |
| Share Behind the Scenes | Give fans a glimpse into your creative process and techniques |
| Join Facebook Art Groups | Connect with fellow artists and engage with the community |
| Cross-Promote Other Platforms | Leverage multi-channel strategy to increase exposure |
| Run Contests and Giveaways | Incentivize shares and follows to reach new people |
| Use Shoppable Posts | Make art immediately purchasable from Facebook |