ARTIST INSIGHT | The Art of Social Media

Artist, curator and Social Media Director James Fowler shares his techniques and best practices for bringing together arts professionals and the public for social and academic dialogues, development, mentorship and community building.

Top 5 Tips on Social Media

1. People are people. 

Remember that while you are using a computer or mobile phone to connect, on the other end is a person. Be courteous, respectful and genuine.

2. It’s not about me me me.

It’s about the collective we.  If you talk about yourself all the time, people will tune out. Make the effort to promote other people, artists and galleries and build your online network. Make it 80% about other interesting things and 20% about you. 

3. Show, don’t sell. 

We all like to buy things. No one likes to be sold to. Use tact. Show your work, put it in context by showing other peoples work that is like yours. Show process shots and ‘behind the scenes’. People love to see how your art is created, installed and displayed. Do not list prices.  

4. Have a plan.

Take the time to think about your goals, what success measures you have to determine if you are achieving them, know your audience and the audience you’d like to attract. Make a list of content inventory and an a content calendar. Know your style and develope a listening program.  

5. Listen Proactively. 

While it’s great to be responsive when people ask you questions online, make the effort to seek out opportunities for engagement, and position yourself as the answer. Set up search terms on various monitoring sites and use Google Alerts to find great curated content.  

BONUS|  It's not about how many followers you have. It's about how many engagements you make. If you have 60000 followers and you're following 72000 people, you're not engaged, you're 'follow hoarding'. Its better to have less followers who  answer your call to action than it is to have a bunch of poeple who are only following you so you follow them back. Engage your new followers and keep the conversations going.   

BIO|

James Fowler is an acclaimed artist, curator, founder of the 10x10 Photography Project and the Social Media Director of Akimbo.ca.