Small Art Account - Why Your Social Media Isn't Growing 

Ikr, ITS SO FRUSTRATING

Some delete their posts

Ikr

some buy followers; like bots

@@makumanga9434 yeah with real money

No way! I've been on boost app social too. My stories and reels are on fire now!

👋 If you can find quality client with a small following, you don’t need to scale up. Being small is also a nice choice in this uncertain time.

Do you DM them or do you let them come to you?

@@ClickerFest a bit of both but also I can’t speak highly enough of word of mouth clients. Some of our early clients were friends of friends who found our social media via conversations. I know a lot of other creative folks who started in a similar way. it’s really valuable just to be nice and to make sure your friends know about your business (I’m not saying to be pushy to your friends, just to make sure they know about what you are trying to do...you never know where an opportunity might come from). Now days I also ask clients to recommend us to other people, we specialise in music videos and musicians tend to talk to other musicians. Edit: just to clarify I think a social media presence that accurate communicates your art in a pleasing way is super useful in word of mouth because that’s where potential clients are likely to be sent...even if they weren’t sent by the algorithm

@@Anastasia_Sever that’s actually kind of why I made my first comment. I’ve always struggled with getting followers and likes but still had some good opportunities. In terms of the friends thing it’s not really that my friends are particularly supportive it’s just that you really don’t know who could give you an opportunity. As an example someone I barely knew from University showed one of their friends a project my studio worked on and this led to a client for us. Not all creative businesses and artists work in the same way but that’s the whole point, maybe you get success by going viral, maybe you cold email the right person, maybe an acquaintance recommends your art to someone who wants to buy it...the point is that social media is one element of getting opportunities, something else might work better for you.

Do you know how to use blender

😄 Also best to be the “master of all”! If we could live up to 150 years of age, we could be so much more competent!

I never knew the full quote! ❤️❤️🙏🙏❤️

Same!

X2

Same heree

We should follow each other then🗿🗿

I have like 60 something posts and I'm stuck at 117 😩 I don't know what I'm doing wrong

mee

Hi Ana, thanks for your message. Growing a social media account is time consuming. Even the new post you did was good, the results probably won’t show immediately. Plan to give it 4-6 months, in the meanwhile work on other projects like your website/blog.

Hi Zhenyou, thanks for your message. You are only 16 years old! You have all the time in the world to learn and grow! I see you don't have any videos published yet. Perhaps you can upload a video on RU-vid and link to your IG ('About' section).

My to😥😥😥

What is your instagram??

I am 16 too and I only have 148 followers on some 103 posts 😢 I am trying hard

🙋🏻‍♀️ Hi Isani, thanks for sharing! Now with everyone coming to social media, the competition is more and more fierce. Having an unique visual identity and personality are essential. The first thousand follower is the hardest, but you’ll get it in no time. However, don’t forget to also grow your personal website! It’s a better tool than your social media account! 😊

Good for you! Never ever rely on external validation and now more than ever in this coockie cutter homogenized society where an introvert is told to not be himself so he/she can get likes. You do you. And artis creates because he feels the need to ,not for likes.

That's me, exactly my Ig account...yes.

@@VeryPrivateGallery hi! Do you think art web portfolio is important nowadays?

@@sweetrebeldy Definitely! Because Instagram might shut down one day, but your own artist website will always be there.

🙋🏻‍♀️ Hi there, I think you are doing a great job making your profile striking/eye catching. Now there are millions of artists creators online, publishing the amount of visual content we could not see in a life time. Getting the attention first (and retaining later) becomes a must.

Hey Paul, thanks! I'm learning about how to get my message across people from different cultures. 😇

You can use different social media accounts to make different kinds of art. I want to do videos in Chinese, English and Spanish but it would just confuse people, so I started another channel in Chinese language. My content would be better targeted at people I want to attract this way.

I feel like I’d rather grow slow on social media than limiting myself. I sometimes post realism portrait , anime, digital. Making 2 accounts would be even harder to grow in my opinion

Hi James! Thanks. Sometimes we spend more effort than the results we get, but I'm ok with it! 😇

We also judge women by their weight and judge men by their wealth. This problem you mentioned is not an isolated issue. I don’t think I can change the world in my life time. What I can do is to help artists get more exposure so they have more chance of making it. If someone comes up with a better solution, I’d like to consider too!

🙋🏻‍♀️ Don’t worry, trends come and go like waves. You will see a better opportunity next time!

@@VeryPrivateGallery definitely true

It's not late, you can still do something similar right now 👍

Can relate to that. 😅

Thanks for sharing! Yes, supporting other young artists and learning from each other is a very important part of growth.

That's exactly what I'm doing. It's also helpful to follow and engage with people that inspire you. Example: I'm writing and illustrating a nordic-themed story that has a viking and a mermaid as main characters. So I go hunting for people on instagram who reenact or cosplay vikings and mermaids. XD

You're so welcome!

Hi Shubhra, thanks! 177 posts for almost 400 followers is not bad at all. Keep posting and you will see results. Apart from IG, you could also try YT and your own website using SEO strategies (it’s free) to get more traffic. Eventually you will convert your fans into collectors!

@@VeryPrivateGallery thank you so much for this advice 😍

Hi Jelly, nice to see you here too!

Hi Steven! Thanks for watching!

😄 Glad to hear it!

THANK YOU! I prefer being myself, happy and healthy doing different things, than being depressed by doing one. I think my versality is special and valuable. I´m a better teacher because of this. Maybe art world didn´t recognize this, but I do now!

Hi Konstnär, greetings from frozen Beijing!

How well are you doing after 2 months?

@@shiningskies47 Welllll.... Im just up to 150 followers but I have an average of 70 likes per post cos i try to interact with the art community and support growing accounts like mine. Oh yh Im a 'sorta artist'

Thanks for your message!

Social media is important, website is essential too. If you have a website, consider using SEO strategies to boost your influence.

Hi Milk...flavoured (cute name!), You are so welcome! If you enjoy watching art videos, you can make some too. RU-vid is a good platform for artists, even better than IG in many ways.

Thank you! Will do!

Hi 🙋🏻‍♀️ Thanks for your message! I will be making more videos, see you around!

Thanks for dropping by!

Social media is like dating. You need a mixture of personal charm and consistency, perhaps some luck as well. It's as rewarding as dating, when you form a long lasting relationship with your fans. You got this!

Hi 🙋🏻‍♀️ Jen, thanks for your message!

Hi Susan, it’s certainly likely we will meet one day. In fact earlier this afternoon I came across someone who said: “Hey, do you have this RU-vid channel?” - and it was a nice coincidence that someone came across me in the middle of ARCO art fair in Madrid.

@@VeryPrivateGallery So kind of you to answer my post! Well, such a coincidence indeed! I'm from the Netherlands by the way. :)

Glad I could help! Keep posting, keep making new art!

Glad you enjoyed it!

@@VeryPrivateGallery yupp i did actually what i liked is your experience 🥰🥰

Hi Tatiana, Glad it was helpful! This month I will make another interview to interesting professionals in art. See you soon!

@runiih I watched a recent video where the guy painted the same thing every day. Maybe this could be something you could do to tie all your work together. Consistent subjects in a variety of art mediums?

@@ArtySubu this kind of things pissed me off. Please do that do you need to do, not the market trend or something like this. You can had a "corporative palette of colors" and "corporative lettering" to ad in case do you need some cohesive visual image. Artist didn´t need to be a fashion label. Need to do art for themselves first.

Glad it was helpful!

👋 thanks!

Sure! Just start at any time and create works that people would want to buy. That’s the real deal. But some people like to “small talk”. Like when I entered a kayak club for the first time, other club members asked: what brought you here? I applied for business school after 30 years old, I was also asked: “why are you doing this?” They are not trying to embarrass me, they are just trying to break the ice. When you start painting later in life, people are gonna ask - not in a bad way. It’s good to have some kind of answers at hand, so you can make great impressions. It’s not to justify, but to socialize.

same we should follow each other bestie😩🤝

Whats your instagram I'll follow you!

I feel that!

I feel you other frustrating point is when you spend almost a month to make a great painting and you got barely 3 likes and 0 follower 😣 we should build an engagement group so we can boost ourself up

@@hollyguacamolee9694 love that idea! 😍

Thanks for watching!

Hi 👋 Yes Tiktok is good, and it’s from my city Beijing. However, I wouldn’t personally invest too much time on Tiktok, because the policy issues. After all it’s a Chinese company. Like Huawei, Chinese companies can be banned in some regions of the world. It’s not fair but it’s like this.

I needed this video earlier but I couldn’t..

Hi Liams, thanks for your message. Sometimes you can use an autopilot strategy. We run some secondary Ins accounts that are growing on its own. It's not as fast but we don't spend so much time.

Very Private Gallery how do I get to it

@@liamsjr3726 You simply start an Instagram account that is a niche, not just about your art. For example, you start an account called 'Street Art Paris' (just an example!!!) then show some reposts from street artists in Paris. Maybe take some photos of street art you see when you visit Paris. Then this account will grow on its own with very little maintenance. You do need to curate some good content, and post some original stuff.

@@liamsjr3726 Many artists don't like this idea, because it's not directly about their art. But growing the niche you are in, isn't a bad idea either.

Glad you enjoyed it!

If you use IG as a marketing tool instead of social media, it’s alright. Your time invested will eventually return as sales.

Hi thanks for sharing your thoughts. If each post can bring you more than 4 new followers, that is already better than my growth rate. There is no mathematical equation to calculate how many followers you will get from posting. Just think each follower you get without paying, is something you’ve got for free :)

@@VeryPrivateGallery really appreciate your positive outlook on it. Thank you!

Hi Matheus, Thanks for your message. I experienced similar struggle when I was working for an institution with NDA and I had to sign off my copyright as well. For a few years, I had no work to show. But the job taught me a lot when I was in my 20s. I think you can start a RU-vid channel and post videos about “life as a professional animator”. I am sure younger artists who are still in school would like that. You don’t need to show your works, just show your daily life and talk about the projects you are working on (without showing graphical content of your project). Like “working on a new Pixar thing”.

Hey Stephanie, I think it's better to show behind the main image if you don't add any other things (voice, editing etc). When you add enough value, you can show it separately. Adding more value, I mean to add voice over, music and b-rolls. When it becomes a separate 'product', like a tutorial or 'story time' vlog, you can publish as a separate post. It will attract different kind of viewers.

Personally I don't think posting the same content twice is good. You can add variations like the way to present or edit your image. IF you really need to post the same, you can do a repost. This is just my personal preference because I think you will attract more quality followers if you can provide original and unique content.

Glad you liked it!

Glad it was helpful!

How is it going? Have you started out on Instagram?

Trying to change how people behave is almost impossible. My personal goal is to change how artists think about money, and I could not. I can only change the ones who are more receptive to changes. How to find the ones who can and want to change? You need to reach people, lots of people. You need to grow on social media to reach and elevate them.

This is a video about marketing, not our personal feelings, because to be fair people don’t give artists enough credit to begin with

Love your profile photo!