by Frank Hamilton, Guest Blogger - As an artist, you want to be able to promote your art with all the tools available at your disposal. The smartest and most cost-effective method is through the use of social media. 

Pinterest is a visual social media network that allows users to discover, engage, and share new interests. It is one of the best social media platforms for artists because of its visual nature.

Below are six (6) tips for promoting your work on Pinterest.

1. Make your Pinterest account a Business page

Creating a business account on Pinterest is one of the first ways to promote your art on the platform. This gives you access to indispensable features that the regular account does not have, such as the option to advertise, and analytics.

Being able to advertise your artwork enables your art to reach a broad audience. Analytics is vital because it helps you get proper feedback and gauge what art lovers or Pinterest users find interesting. With this feature, you can view your daily & monthly viewers, daily impressions, and monthly engaged followers.

To create your business account on Pinterest, go to your account where you will see the option to convert your account to a business account if however, you do not have a Pinterest account go to “business.pinterest.com.”

2. Pin your Artwork

Your pins are an essential part of your Pinterest account. You must utilize all the functionalities available to you, which includes a proper title and description.

Getting a lot of views, re-pins, and comments are vital if you intend to reach a broad audience. Reaching a wide audience is paramount to getting more traffic on your website. 

A helpful tip when pinning your artwork is your Pin should be tall, not wide, this enables your art to be fully visible at a glance. The recommended ratio for the art you pin should be 2:3.

3. Use Appropriate keywords in your title or description

Pay attention to the keywords you use in the title and description of your Pin. This goes a long way to make sure your work is displayed when Pinterest users are searching for your kind of content. It is important to note that when you use keywords, make sure you do not use spammy keywords.

Before you use any keyword, do your research. It is crucial to decide on the appropriate keyword(s) before you create any content.

An excellent way to decide on the best keyword is to type "art" or other relative words in the Pinterest search bar. Pinterest will bring up a lot of alternative keyword suggestions that are commonly used when people type the word art. This way, you will know the best keywords to use.

4. Add a Call to Action on your Pin

This is a direction/instruction you give to Pinterest users to help decide the next step or action. It is essential to include a call to action when creating your Pin. You can add a call to action either on the image or on the description. 

Depending on your goal, your call to action should be structured in a way that users can easily understand and follow. For example, if you want users to get redirected to your website to view your art, you need to add a call to action button that redirects users to your website.

5. Engage with your community and other Pinterest users

Building and engaging with a community on Pinterest is one of the best ways for users to view your art. To build a community, you need to follow other users and lovers of art; this will encourage other users to follow you back. Also, comment and engage with users that re-pinned your art, ask for customers' thoughts, suggestions, and feedback on your art.

6. Pin consistently and at peak times

Consistency is critical if you want to promote your art on Pinterest. Pinning your art or repining other users' images daily drives views to your page. This also helps your board rank high in your desired category on Pinterest.

Pin also at peak times, which for U.S based pinners is in the evening and weekends. You can also pin in different languages by making use of tools such as The Word Point or Google translate. This makes sure your art reaches a broader audience.

Conclusion

Pinterest is a smart way for anyone serious about promoting their art to utilize. It is a very visual social media platform and provides a lot of functionality, which helps with promoting your art.

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

This article is the first of several “Guides to Promoting” on social media platforms the we will be posting.  In the coming weeks, look for additional articles for promoting your art on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Join our mailing list to be informed of new helpful art marketing articles and our online art competitions.