Instagram has become a very popular social networking site.  Today, they have more than 700+ million active monthly users.  Think of Instagram as Facebook for pictures.  www.instagram.com

With its emphasis on visual communications, Instagram is the perfect medium for artists and art related professionals to market and brand their art.  Instagram is an easy platform for an artist to learn and to use to market their art or art-related service.

Posting is done through a mobile device (though you can access your account through a desktop computer).

Here are some helpful tips and hacks to enhance the power of Instagram:

Download the app and choose an account name that gets you close to your art website name or art website URL. Have separate Instagram accounts for personal posting and business posting (much like you would for Facebook personal pages and business pages).

Make sure that you fill out the Bio section completely. You only have 150 characters in which to do this.  Also, you are allowed to have an active link back to your art website.  Make sure that your art website is included.   

Try to post on a daily basis, or at least every other day.  Ideas to post would include:

• Images of any art that is in progress
• Images of your finished art
• Images from art events and shows
• Images of art when sold
• Inspiring images found during your day

Interact with your growing base of followers and future followers by commenting on and liking their art and posts. You can also direct message people who you want to follow or with whom you want to make contact.

Make sure that you set-up your posts on your Instagram account to automatically post to your Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter accounts.

Instagram allows users to immediately get going and connecting with people by making is easy to have all of your Facebook friends and Facebook followers to become followers on Instagram.

You are allowed to use #hashtags (Keywords) with any of your posts. By using art-related #hashtags, you are helping others to find you and your art more quickly.

You are allowed to use up to 30 #hashtags per post. It is much more effective to use 5 to 10 thoughtful #hashtags related to your post than an overload of tags.  (LST will soon have a follow-up article post on the most popular art #hashtags for Instagram).

There are many other beneficial features on Instagram that you will discover over time.  The easiest way to get familiar with Instagram is to go to their Help Section https://help.instagram.com where the platform’s features and the working of their dashboard are explained.  Also, please read our article post “#Art Hashtags for Artists to Use on Instagram” as a guide for artists who may happen to be new to Instagram.

Follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/LightSpaceTime.Art. 

Every day we get inquiries from artists asking us how they can get their art noticed.  If you are like most artists, there doesn't seem to be enough time to create, promote, market and sell your art. We, at Light Space & Time, believe that there are some relatively easy ways for artists to promote their work on a daily basis.  Here are some ideas and tips that should make promotion easier and more effective for any busy artist:

• Only post on the following social media networks; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. 
• These 5 social media networks are the most popular, most effective and least time-consuming networks in which to participate.
• These networks lend themselves to showcasing and art promotion since their medium is a marriage of visual marketing and visual art.
• All 5 networks should also be monitored by the artist. Any reactions, comments, and shares should be acknowledged by the artist.  Anyone who is not in the artist’s current network should be invited to connect or join by the artist.
• Build and increase these 5 social media networks with other artists, art galleries, and art related professionals.
• Whenever you post something, always include an image or video to draw the reader’s attention to your post.  Video content is more in demand than ever and posting videos on YouTube and other social media is a great way to get your art out there.
  
• In any post, always provide a link back to your website, your art event, your blog or your article post.
• Post articles three times a day. 1. Morning 2. Noon 3. Early Evening. People are active on their social networks in the morning, at lunchtime or at night.  This proposed schedule covers all those users.

Nothing to post?  Find an interesting art related article and post that.  See who comments and shares.  Connect with them and their followers.  The artist who does this every day will build a network of followers and get their art noticed quickly.