Social Media

Test Your Social Media Effort

As I said in last week’s post: In marketing your art, there are no absolutes. Everything is a test.

That was about testing your email marketing results.

This week I want to look at testing your social media results, and the same principle applies: Everything is a test.

4 For-Sure Facts

I’m absolutely certain about these 4 things when it comes to testing social media:

1. The payoff for investing your effort into social media will be greater if you focus on your foundation (website, blog, email list) first.

Without this foundation in place, social media isn’t as useful. You need to have a place to send people – an online portfolio to show off your art and/or your expertise if you’re a teacher.

2. You can share a post similar to someone else’s and get radically different results.

This is why we read that the best time to post to your Facebook business page is at 11:30 am in one place and 6:30 am in another. You have a unique list of followers and have to see for yourself.

3. Your level of enthusiasm will show in what you post.

The greater your

Test Your Social Media Effort Read

©Kristen Watson, Digital Immigrant. Used with permission.

Why You Need an Editorial Calendar (and How To Make One)

An editorial calendar is a roadmap for your marketing content.

An editorial calendar buys you peace of mind because you don’t have to scramble for what to say or share. Ideas are stored and worked on over time rather than in a panic at the last minute.

Wouldn’t it feel great to have ideas lined up for your newsletter or blog for the next six months?

Another big reason to use an editorial calendar is that it helps you remember the important things you want to say. You know … those things you forget about until immediately after you’ve clicked the Send button?

For example, let’s say you are teaching a workshop six months from now. You would add promotional content to your editorial calendar for the month or two prior to your workshop, and perhaps even before that time if you had an early registration period.

Those are placeholders for the future. When that time comes, you just

Why You Need an Editorial Calendar (and How To Make One) Read

Marcie Scudder's On This Very Day photograph

5 Recommendations for Online Success

It used to be that the only way artists knew to promote their art was to send 35-millimeter slide packets to a gallery. That was about $30 worth of slides with first-class postage and a return envelope with the same amount of postage.

It was expensive, and the packets often disappeared into the ether. Lots of money down the drain, and artists complained.

Now you can instantly promote your art through any number of online portals – for FREE!

Artists continue to complain because now there are too many options. You could spend all of your time online promoting your art instead of making it. Bad idea.

You’re an artist, and artists make art. Without the art, you have nothing to promote and no way to earn income from your art.

Instead of wasting a lot of time online, learn to spend your time wisely so that your efforts are rewarded and not squandered. Dedicate your online time to creating the most valuable content you can possibly share with your admirers.

Quality over quantity.

Here are 5 recommendations for content creation success, which lead to online success.

5 Recommendations for Online Success Read

Lorelei Land Caricature

Mean People: When Your Soul Has Been Swiped by the Grinch

A hateful email hits your inbox.

A surly comment is left on your blog.

A nasty response is added to one of your Facebook posts.

How Do You Respond to Mean People?

I have plenty of experience with this and confess that I’ve used all of the following suggestions (except perhaps #2) at one point or another.

Your response to malicious words will depend on the level of wickedness.

If there is any question of intent in the language, make sure you’re not misreading their words. It’s easy to misunderstand email, so ask for clarification if there is any doubt.

Try this -> “Hey, Rex, I’m not sure if I’m reading this correctly, so please help. Did you mean to imply that … ?”

Armed with your answer, you can move on to any of these responses.

Mean People: When Your Soul Has Been Swiped by the Grinch Read

Painting of a bird by Linda Nolte

Stop Wasting Time on Social Media

Are you wasting time trying to promote your art on social media sites?

I’m not implying that you shouldn’t be on those sites. I’m just wondering if you’re using them to their potential.

It’s not that you need to be posting and sharing more. It’s that you want to make sure your effort is worth it for you. In other words, you should invest in quality, not quantity.

If you don’t, you might be wasting time.

Mindful sharing will bring you more friends, more shares, and more likes, which results in more people to buy your art or to offer you opportunities. It’s not only more rewarding, it’s also more fun.

Here are some tips to help ensure that you’re spending time wisely online.

Pick Your Platforms

Think of all the photos you have to take. The videos you intend to make. The words you need to write. So. Much. Work.

You don’t have to be everywhere.

You don’t have time to be everywhere!

Stop Wasting Time on Social Media Read

22 Social Media Updates That Won't Bore Your Followers | Art Biz Coach

22 Social Media Updates About Your Show That Won’t Bore Your Followers

You’re having an exhibition of your art. Congratulations!

The promotional postcards are designed and ready to be sent. Check! You’ve planned a couple of emails to your list. Check!

Now … what can you share with your friends, fans, and followers that is more interesting than “Come see my show!” but relates the message that they’re really going to miss out if they’re not there?

How do you tweet, post, shoot, and pin your exhibition without boring your followers and yourself?

22 Social Media Updates About Your Show That Won’t Bore Your Followers Read

©Sherri Woodard Coffey, The Zebra in My Head. Weft-faced ikat, hand-dyed wool on cotton warp, 27.75 x 48.25 inches. Used with permission.)

A Mission for Each of Your Social Media Channels

“I am setting up a social media plan, and I am a little confused about how to use external sites (like Facebook, Twitter, etc.) in addition to my blog. . . . I feel like any update that I could post on Facebook, I’d also like to post on my blog. In other words, how can I avoid duplicate content everywhere?” – Sarah
Good question for evaluating your social media strategy. Let’s establish from the get-go that there’s nothing wrong with duplicate content. Odds are quite slim that the same people would see the same content in all places.

A Mission for Each of Your Social Media Channels Read

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