Instagram is a powerful social media platform for artists, and unique in its focus on visuals rather than text.

Your Instagram profile page features a grid of all the images you’ve posted, along with a profile photo, and a short description of yourself and your work. But the immediate impact is almost completely visual because of the colorful, varied grid of images. They create a compelling invitation for a deeper dive. 

Instagram is regarded as one of the most effective social media platforms for selling art—it is widely used by collectors, curators, and galleries to scout new work and follow favorite artists.

As a way of introducing others to your work or showing your latest pieces, your Instagram account is at least as effective as a website, and many artists now include their Instagram usernames as part of their basic contact information. 

“Instagram is regarded as one of the most effective social media platforms for selling art”

Profiling Your Art: 

To illustrate the visual impact Instagram offers, here is a screenshot of an Instagram profile that shows part of the grid of images. All images are cropped to square in this view but clicking on any individual piece takes you to a full view.

When choosing what to post for your own grid, use only your best work and photos. Think of each image as having the power to either captivate or discourage a new follower of your work. You want other people who are scrolling through their home page or pursuing lists of artists to be impressed enough to visit your profile for a deeper look. 

Artists on Instagram are often encouraged tell a story with their posts, in the sense of allowing followers of their work to understand more about them as artists. So along with images of your main work, you may want to include the occasional photo of your studio, your work in other media, your tools, or what inspires you.

On the other hand, for the most professional impression, avoid personal photos that do not add meaning to your art story. This would include most selfies, pet pictures, vacation snapshots, and so on. (You can set up a second Instagram account for personal use if you wish.) 

Be clear to the viewer about what you are posting. For example, showing work in progress is often interesting to other artists (although perhaps less so to collectors and curators). 

But it is smart to indicate in some way that this is not finished work—for example, by showing the piece on your easel or with your hand and brush in the photo. And include that fact in the written description. The advice is similar for close up, detail shots—try to avoid the impression that you are showing the complete work. Describe it as a detail, and perhaps show the finished work in a larger view (you can upload more than one photo in a single post.). 

Consider the overall visual effect of your grid by varying the colors and kinds of images you post to create an interesting look. The effect is a bit like a collage of who you are and what you do when someone visits your profile page. 

Also please note that according to Instagram policy, all photos must be ones that you have taken yourself or own the rights to. 

There’s more to Instagram than posting photos. To the left is the top of the same profile page showing the information that viewers see about you, and the icons you can use to access additional features:

Your profile page is a simple format, easy and intuitive to use—it includes your photo, a limited amount of background/bio information and most prominently, and the grid of images (clicking on each brings up a larger image with description).  Small icons across the top of the page show various options for you to explore.

Clicking on the home page symbol takes you to the posts of other people you follow, the paper airplane icon indicates any private messages, the small diamond brings you to suggestions for new people to follow, and the heart indicates comments on your posts. You can also see the number of people following you and the number that you follow. 

You can find plenty of information online about the benefits of Instagram for artists and tips for how to use it effectively. But these key points provide a basic understanding to allow you to get started:

Sign on to Instagram using the app on your phone, choose a username (the name other people will see and know you as when using Instagram), fill in your basic bio information and a photo of yourself (or one of your artworks ) and you are ready to start posting your work. 

Simply click on the + sign on your profile page and you will see the camera roll on your phone displayed—scroll through and choose the shot you want to post. You can also upload to Instagram starting from your picture app, selecting the photo you want and clicking the upload icon. Instagram will then ask you to choose to crop the image to square or show the full image if it’s not square, and you’ll also be offered various filters to change the look of the photo. Since  you are aiming at accurate portrayal of your work, most of the time you will stick with the original shot. 

“The best hashtags are general enough that other people will think of using them, but specific enough to target your audience.”

#hashtags: 

With each post, you have the opportunity to type in hashtags. Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the # sign that are used to search Instagram for relevant posts. The best hashtags are general enough that other people will think of using them, but specific enough to target your audience. For example, you might use #newmexicoartist, #pleinairenewmexico, #abstractoilpainting. For the Tour, use #dixon_studio_tour. You can certainly include hashtags that are more general, like #watercolor, but your chances of attracting an audience are better if you are more specific. You can choose up to 30 hashtags per post. Most people keep a list that they can copy/paste in rather than having to type them in each time. 

Remember that you can also use hashtags for your own artist searches. Try some phrases out and see what you find—hashtags are a direct channel to the kinds of art that you like to see. Visiting those profiles can also offer ideas of what hashtags are being used and which appeal to you for your own use.  

Make sure that with each image you post, you include important information like dimensions and media. Some artists have reported that posting prices leads to being flagged by Instagram as a commercial site, which involves another level of complication. So the best policy for pricing seems to be to indicate that the piece is “available” and to invite inquiries via the message feature on the site. 

Lots of people choose clever or unusual usernames, but if you want people who follow your work to find you easily, your actual name works best (using all lowercase letters with no spaces.) Usernames need not reveal who is posting, but if the purpose of your account is self-promotion, there is really no reason to hide your identity. 

A common recommendation for artists is to post as often as possible. This keeps people engaged with your work and invites followers. The actual frequency is up to you of course, but anywhere from once a day to once a week seems to work for most people. There are also apps available that allow you to schedule posts ahead of time—so if you have just finished a series, for example, you could arrange to have all the work posted on closely spaced future dates.

“…it is not enough to simply set up an account and expect people to find you.”

As with all social media and your website, it is not enough to simply set up an account and expect people to find you. Publicize your Instagram username by sending it to your mailing list, putting it on your website and business cards, and including it in your email signature. 

And finally, once you understand the basics, research more tips and advice if you want to go further. There are countless articles with specifics about topics like posting schedules, hashtags, and gaining followers, and using other Instagram features like Stories. That said, even a basic approach can gain you many followers and help spread the word about what you create. 

Please feel free to share any other tips or tricks you may have to make Instagram easier and more effective to use. We hope to refine and improve on these skillshares every year!