Social Media for Visual Artists: A Multi-Case Study
Disciplines
English Language and Literature
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Historically, visual artists relied largely on galleries and art shows to sell their work, but with the rise of social media, more artists are taking advantage of its reach to increase their exposure, invite commissions, and generate sales. Previous research suggests that the number of galleries is staying constant while the number of artists is growing, leaving many talented artists with few choices other than online marketing. Little scholarly research exists studying social media marketing for artists. The purpose of this multi-case study is to examine social media marketing strategies of individual artists. This quantitative and qualitative multi-case study of three painters was conducted using content analysis of their Instagram and Facebook activity from November 1, 2023 to February 23, 2024. The research questions were 1) how do they use the affordances of Instagram and Facebook to build community and interact with their followers 2) how do they use social media to boost their exposure and sales and 3) how do they maintain their brand images with authenticity and confidence, and do they adhere to a recognized “style” of painting? For the quantitative research, the number of posts, comments, replies to comments, hashtags, Instagram stories, and Instagram Highlights were calculated. Average caption length for each artist was also calculated. For the qualitative research, the similarities and differences between their target audiences, marketing strategies, brand identities, consistency of content, levels of personalization, goals of social media, authenticity, and confidence were analyzed. The conclusions indicate that even though each artist had unique goals and marketing strategies, connectivity, authenticity, and confidence were critical to success. Furthermore, having a distinct artistic “style” was evident with each artist. The results of this limited case study suggest that more study is needed to benefit artists who use social media to market their art.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - English
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Dr. Laura McGrath
Social Media for Visual Artists: A Multi-Case Study
Historically, visual artists relied largely on galleries and art shows to sell their work, but with the rise of social media, more artists are taking advantage of its reach to increase their exposure, invite commissions, and generate sales. Previous research suggests that the number of galleries is staying constant while the number of artists is growing, leaving many talented artists with few choices other than online marketing. Little scholarly research exists studying social media marketing for artists. The purpose of this multi-case study is to examine social media marketing strategies of individual artists. This quantitative and qualitative multi-case study of three painters was conducted using content analysis of their Instagram and Facebook activity from November 1, 2023 to February 23, 2024. The research questions were 1) how do they use the affordances of Instagram and Facebook to build community and interact with their followers 2) how do they use social media to boost their exposure and sales and 3) how do they maintain their brand images with authenticity and confidence, and do they adhere to a recognized “style” of painting? For the quantitative research, the number of posts, comments, replies to comments, hashtags, Instagram stories, and Instagram Highlights were calculated. Average caption length for each artist was also calculated. For the qualitative research, the similarities and differences between their target audiences, marketing strategies, brand identities, consistency of content, levels of personalization, goals of social media, authenticity, and confidence were analyzed. The conclusions indicate that even though each artist had unique goals and marketing strategies, connectivity, authenticity, and confidence were critical to success. Furthermore, having a distinct artistic “style” was evident with each artist. The results of this limited case study suggest that more study is needed to benefit artists who use social media to market their art.