How Instagram has Influenced How Artists Can Make Themselves Known

written by Houke de Kwant on March 20, 2022

Instagram has done a lot for artists. There might have been the concept of DeviantArt before it, but it simply didn’t/doesn’t have the effect that Instagram does. Instagram offers a platform that allows customers to come across artists more easily and organically, lots of different formats to display your work, and even the ability to buy your work directly from the site.

So how can you use Instagram to the best of your ability while you are a budding artist? Take a look at our guide for all the details.

By making a portfolio

There is a rising trend in “social media resumes” sweeping the internet. It’s mainly on TikTok and Instagram, which makes sense. Instagram is already the place where you put your best foot forward, whether it’s to cultivate a lifestyle, or show off your passion or even a business. Upgrading this to putting your best foot forward for the sake of an employer was going to be the natural next step.

It is particularly helpful if you have a creative or artistic side. You can post all your work and turn your Instagram account into a portfolio to present to employers. Not only will you display creative skills, but business and marketing skills in the fact that you can cultivate and keep an audience.

Plus, if your employer is old fashioned enough to request a face-to-face interview, you can print off all your favourite posts into an Instagram book and use it as a portfolio for them to browse.

By networking

The point of social media is to get people talking, and that goes for networking too. Typically, LinkedIn is the business networking platform, as it was designed with networking in mind, but there are plenty of other pockets of the internet where you can meet your peers.

Instagram is known for this. Marketers get in touch with influencers for brand deals via their direct messaging service, industry peers can swap advice and collab, all on a platform that offers lots of opportunities to engage with your audience too. Through your audience, you can make it clear that commissions are open, and you are ready to work.

By selling

As mentioned, Instagram even offers the ability to sell your art directly from the site. There is a big push from Meta for both Facebook and Instagram to move into retail territory. They know that users are already finding and researching their buys on social media, so it only makes sense to then allow them to buy from social media.

There are a number of new features that you can use to sell your artwork on Instagram, but the best one is price tags. Post a photo of your work and tag them with a price tag and a link to the site where they can buy it and the customer can take it from there. You can also set up your shop on the app and categorise your artwork for easy browsing straight from the platform.