Facebook is a great place to show your art and start connecting with potential buyers.
Fb's mission statement
"Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."Facebook has terms of service, you should know them.
- Registration and Account Security
Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account: - You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
- You will not create more than one personal account.
- If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.
You will not use your personal timeline primarily for your own commercial gain, and will use a Facebook Page for such purposes.
- You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.
- You will not use Facebook if you are a convicted sex offender.
- You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.
- You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.
- You will not transfer your account (including any Page or application you administer) to anyone without first getting our written permission.
- If you select a username or similar identifier for your account or Page, we reserve the right to remove or reclaim it if we believe it is appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).
https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
Now that the legal mumbo jumbo is out of the way, let's get started.
Facebook Personal Profile
Your personal profile is your regular Facebook account.Let your friends know that your art practice is an important part of your life. Take them on the journey with you. Let them help you celebrate your achievements and give them some behind the scene sneak peeks.
Here are a variety of ways you can talk about your art on your personal profile. You're a creative person, keep it creative and fun.
Post about yourself as an artist on a regular basis, always with an image. For now, let's say "regular basis" is at least once a week. I am not a Facebook expert, but the Fb experts I have learned from say that more *engaged* people are with your posts the better. That means the more comments and like you get, the more your Fb posts will show up in your friends' news feed / timeline.
Basic things you can do on Facebook
- Use the featured photos section on your personal profile home page to show your artwork. You'll find it on the left hand side of the page. There can be 5 featured photos.
- Create a photo album titled "my artwork" and add to it on a regular basis.
- Use Canva, or some graphic design site, to create invitations to shows, open houses, studio tours, etc. Save the invitations to your photos. Use the photo/invitation as a post to let people know about your upcoming events. Post the invitations more than once.
- The *Event* Facebook app is kind of dead. The one that asks people if they are going or are interested. These events gets very little engagement, so if you use it make it as interesting and creative as possible.
- Your art posts should have variety, not just your finished artwork. Show yourself in an art class, your work on the easel, your favorite art supplies, you at an art opening, with a collector and your work hanging on the walls. Keep it interesting by changing it up.
- Ask questions in your posts to get response and foster dialog. "I dipped my paint brush in my coffee cup instead of my water! Has this ever happened to you?" "I'm having a hard time coming up with a title for this rooster, got any ideas?"
- Reply to every comment to start building relationships with people. This means, hit the reply button on the comment so you are replying directly to the person making the comment.
- Comment on your own posts with a little extra info. Now you already have a comment and Fb will see this as engagement.
- Understand that "likes/thumbs up" are probably not going to foster sales. But they do let Facebook know who is reacting to your posts and helps keep your posts showing up in their feed/timeline.
- At this time, 2018, Facebook loves video. If you post a video or livestream video you will reach more viewers.
- The Facebook app on your phone now has a place where you can put a temporary bio. If you are doing any shows or events or you can post them here. Or link to your website, etc.
- Use the social media prompts exercise to help you create posts.
- Your cover image (the long skinny photo at the top of your personal profile page) can link to your website or Etsy shop or other online sales page. Here's how. When you change your cover photo it will create a post that says, so and so has just created a new cover photo (or something like that). It will show up as a post you can edit. To edit a post click on the 3 little dots on the upper right hand side of the post. You can add text with a URL link that people can click on to get to your website. Whenever someone clicks on and views your cover image they will see the text with the link. To get people to click on your cover photo, create a cover photo using Canva that contains text that says "click here". It doesn't matter where the text is within the image.
Here's an example of how it will look on someone's smartphone if they click your cover image. The comment is at the bottom with a clickable link.
Here are examples of cover images inviting people to visit my website. These were made using Canva.
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| Here's a way I recently used one of Facebook's suggested memory posts. In the "say something about this" spot I took the opportunity to let people know I'm still painting, working on being a better painter and teaching classes. |
Facebook Page
A Facebook Page is sometimes called a Fan Page or a Business Page. Facebook allows you to do commerce on a Facebook Page.
Important update: January 2018
Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, announced that Facebook would be giving posts by friends and family priority over commercial posts in the news feed. This means that posts on Facebook pages will show up less often in their page followers feed. If you have a page it will be more important than ever to create engaging posts.
Important update: January 2018
Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, announced that Facebook would be giving posts by friends and family priority over commercial posts in the news feed. This means that posts on Facebook pages will show up less often in their page followers feed. If you have a page it will be more important than ever to create engaging posts.
For a Facebook page;
- You must have a personal profile in order to create a page
- Your page name is different than you profile name. You can name your page whatever you like. Your name plus studio or art or paintings etc is probably best.
- Jane Doe Art - Jane Doe Studio - John Doe Pottery, you get the idea. If your artwork is known by it's own name, such as "Firebird Studio", use that name.
- Facebook pages are very easy to create.
- You have followers rather than friends.
Facebook Page Pros
- Your page will have sections that allow you to do all kinds of things, such as a shop where you can link to items you have for sale.
- Your page is all about you! It's a place where talking about yourself and your work is expected. You can educate your fans and take them on the journey with you without seeming to be bragging or boring.
- People choose to follow your page. You can invite people to follow your page. You can remove an obnoxious followers, or block their comments.
- Your page has analytics that show you who is looking at your page and when they are looking. It can tell you information about them such as age, gender and where they live.
- You can target your audience.
Facebook Page Cons
- Your Facebook friends are not automatically your page fans. You have to reach out and invite and develop an audience.
- If you don't post to your page on a regular basis your page looks lame and forsaken. It looks unprofessional. I would say that regular is at least twice a week.
- Your Facebook Page posts will not automatically show up in your fans newsfeed. You have to create posts that your fans react to and engage with in order to reach more of your fans.
- Your Facebook Page followers may be mostly other artists, rather than art collectors.
Things you can and should do if you have a Fb Page
- Link your cover photo to your website or other online presence if you have one. (just like on your personal profile.
- In the work section of your personal profile link to your Facebook page.
- Share your page posts to your personal timeline. When it asks you to say something about this, add something, don't leave it blank.
- Don't ask for a sale every time you post. Facebook frowns on that. Share your journey and insights most of the time. Then occasionally mention a new item in your store with a link, or a sale on your website, or the release of a new print or painting series.
- Use the social media prompts in this class to create posts.
What to say:
Tell short stories about your art experiences in classes and workshops.
Answer questions you've been asked, such as, "Have you always been an artist?" Did you go to art school? etc.
Talk about which artists have inspired you, where you find inspiration.
Tip: keep it short and casual, like a conversation. If it gets to long viewers will have to press the *read more* link and they very often don't. Any important info should be given first.
What to show:
Show Images of
- The painting, remember to crop out the crap :D
- The painting on the easel
- You in a class or workshop, or the classroom with all the students.
- You in an art discussion group, such as a critique
- Your materials
- Your outdoor gear, your outdoor gear after the wind has knocked it down.
- You with customers
- Sold work hanging in customers' homes
- You receiving a prize, other artists receiving a prize. It's good to share the love.
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