Say what you will about Snapchat, but you can’t deny that it’s one of the biggest social media revolutions of this day and age, used widely by huge social media influencers.
- As of early 2019, there are over 190 million active users and counting (Engadget).
- There are over 2 million snaps sent every minute (Statista).
- 64% of marketers have a Snapchat account (Adweek).
- On average, users spend 34.5 minutes a day on Snapchat (CNBC).
- As of May 2018, unskippable ads were brought to the platform (Engadget).
On top of that, the human attention span gets shorter as the years go on. Just over the last 12 years, regular attention spans dropped from twelve minutes of targeted attention to five minutes.
And Snapchat provides an ephemeral solution for the quick-paced mind.
It’s all thanks to the ten-second video length restriction. Furthermore, Snapchat’s spontaneity doesn’t require visual content to undergo extensive editing processes to hook an audience, so producing quality content is easy.
In Snapchat, artists have one of the best platforms to produce backstage content (raw and real) for followers. You can also rest assured that your Snaps will be visible to your followers (unlike Facebook posts).
Now that we’ve established that Snapchat is a powerful tool for your art business, it’s time to consider how you can properly utilize it to keep your followers on other platforms engaged and draw in new audiences as well.
Snapchat for Artists: How to increase your art exposure with Snapchat
1. Enable public viewing of your snaps
Snaps are automatically private. And since your goal is exposure, you want everyone to see your Snaps. Luckily, it’s easy to make your Snaps viewable in public by changing your privacy settings.
Navigate to the Snapchat ghost at the top of your phone screen, and click on the Settings icon located at the top right. Scroll down until you find “Who can.” Tap on the the “View My Story” option and choose “Everyone.”
Now, when you add a new Story, your Public audience will be able to see your ten-second videos instead of just your friends.
You can always turn the public viewing on and off to keep things private or broadcast something that you would want your followers to see.
2. Share your QR code or username with your current followers
Your account’s quick response (QR) code, is the barcode that will let people connect easily with you via a product page, a physical product, or a digital location. In recent years, this QR code has become a large part of consumer advertising. So there’s no reason your art career can’t take part in that kind of promotion as well.
You can take screenshots of your Snapchat QR code and promote it across your other social media accounts. That way, your followers on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook can be notified of your new developments and reach you on different platforms. And if you have a website, you can promote it there too.
3. Focus on creating great content
Content is the meat of any social media campaign nowadays—especially for artists looking to promote their work. People are interested in products and services, but they love hearing about artists’ stories and the processes too. So how do you leverage your content to serve exactly what your target audiences want?
Here are 5 ways to do just that:
Put up teasers and Snapchat-exclusive content
A Snapchat account lets your build awareness while encouraging a good amount of hype around the completion of project you’ve been working on for months and months now. You can provide teasers on your other social media accounts as well, but each network’s unique platform also gives you the chance to present your teasers in a way that’s similar and yet not.
The great thing about putting up teasers on Snapchat is that you have a 10-second timeframe. You can include Snap photos as well, showing brief pictures of behind-the-scenes of your biggest events.
Tell your followers about promo codes and artwork sales
No one blames you for selling your works of art (including your mini-projects, your sketches, or little pieces of artistry). You worked hard on them and deserve the acclaim and the fruit of your labors. And this is where promotional contests and codes for your Snaps come in.
Snapping an exclusive code to unlock a valuable resource guide or getting a discount on art merchandise is a lovely way to promote brand recognition as well as cultivate a healthy relationship with your customers.
Promote upcoming shows and hold Q & A’s
Everyone around the world knows that one of the best ways to talk about upcoming shows and events is through social media. And as an artist looking to make a living, making use of a platform like Snapchat lets you broadcast events you participate in, and simultaneously document them for those who live closer to your area to come and join.
Utilize your Snapchat Stories for posting videos detailing the importance of such an event. And don’t forget to mention times, dates, and specific locations. And in connection, do follow-ups on the progress of the event as it happens.
This way, you can show your non-present viewers what’s happening, and the ones that are in the event can make special appearances in your Snapchat story.
For better engagement with fans, a lot of influencers resort to Q & A’s. It’s actually a good idea as Q & A sessions give you and your followers a sort of modified one-on-one time. You don’t have to do it every day, but it’s important to set aside a time and date when you can be available to answer questions from your dedicated followers.
Your fans can send you snaps with questions, or you can promote this social event on your other platforms and pull questions from there to answer on Snapchat.
Highlight behind-the-scenes art creation
Followers and your customers will always love seeing the personality that lies behind your personal brand. And one good way of showing that is through images and videos of your regular day, raw and unedited.
This establishes emotional connections between your followers and your art career, leading to better loyalty and an easier time identifying with you as the individual behind the masterpieces.
Plus, your audience certainly wouldn’t mind uncovering fun stuff you present. Every post on social media doesn’t have to be a sales pitch all the time.
Encourage your followers to sign up for your email list
Social media platforms, like Snapchat, provide entertainment and are conducive to drumming up excitement while offering unique rewards to loyal followers. That’s all well and good, but in addition to social media, you also need a sustainable way to keep in close contact with them and regularly feed them valuable content.
Here’s where your email marketing can come into play. You can encourage your followers to sign up to your email list by mentioning your current campaigns in Snapchat stories. Include visual representations too, so your followers will know what to expect and what’s in it for them.
Final thoughts
Snapchat is a great platform to share fun, creative, and personalized stuff. It’s also a platform that requires constant upkeep due to its ephemeral type of content. But it’s also a great place to interact with your current patrons and even attract new ones, too.
Keep a few of these Snapchat tips in mind to maintain your audience and actively promote your content:
- Build your audience by exporting your Snapchat stories and repurposing them on your other social media channels.
- Experiment with your content and how frequently you reach out to your followers to see what will work for you.
- Have a mix between photos and videos to keep each of your Stories interesting.
- Jump on positive trends that are relevant to your niche.
- Keep it short and sweet
Building your Snapchat following base will take time, so don’t immediately feel discouraged when you don’t see much engagement or increasing followers in the first few days. Everything takes a little bit of time to grow.
Just remember to always be original, and never stop putting out valuable artwork that you know your patrons would love!
Special thanks to Daisy Octaviano from PanelWallArt.com for sharing this post!
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