3 Marketing Strategies Every Artist Should Implement

Social MediaSocial media marketing is a strategy that is just that, social. It is typically done on an Internet platform that engages the public in your content via your computer, smartphone or tablet. Social media allows your target consumers to engage with you and your brand. Some of the most common social media platforms used in marketing today are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Managing your Social Media Marketing can be very time-consuming. So, I recommend focusing your time and content on a few sites. Here are some recommendations:Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are visual platforms that will connect your art with customers. With Facebook you can create a business page this is separate from your personal page. The business page will allow you to create a community of followers that can like, comment, and share your images and content. Instagram has the same basic framework as Facebook in that you can create multiple profiles and navigate between them within the app on your phone. This similarity is nice if you have a personal and a business profile. Instagram is a social media outlet that focuses on images which are perfect for visual artists. Again, you can create a community of followers. For Instagram, the usage of the hashtag is vital in generating traffic to your profile, unlike Facebook that is better built on sending requests and calling for people to share your page.YouTube allows the public to take a step into your studio to see you working on your most current pieces. It may not seem like YouTube is a form of social media but in fact, by definition it is. Social media is any networking platform that allows users to communicate and connect in a social way. Due to the ability to like, share, and comment on videos on YouTube it is truly a social network. YouTube is actually a social media platform before it is a video marketing technique. In the next section, I will share a bit of information about how you can turn this social media platform into a video marketing tool!Video MarketingVideo marketing is meant to call your consumer or viewer to action. For a video, you create to be considered video marketing it should either generate interest back to your website or to something they will need to pay for in order to gain additional access. Videos are a great way to share your talent with the public and generate interest in your art. Videos also allow your followers and subscribers to get to know you. Viewers enjoy the feeling of developing a relationship with you. When you can create a sense of loyalty, your viewers can become some of your best marketing partners because they may share your videos with their friends.Since YouTube is free this is a great way to share videos that focus on your art technique or provide short free tutorials for a specific art medium. Don’t forget for this to be a marketing technique it needs to generate something the viewer will need to act upon or purchase. By running a link at the end of your video to send them to your website or offering more in-depth instructional videos for a price at the end, will qualify as a video marketing tool. With YouTube, you can create a channel that may focus on the techniques of your particular style of art or you can post instructional videos with step-by-step information to complete a unique piece of artwork. Free and low-cost video editing software, like Apple’s iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, is available to allow you to truly customize your videos before uploading to YouTube.Let’s use a watercolor artist who focuses on floral still life, as an example. The artist posts a 5-minute painting tutorial on the subject matter of roses on YouTube. The video was created through the iMovie software that comes standard on most Apple computers currently. At the end of the free 5-minute video, the artist then advertises a paid 30-minute video from their website that will walk the viewer through painting a floral still life with roses from start to finish. The webcam and software come standard with Apple products. The cost for creating this example of video marketing was free.Social Media and video marketing are both virtual ways to reach your target audience. A low-cost type of marketing that is more tactile and leaves a lasting impression on your audience is through guerrilla marketing.Guerilla MarketingGuerilla marketing is a grassroots, low-cost, fun, and in-your-face marketing strategy. Often guerrilla marketing takes the form of visual art like spray paint tags or unique posters and decals allowing it to seem like a natural fit for visual artists. This marketing strategy is meant to create interest and cause the bystander to be curious enough to investigate the advertisement. It takes more imagination and creativity than money to make guerrilla marketing work for you.Implementing guerrilla marketing can be a fun and exciting. Some ideas for guerrilla marketing might be to use vinyl stickers or paper posters; this is called wild posting. Walking billboards or quick pop up galleries of work in public places are another trending approach. It should also be stated that legal issues can arise in regard to how or where wild posting and pop-up galleries appear. Posting decals or posters can cause an issue especially if they are placed on paid advertising or local, state or federal fixtures. In most municipalities, there are permits that are required for setting up in public places. Don’t let the risk of legal infringement deter you from using this strategy. With the proper research and planning, guerrilla marketing can be a quick and fun way to create buzz about your art.Social media, video marketing, and guerrilla marketing are ways to increase awareness and create artist loyalty from the community near and far. Successful marketing will help you increase brand awareness and loyalty among art consumers.

How Do You Monitor Your Social Brand?

It’s essential for you to establish your presence in different social networking sites. This is where most people are currently talking and connecting with others, so you would be amiss if you don’t use these different platforms for engaging your audience.

Word of mouth marketing is more important than ever yet is also a double-edged sword. It has also become vital to your personal brand that you monitor what’s being said about you. Social brand monitoring needs to be an essential part of your personal brand communication plan.

There are many reasons why monitoring your brand can help you in your career or business.

Here are some of them:

1. It helps you understand how your brand is perceived

As a personal brand, it is essential that you know how your audience views you. If the feedback is mostly positive, then you must be doing something right and you seem to be on the right track.

On the other hand, if the feedback you’re getting is mostly negative, then you need to start reassessing. Your reputation is suffering, which is not going to be good for your personal brand. It’s essential that you understand how people perceive you, in order to make changes and improve your brand.

2. It helps you stay ahead in your industry

Monitoring your personal brand, related keywords, and your competitors can help you stay ahead in your industry. It keeps you up to date about the current trends, so you know how to keep your skills and knowledge sharp and dynamic. You don’t want to get left behind as others move forward and embrace what’s new.

3. It helps you make informative decisions regarding your brand

Personal brand monitoring helps you make informative and educated decisions regarding your brand. It gives you a more targeted outreach, and helps you learn what would best engage your audience.

4. It helps you know your audience, your connections

With social brand monitoring, you can learn about your audience’s demographics, and gain insights on what your audience wants. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to enhance their experience and deliver a more targeted message.

Monitoring your personal brand in social media helps you respond to your fans and followers, and really know who they are – not just who you ‘think’ they are. You can learn what engages them, and what doesn’t.

5. It helps you facilitate and filter what’s being said about you

By monitoring your social brand, you can respond to what’s being said about you and try to filter that message. The worst thing you can do is ignore any issues that comes up regarding your brand – you need to address them as soon as possible. That early intervention can prevent something that is small from becoming an issue.

Brand monitoring is essential

In the dynamic and highly competitive world of today, to achieve success, you need to be aware of your reputation. Learn your strengths and weaknesses so you can become a better personal brand.

You see, conversations about your brand happen whether you listen to them or not. So it is in your best interest to find out what people are saying about you.

Here are some tips to help you monitor your brand:

1. Use Twitter Search and Twitter management tools
Twitter Search is a great way to find out who’s talking about your brand and what they’re saying. Use it with a Twitter management tool such as Tweetdeck or HootSuite so you can continuously monitor what people are saying about you.

2. Use the Google Email Alert System
It’s easy and convenient to sign up for Google Alerts so that every time someone mentions your brand or keyword, Google sends it straight to your email inbox so you learn about it.

3. Use SocialMention
Another excellent tool for monitoring your social brand is SocialMention. It monitors more than a hundred sites directly, so you can quickly know who’s talking about you and your brand. You also have the ability to click on the link where your brand is mentioned, enabling you to answer or enter into a conversation with them.

4. Use Brand-Yourself
This is a great free tool that shows you were your search results are when people Google you and what links of information are already out there about you. My favorite part of this tool is that it’s an organic Google Search that you are working with – not a custom search with a link to that search. You are getting feedback and insights when people actually search you on the web. We’ll be discussing this tool more in future posts and on the twitter chat I moderate, #brandchat, this coming Wednesday, March 28th.

Special Training For Brain Development Of Kids

Many researchers have proven the fact that functioning of brain cells of infants is twice active as adult’s brain. Neurons are the brain cells that connect together and power of neuron have the potential of a PC. Connectivity of neurons decides the smartness or intelligence of individuals. In human, brain development and the learning ability of an individual is 50% in the first four years of age. The nerves of individuals are reduced as they grow up and this is why the 1000 trillion nerves present in an 8 months baby are reduced to 500 trillion as it grows up. A child that has given more opportunities to explore will be much smart.

A majority of children, more than 90% of them use their left brain, but the imperative fact to remember is the right brain must also be utilized. Education system present in almost all the schools is designed to develop or use the left brain. Right brain is never the less significant because it is responsible for creativity, arts, feeling, imagination, visualizing, daydreaming, rhythm, holistic thinking and many others. Hence it is equally important to develop both side of brain. It is also most important to take steps to keep both the brain much active, by keeping them to perform analytically on an equal basis. It is the responsibility of parents to give activities to their children that ensures the involvement of both brain. If both brain used by children it is probable to enhance their learning power and they can also increase their brain power. If brain development programs are offered to children they can make most of the program and develop their skills to give work to both side of brain and remains high in intelligence level. Development of brain in human beings is based on the degree of how much it is used. If it is left unused there are more probabilities for individuals to lose as brain works on the basis of use it or lose it.

To ensure the progressive brain development in children, it is the role of parents to introduce their children with a reputable brain development program. Most of the experts suggest step by step educational program to the children which is systemic and efficient. Nowadays it is very simple to find out a lot of schools which not only gives importance to academic program, but they also boost the creativity of children through their extracurricular activities. It is probable to search internet and get hold of relevant schools that present with a variety of activities to stimulate the brain and encourage the development of children. A total development program to stimulate mental activity of children is also found out in the online sites and parents can try out these activities with their children while they are at home. Getting education from a school that implements total development program is much beneficial. Search for such schools and secure admission to enhance the future of the children and boosts in brain development.