You’ve decided to start sharing your art with the world, that’s awesome! Next you might wonder how to make the best out of this opportunity, and what are some tried and tested ways to get new followers and keep them happy. In this article we’ll discuss a bit about some great ways to create a place in the market for yourself and also show you some examples from some artists who are masters at this.

Immerse yourself in social media 

I have to start with an obvious point because this is one of the easiest things to do to get any type of audience nowadays. Social media can be both very fun as well as infuriating considering the constant algorithm changes that have even seasoned artists angry.

While at first the idea of being active in as many places as possible might seem very appealing, it’s best to start with baby steps and only take it one platform at a time. This way you can master the ins and outs properly, keep active on it AND still have time to create your art.

After all, although it seems very easy, social media management is a job in itself and, therefore, can be very time consuming. Now that you’re here use this opportunity to discover other interesting creatives and allow yourself to get inspired!

Look at what your favourite artists are doing on social media and ask yourself: how often do they post, how do they phrase their descriptions, what type of content do they post, what hashtags are they using? Knowledge is power and this is information readily available so why not make the best out of it?

Tell a story 

Storytelling is one of the greatest tools artists have at their disposal nowadays and a lot of them do not even realise it! Stories sell, and with them you can you can create a unique connection with your audience.

Let’s take the band Avatar as an example: for their previous conceptual album release ‘Feathers and Flesh’, the story could not be contained in just a song form, so they also released a 60-page poem hardcover book to go hand in hand and deliver a unique experience for their fans.

With their upcoming ‘Legend of Avatar Country’ record, the band wanted to take it one step further: after careful marketing of Avatar Country wherever the band appears online, creating the nickname ‘citizens’ (of Avatar Country) for their fans, to engage them in the story, and releasing 3 videos (one of them can be viewed below) all telling the story of this country and its king, they did something even bigger than before.

The band released a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the movie ‘Legend of Avatar Country’ and give fitting perks to the loyal citizens helping them out. The campaign reached its goal in 90 minutes.

Be approachable/Relatable

Much like telling a story, being approachable, showing the person behind the art and overall being relatable is a great way to create a supportive fanbase. People will feel closer to you and it creates a sense of intimacy that big corporations do not have: you are an artist not a machine. Although at times it may seem tricky to share your feelings with the world, especially if you’re an introvert, remember that your followers are also fellow human beings, and they might be very curious about who you are.

Interact with your followers

From the get-go it is really important to create a give and take dynamic with your fans. Show interest in them and they will return the favour. Notice them, ask for feedback and listen to what they have to say.

However, keep in mind to stay true to yourself and take comments/criticism with a grain of salt. Putting yourself out there requires a thick skin and with the power of the internet people often voice opinions and thoughts they would never express in real life.

Copyright: Alexändra Sleäze

A great example of an influencer who has mastered follower interaction is Psychara. Although she has well over 200k followers on her social platforms, she takes the time to interact with them as much as possible, answer comments and questions and give back to the community.

Giveaways – give something back

This applies both to situations where you want to grow your follower number as well as to solidifying existing relationships. Creating special giveaways and giving something back to the ones who have showed love and support does not have to take much from you.

It can be as simple or elaborate as you’d want it to be, personalised or not, and you would definitely make the winner’s day when they receive something pretty from you.

Last but not least, be patienT

In all honesty, growing your fanbase can be the fastest or the slowest process ever and sometimes one could be doing all the right things and still get nothing, or not right away. Growing overnight is something many of us wish to achieve but the reality is a lot of the people we look up to, with a big following, have probably gone through really good and really bad times but never gave up.

In conclusion, growing and maintaining your fanbase is a long process and it requires a lot of attention and time. Patience is a must, as well as being yourself. Strive to be the best version of yourself you can be and remember to tell a story or two. Be consistent and persistent and don’t forget to take everything with a grain of salt.

These are just some tips to get you started. We are always available to help you if this turns out to be too time consuming and you just want to focus on your art. You can reach us through the contact form on our landing page.

If you want to learn more about social media generally and what you can do as an artist to get the best out of it, subscribing to our newsletter could be very useful. We only send one e-mail per month to keep you in the loop and don’t spam you with useless information, we know your time is valuable.