How to Use Facebook Hashtags for Artists

Many of you have probably noticed that Facebook is now using hash tags. Hashtags are created by using the # symbol in front of a word or phrase. Many have found them useful for finding people with similar interests, participating in conversations, and tracking news around a certain subject. For example, the #art hashtag will bring up several posts related to art – all of them have #art written in them somewhere. These could be postings of artwork by artists, call for entry opportunities, and more.

Hash tags can be very effective for expanding your reach outside your circle of friends. Posts with certain hashtags appear to people who do not even follow you. They also could be a way to organize your own posts by topic - by creating original hashtags not used by anyone else. Although you are probably familiar with Facebook hashtags and how to use them, I thought I would include a few short guidelines here.

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Facebook Tagging

Set your posts to public

The posts with your hash tag will not be visible everywhere if Facebook privacy settings are set for only friends to view posts.

To change privacy settings, hover your cursor over the icon beside the date. This brings up a menu with several privacy settings.

Select Public to share your posts worldwide.
Don’t overuse hashtags

In the short time Facebook hashtags have been around, I have seen many posts overloaded with hashtags. Overusing hash tags is looked upon as a form of spam, and gives the appearance of unprofessionalism.
Keep the hash tag on topic

The hashtag should make sense to what you are posting about. Don’t just include hashtags for the sake of including them. Use them to direct your message to a specific group of people who would want to see it. For example, when posting an abstract painting, use #abstractpainting. This makes sense, right?

But, related to the posts I have seen with overloaded hashtags, I have seen many people use them without staying on topic. Maybe they are hoping to reach as many people as possible.

But, when a post ends up in an unrelated conversation, many regard it as spam. Some annoyed users may report it as spam by clicking the down arrow at the top of a post, and selecting Report Story or Spam. It could thereby be in danger of not appearing anywhere on Facebook. Avoiding this is simple – always stay on topic.
Start a conversation

If there is something you would like to know more about, or you have a question, create a unique hashtag related to the topic.
Useful Hashtags for Artists

#artforsale – lists artwork people are selling. Hopefully some buyers know about this hashtag.
#instartist
#artoftheday
#gallery
#exhibition
#artoftheday
#handpainted
#modernart
#contemporaryart
#abstract
#abstractart
#painting
#creative

If there are others not mentioned here, please let us know in the comments.
Searching for Facebook likes for your page

For Facebook page users, there are some hashtags available for people wanting likes for their pages. I really do not know how effective these are, since I have not used them. #like #tagsforlikes #fblke #followme #follow4follow #likemypage

Some of these are filled with spam, so use at your own discretion.

But for artists, I propose we start a new one: #arts4s, which stands for “art share for share”. All that you will have to do is post your page once, and include the #arts4s hashtag. Like the pages of the posted artists, then message them and say “arts4s – please like back”.

I will be using #artpromotivate in many of my Facebook posts. So, this will be a great way to keep certain posts organized. You can also use this one if you have something very useful to share.

Do you have any other ways of using Facebook hashtags?

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