10 Things Artists Should NOT Do When Promoting Art on Facebook

Facebook is currently the largest social network with over one billion active monthly users. With such a huge number, it is no wonder that many artists spend so much time there marketing art to the masses. Making a good impression is just as important on social media websites as it is in the real world. If we annoy people with continuous posting, this gives us a bad image which some may remember for a long time. Remember, Facebook is a public site and it doesn’t take much for something to be seen by thousands of eyes, especially if it is controversial.

 

 

While we promote art on Facebook, we must protect our online reputation, and follow standard web etiquette. Be careful what you post, and avoid doing these things I mention below.

 

1. Do not post too much to one group or page per day, or at a time.

   
   It may be a bad idea to bombard your followers with multiple posts at once. Depending on their notification settings, they may receive multiple emails flooding their email inbox.
   
   Spamming may not be intentional, but you may be accused of it. Try to space your posts out throughout the day. If you cannot log in at certain times, consider using Buffer, which is a very useful tool to space out your posts.
   
   

2. Using your profile for your art business instead of a Facebook page.

   
   A Facebook profile is intended to be for personal purposes, while Facebook pages are for business. If you have family and friends at your Facebook profile, they may be posting personal information about you and tagging you in personal photographs.
   
   Sharing your art with your Facebook friends is still a good idea, but professional contacts ideally should not have access to your personal life, unless they are friends as well.
   
   
   
   

3. Not updating Facebook pages regularly.

   
   Having a Facebook page is highly recommended for all artists, but not posting updates at a regular pace may stunt the growth of your page. Not only that, but your regular followers may get the impression that you are an inactive artist. New visitors may not follow if they see an inactive FB Timeline. If you do not have time to post daily, try a couple times a week. Pages left for months without being updated become stale, and may leave a negative impression on the artist.
   
   

4. Deleting your photos after uploading them to Facebook.

   
   This could be a very big mistake. Facebook reduces the quality of your photographs, unless you use the high quality feature. But, this can be a bad idea, especially if your images are not watermarked, as they can easily be stolen by anyone.
   
   Keep all your originals on your computer, an exterior hard drive, or burn them on a DVD. Don’t rely on Facebook as a photo storage service.
   
   

5. Turning off wall posts on Facebook pages

   
   A Facebook page becomes much more active if people can participate and post things. Every time someone posts, their own Facebook friends are notified through the Facebook feed. With this option turned off, you may lose visitors and likes.
   
   

6. Tagging people in artworks

   
   Sometimes this can be a good idea, such as if its a portrait or friend who expects to be tagged. But, mass tagging is a form of spamming and will not be appreciated. Followers who may not want to be tagged will have to go through the trouble of untagging, and may even unlike your page, or defriend you in the process.
   
   
   

7. Joining Facebook pages and groups that have nothing to do with you.

   
   Many artists like to trade likes with others. There is nothing wrong with this, but if you are not even interested in the page, why should you like it? Think of likes on Facebook as interests. People look at them, and see what you are interested in.
   
   If the page has nothing to do with you, people may get a false perception of who you are.
   
   

8. Joining too many groups.

   
   I have tried to invite some artists to the Promote Your Art group, but a popup appears stating they belong to too many groups. Obviously, Facebook has a limit to how many we can join (300). If you do reach this number, it is time to start deleting some so can receive an invite from new and interesting groups.
   
   

9. Using Facebook games and sharing apps too much.

   
   These continuously flood your Timeline with updates, and does not appear professional. If you do like participating in those things, highly consider cleaning out your Facebook friend list.
   
   Create a Facebook page and invite other artists and professional contacts to that page, and keep your profile for personal interests.
   
   

10. Inviting and accepting Facebook invitations from people you do not know.

    
    Before accepting or sending any invitations, you should look for basic information on that person. Only invite people you know, or have something to do with your niche. If someone who appears to have nothing to do with the art field sends a friend request, politely message them and ask them how they know you.