How To Use Pinterest to Promote Artwork

Most artists today understand how important social media has become for driving viewers to their website and cultivating a global market. Using social media does more than simply deliver information; it allows us to become curators of our media content by engaging with our audience and creating new information based on their wants and needs. Never before has there been the ability to exchange information or images in such an immediate way, and the effects and benefits of using social media continue to grow at exponential rates.

Over the past few years, Pinterest, one of the newer social media platforms, has taken the social media world by storm. Do you ever use corkboards to visually keep track of ideas? Pinterest has taken that old-fashioned concept and made it entirely new and entirely online.

Since its creation in 2010, Pinterest  has become an incredibly important tool for any artist or gallery, as it revolves around the use of images and has established itself as a major resource for both professional and DIY interior designers. Do you want your work to reach beyond your website or Facebook page? With over 10 million unique visitors per month, Pinterest allows people to share images found online with ease, connecting users from around the world.

Getting Started with Pinterest: Setting up your Page

To become a member of this global network and begin using Pinterest, you should set up a business account that includes a link to your website (make sure to verify your website!)  and any other social media accounts you may have. As we advised with Facebook and Instagram, use the same name found on your other art accounts to make it simple for visitors to find your work.

Pinterest is searchable, so make sure to include a description of who you are and what you do. Be sure to use keywords relevant to your work. By painting a clear picture of what your page is about and who you are, it will be even easier for other “Pinners” to discover your page and your pins.

The best way to actually go about pinning things from your website is through the Pinterest plugin that you can install into your internet browser. Once you install the plugin, a small “Pin It” button will begin to appear on all online images. When you click the “Pin It” button, you will be redirected to a pop-up window, where you can specify which board the image should be added to, as well as adding a caption or other details about the images.

Now, start pinning! Use Pinterest as a digital portfolio, and begin by pinning images of your work from your website. If someone clicks on one of your images, they will be directly linked to your own webpages, so make sure that your website is in good shape too. Anytime that you pin an image, it will show up on the homepage of all of your followers – an immediate audience!

How Artists Can Use Boards on Pinterest

Boards are where you save your pins. When pinning, you can add images to your boards or create completely new boards, and you can edit a board if you want to change the title, description, or any other information.

Themed “boards” will ensure your page remains clean and streamlined, and it’ll also make your page more fun to navigate. You can organize your pinterest page by organizing your boards by:

• Medium
• Style
• Theme
• Color
• Exhibition

You can post images of your works to these boards, which people can then “re-pin” or “like.” If someone repins one of your images, the image will remain on your own board and will also show up on one of theirs. That means that both your followers and all of the re-Pinners’ followers will see your work, increasing your visibility.

For this reason, make sure you include a caption, which describes your work and gives the title, medium, and optionally, the price.

Pro Tip: Make sure to make personal and unique boards. For example, create a board that shows the progress of your work or the progress of your artistic journey (example: joining a gallery, going to a reception, selling your first piece).

Adding a Price to your Pins: The Benefits

By adding prices, your work will be added to the “gift” section of Pinterest. Why is this good? Well, the gift section not only shows people that your artwork is for sale, but it also gains your work more exposure by being featured on more Pinterest pages.

When doing this, you should always include a link that will direct the audience back to your website or other relevant web pages.

Using Pinterest to Network

When using Pinterest, it is important to remember that this is a social site. That means you should be posting content other than your own original works. Just like on all social networks, you need to share external content. How can you use Pinterest to network?

• Share other users’ pins

It isn’t just for the quid pro quo expectation that people will share yours. By interacting with other Pinterest users, you are contributing to a larger conversation, establishing networks, and attracting more attention to your personal account (and thus, your artwork).

• Be appreciative

If someone repins one of your works, leave a comment or send them a direct message and thank them for the support!

• Follow other artists or pinners

Whether you are inspired by them or if you think they would be interested in your work, by following other accounts you’re showing an active interest in your community.

You can use Pinterest in many more ways other than just to promote your work. Find endless inspiration and ideas for future projects and utilize Pinterest for its wide reach and wealth of knowledge.

Pinterest Analytics for Artists

Remember at the beginning of this tutorial when we said you should set up a business account? We hope you listened, because by setting up a business account instead of a personal account, you gain access to a variety of free analytic features taken straight from Pinterest’s database. These features allow you to see your average daily impressions, daily viewers, monthly viewers, and monthly engaged followers. You can also find out which Pins are most popular among your audience, which can be helpful in learning the market for your works.

Pinterest Board Ideas for Artists

Because Pinterest has become a go-to for interior designers, it is good to create boards of your work based on color. That way, if a designer is looking for a piece for a particular room, they can go straight to the board with images of your works that would fit best in their intended color scheme.

Another great board idea for your artwork would be for rooms/design inspiration based on a specific piece. You can pin furniture, carpets, or patterned fabrics that would work well with a specific artwork. Imagine a “Landscape Living Room” board with a few of your landscapes with matching furniture and drapery. What better way to help a prospective buyer visualize your works in their home?

Keep in mind that Pinterest was started as a way to share fun DIY projects, particularly home decorating, event planning, and other types of DIY design. Keep in mind this target audience when organizing your boards and images.

Lastly, create an inspiration board that keeps all of your inspiration in one place. For personal branding, this allows collectors to get an idea of what inspires you and create a personal connection. Though it doesn’t seem like it, by pinning things that aren’t self-promotional, you are promoting yourself by building a brand (yes, artists ARE brands too) that will help people connect with not only your work, but you as an individual. Do you paint a lot of nature scenes? You can start a board with photographs of some of your favorite places. Do you meditate or do yoga each day and find that this type of spirituality or awareness is reminiscent in your work? Pin images of your favorite poses or something that helps you feel relaxed and peaceful.

Pin Regularly

And finally, pin regularly! Your account will gain more publicity and popularity if you are regularly uploading images or repinning other users’ images. Being consistently active will keep your boards on the top of Pinterest’s pages.

Pro Tip: Pinning regularly does not mean spamming your followers. Space your pins out: don’t post many pins at once and don’t have long periods of “Pinterest silence” between pins. By pinning selectively and frequently, you keep potential followers engaged, offer higher quality content, and increase the chances that your pins are seen.

If You Want to do More

You can make your pins work even harder for you by embedding pins into your website and blog posts or sharing pins on Facebook and Twitter. When you embed a pin on your website, it allows visitors to pin images directly from the site by clicking on the “Pin it” button or see the enlarged version and details of the pinned image.

Overall, the most important step is to just get started. Creating any social media account is a multi-step process that takes time, but can be extremely beneficial when it comes to introducing artists to a new audience and network.

Be sure to take advantage of the immediate feedback offered by social media and the ability to connect with your supporters. There is no better way to develop your artistic profile than by directly interacting with your audience.

Just getting started with social media? We know it can be overwhelming and we’re here to help! Start by checking out these blog posts for more advice from the Agora Experts:

5 Steps to Promoting Your Art on Facebook
How to Create a Facebook Business Page for your Art
How to Effectively use Hashtags to Promote your Art
How to Promote Your Art on Instagram

And if this sounds like a lot of work from you, then we’ve got good news for you. We have a service where we can manage your social media accounts for you! Just go to socialmedia4artists.com to learn more.