Twitter Tips for Artists

Twitter — now known as X — is a free social media platform. According to the most recent updates in 2023 it has 396.5 million users. Some recent statistics show that 63 percent of all Twitter users worldwide are between 35 and 65.  It has become increasingly attractive as an alternative or complementary social media platform since Facebook started using the algorithm EdgeRank. Simply stated, EdgeRank decides which stories appear in each user’s newsfeed. If your story doesn’t “score” well, no one will see it.

Updates about “X”. Since this article was originally published things have changed. Under its new ownership X has initiated new algorithm including giving your account a “Reputation Score”.

However, if you’re interested in spending more time on Twitter and maximizing your experience here are a few Twitter tips for artists.

Create A Unique and Clear Profile Description & Images

This is what potential followers will see first. They will make their decision to follow you or not. Write a clear, concise and accurate description. Avoid grammatical and spelling errors. For example, this “I’m an artist who paints landscapes of parks and forests in the U.S….” is better than “Hi, I’m an Artist and Genius. I Drink! I Draw!” (Yes, an artist actually wrote this and has less than 10 Twitter followers.)

Choose a good quality profile photo. It is the icon associated with every Tweet you post.

Choose a good quality header photo that you can change to reflect what’s new. This can be used to promote an upcoming exhibition or new series of artwork.  Shown above is my Twitter Profile banner. It matches the banner I use on the Manhattan Arts International group on LinkedIn for consistency and name recognition. I chose a NYC skyline as founder, director and curator of Manhattan Arts International, based in NYC NY.

Show Your Personality

Share links, offer ideas, post your artwork, ask questions, be amusing, show your positive side, provide information, give valuable content, and be personable. Avoid redundant posts that only focus on selling and promoting yourself with such commands as “check out my new…” or you’ll fail to gain any new followers. Current followers may unfollow or “mute” you.

Keep your content fresh by updating it on a consistent basic. I post on Twitter several times a day with links to articles.

Promote Locations with Geotagging

Geotagging is a wonderful tool that will help you boost your engagement. It offers you the option of adding a location to your tweet. For example, let’s say your created a painting of a scene in “Provence, France”, you could add the location and your Tweet will be instantly interesting to anyone who is searching for the location and you’ll be found in the larger pool.

Use the Pin Option

If you wish you can “Pin” your most important tweet to your profile page. After you add your tweet. Next to your name and twitter address you’ll see 3 dots and “more”. In the the drop down menu select “Pin to your profile”. That will be the first post everyone will see when they visit your page until you replace it.

Avoid Over Use of Hashtags

This is one of the most successful tools used on Twitter. It’s how people find content, how people share content, it’s a fantastic way of establishing your brand as an #artist. However, avoid the temptation of overusing hashtags. Tweets with one hashtag are 69% more likely to get retweets that those with two or more.

Search Hashtags

Use Twitter as a dynamic search engine. It’s easy to search for others using hashtags. Imagine how many leads you’ll be able to uncover using the hashtag #NYGalleries #artbiz #opportunitiesforartists and #artsfunding.

Engage Your Followers

Ask your followers what they want to see. Twitter has a poll feature that gives people the option to vote anonymously to your question. If you’re looking for a more personal answer it’s always best to simply tweet the question and people can reply directly. When you interact directly with your audience you can learn more about them. Twitter chats will also help you achieve this goal.

Maintain A Schedule

Like everything else in your art marketing routine consistency counts. Keep a regular schedule for your tweets to increase visibility and engagement. Observe which types of tweets attract the most involvement. You will also learn what times are best to schedule your tweets.

Count Your Characters

You only have 280 characters on Twitter.  Twitter bio character limit: 160 characters. Twitter DM max length: 10,000 characters. Twitter handle max length: 15 characters. Twitter profile name max length: 50 characters. The good news is there is no hashtag limit.

Post At The Best Times

Overall experts say early mornings and late evening hours attract the most attention. Of course the best times to tweet is different depending on your type of audience and across time time zones. Experiment and observe when your audience is most engaged. Then schedule your tweets that make the most sense for you.

Retweet

Look for ways to share other people’s content. It will not only endear you to the person, art institution or expert who originally posted it, but you’ll be appreciated for sharing useable, relatable content. You can also retweet your own tweets. Twitter offers a retweet button for that. This is a good way to reach people at different times of the day and night especially if you think a good tweet wasn’t noticed.

Use Lists

It’s easy to find out you’re following more people than you can handle. So, to find them easily create and use lists so you can narrow down your search and find special people and businesses. You have the option to make these lists public or private.

Link Your Account

Let people know you’re on Twitter. Invite others to follow you by adding an easy to find link from your website, blog, on your business cards, email signatures, email newsletters, and any other social media you use.

Want to Know Who is Seeing Your Tweets & Which Ones Are Most Popular?

Go to Twitter’s analytics page and log in with your Twitter account. You will see a daily report of how many people saw and engaged with your tweets, how many visited your profile page, your most popular tweets, and more. Similarly, the “Audiences” page shows broad demographics about the people who follow you or see your tweets. You can see things like where they’re from, the gender they reported to Twitter, and their language.

Follow Me!

Have I convinced you Twitter is fun and easy to use? If so, please follow me. You’ll see that I post 7 days a week, nearly every hour, normally from 9 AM-8 PM EST.  And, I do a special post for artists usually at 7:00 PM New York time. You’ll find me at twitter.com/reneephillipsny