Keeping followers engaged beyond social media
Your Instagram is probably amazing. But your website should be the hub that your fans keep returning to. While social media is vital in today’s world, depending on it for engagement is risky. You’re at the mercy of each platform’s creators (or, more likely, bots that can ban without providing cause, warning, or recourse). Algorithms change overnight, potentially cutting off your revenue before you know what’s happening. In this environment, you need a direct line of communication with your fans, completely independent of social media.
But how can an individual or small business compete with the likes of Meta and TikTok? Believe it or not, it’s not too difficult.
Social media is not your enemy
When discussing competition in marketing, one of the most important questions to consider is “Who are our competitors?” For example, Trader Joe’s and Wal-Mart are not direct competitors, even though they’re both grocery chains. That’s because, in spite of offering similar products, they’re marketing to completely different clientèle. Trader Joe’s focuses their advertising on middle to upper class consumers, while Wal-Mart directs their ads to shoppers from the lower and lower-middle class. Likewise, even though both Sushi Kashiba and RockCreek Seafood & Spirits price their meals similarly, they offer vastly different dining experiences. That means they tailor their marketing to appeal to different tastes.
The point I’m getting at is that the best way to ‘compete’ with major social media platforms is to not compete at all.
Your art site should be in an entirely different category than Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, or any of the others. When it comes to user experience (UX), it’s in a league of its own.
Creating a UX that art aficionados will love
Most social media platforms offer a streamlined experience to their users. Algorithms tailor their home feeds so that users find more or less what they expect. The experience is low-energy and fleeting. It’s like stopping at a convenience store for a quick hot dog.
Your personal art site, on the other hand, should be more like a fine dining experience. You’ll want to give users…
An interactive experience
Give your fans a way to interact with you, your artwork, or other fans. This can be something as simple as having a blog that allows comments, or something as sophisticated as clickable, animated artwork. Simon Freund offers interactive art like mit oder ohne.
Several different things to do
You don’t want your art site to be only a portfolio or shop. Ideally, your website should include your artwork, products for sale, a guide to your creative process, information about upcoming events, and a way for fans to get to know you personally. When your fans know they can expect updates on any of the above, they’ll return.
Something new each month
This doesn’t have to be a new piece of art. It could be a blog, product drop, or site update. Your fans likely won’t have time to stop back every day, or even every week. But they’ll be glad to see a notification or email from you about once a month. And you’ll benefit from keeping your art on their radar.
Even if your artwork isn’t interactive, the internet is. By designing your website with your fans in mind, you can create an artistic oasis in the midst of a chaotic social media landscape.
Remember to infuse your website with your own creativity
Above all, your fans want to see your own unique style. The moment someone visits Teagan White’s website, they know exactly what type of art she creates, even before clicking over to her portfolio. That’s the kind of immersive design your followers will love. If you want to stand out, work with a custom website designer to bring your art to the screen.
Is that really enough to keep an audience engaged?
The reason social media requires such high output is twofold:
- the algorithm rewards it by prioritizing creators who post multiple times per day
- most of your audience will miss most of your posts, so you have to throw as much at them as possible
Those issues don’t apply with your own website. Yes, you’ll need to consider SEO to reach people in the first place, but these features are what will keep them coming back.
Remember, you’re not competing for your fans’ attention every day. Your audience doesn’t have that much energy to devote to your work, and frankly you can’t put out that volume of work. Think of this more as an adult friendship; you like each other enough to check in and offer support, but you don’t have time to spend every lunch break together.
Who are you going to happier to hear from—the spammer blowing up your phone with skits, ads, and overblown gossip three times a day, seven days a week, or your artsy friend who sends you a thoughtful email update once a month?
If you’re looking for a custom website designer to help you bring your ideas to life, contact We Are Seven today. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for more advice just like this.
This blog was written by a human for We Are Seven. For permissions or questions, please contact us.
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