THE INSTAGRAM RESOURCE VAULT
Build your audience. Sell your art.
Become an Instagram Ninja.
First Things First
Follow @art_storefronts on Instagram. We practice what we preach – the techniques we advocate you use are the very same ones we are using everyday to grow our own following.
Learn how to add multiple Instagram accounts and easily switch between them.
Getting Started
How do I figure out what to post in Instagram?
Turn your creativity and inspiration up to 11 with this quick and easy hashtag technique.
Ready for more? We go in-depth on "riding the hashtag" in this podcast episode.
GET CREATIVE
Go ride some hashtags, come up with some creative ideas, and start posting.
Tools of the Trade
Software and phone applications to use with Instagram.
The perfect way to romance your followers is to create timelapse videos.
The NoxPlayer is a handy little tool that allows you to use Instagram on your desktop computer.
Love communicating with emojis? Learn how to use emojis within NoxPlayer.
DESKTOP USE
Being able to manage some aspects of Instagram usage from a computer can be invaluable to execution speed.
Instagram Hacks
Start punching above your weight with these little-known pro-tips.
For photos, the easiest and fastest way is to simply email yourself the image to open on your phone. For video files, check out this app for fast transferring between devices.
SMALL WINS
We will continue to grow the hacks section. Get better at marketing on Instagram one small win at a time.
Instagram Stories
How to effectively use one of Instagram's most important features.
A quick overview of how the Story feature works.
Step-by-step instructions on how to save your Stories onto your phone.
Our top 10 reasons artists need to be posting Instagram Stories.
GET YOUR STORY ON
Don't get overwhelmed. Learning to be a good storyteller on Instagram is a marathon and not a sprint.
Instagram Stories Sandbox
Here are a few examples of effective Stories for artists.
Ask Questions & Interact
Invite your audience to participate in your work with this clever use of Stories. Note that @packtography is also taking advantage of Instagram Live to livestream a photo-editing session using a piece chosen by his audience. What a powerful way to connect with your fans.
Highlight Shoot Location
Why not take your followers with you to your shoot locations? In this example, @kpunkka has some stunning views to share, but your fans will be interested in wherever you are. Next time you're on set, snap a few quick shots for your Story.
Show Behind The Scenes
@eric_treece shows a great example of this. Use this method to preview your new content or to offer professional shooting/painting tips to your followers. This is a great way to fascinate your followers by giving them an exclusive tour of your world.
Want more inspiration? View our full archive of Instagram Stories in the Sandbox.
Content Curators
Content curators are accounts on Instagram that aggregate the best of the best of a particular niche. They typically have tons of followers, and if you can get them to share your work it can explode your follower count.
Here are a few examples of content curators on Instagram. Check out their profiles, the amount of followers they have, what type of content they share, and what level of engagement (likes and comments) their posts get.
YOUR HOMEWORK
Start identifying and following all of the content creators in your particular niche.
Direct Messaging Content Curators
After you've followed a few content curators, you're probably wondering how to get them to actually share your work. The answer is the Direct Message.
First off, don't know how to send direct messages? We've got you covered in this video.
For our step-by-step technique for reaching content curators, listen to this podcast episode.
GET TO IT!
Give this technique a shot – find curators you like, research 'em, and start sending DM's.
For Everything Else...
Still have an unanswered Instagram question? Drop it in the question box below and we'll address it in an upcoming Office Hours session.