This is your bio’s time to shine! And by shine, we mean providing your audience with everything they need to know when they come across your Instagram account. First, tell them what type of artist you are. Clarify whether you’re a designer, photographer, painter, etc., and run with it. Next, put the link to your online portfolio in your bio so followers can reference the work not featured in your Instagram feed. And don’t forget to throw in your contact information either so viewers can quickly get in touch after discovering you! Adding these three things to your bio makes it easier for potential clients and collaborators to work with you in the future because nothing is stopping them from seeing your work or contacting you after they like what they see. 

You’re allotted 150 characters in your bio, so make the most of it by showing off everything you can do as an artist! Don’t have an online portfolio? Get to work! But don’t stress, there are a few other ways you can use Instagram to promote your work.

Your work speaks for itself — show it off consistently to keep your audience engaged! Stories are a useful tool for sharing posts and updates to your portfolio and ensuring nothing in your feed goes unseen. Post to your grid often even if it’s not quite portfolio-worthy! Your feed is where you can be more casual with your work and show off all your creative styles without being too serious. Incorporate a mix of branded content and hashtags for better discoverability. And there’s no better way to highlight your skills than by putting them to work to create branded content. Try out our StoriesEdit tool to design assets specifically for Instagram. It’s perfect for when you’re running low on time but still need to showcase a new project or design.

Stories are a great way to get closer to your followers. Let them in and make them a part of the design process. Share mood boards, design drafts, or any type of inspiration behind your new artwork. Letting your followers in gives them better insight into who you are as an individual and as an artist and allows them to connect with you! Once you get comfortable with Instagram Stories, you can graduate to Instagram Live and do Q&As with followers or show how you are in action.  A great element about Instagram Live is that it brings your Story to the Stories bar’s front spots, giving people a higher chance of seeing your content. Stories are low-commitment when it comes to content sharing. If you love it and want to keep it on your profile, make Instagram Story Highlights. But if they’re not Highlight worthy, it will delete in 24 hours. Check out our blog on how to create better Instagram Highlights here!

Instagram is home to many creatives like yourself! It’s a space to meet artists similar and different to you. By having a community of artists to turn to, you can ask for feedback on new pieces and collections and, hopefully, find inspiration for future work. Each artist has their own following and can share your work to their own audience, but don’t forget you need to return the favor.  Building these relationships can lead to more creative opportunities in the future.

For more tips, check out our related posts:
A Beginners Guide to Typography
2020 Color Trend: Lilac
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