As an artist, it is important to get your art to your local community so that it can be viewed and you can gather clients who want to purchase it. There are several top networking ways to get involved in the community and have your art pieces exposed to your local community and the active art community in a general area. Top networking means that you will have to be flexible, getting involved in various events that will help you reach a large clientele and maximize your exposure.
Volunteer At Events
The local community will have various events that require the assistance of local vendors, businesses, and artists. As a gallery owner, it is a great idea to offer sponsorship at these events for things like catering and other needed services. You can post a sign for your business with the food, and guests will know who is responsible and start asking questions. You can even display some of your artwork around these events to attract attention and have questions asked.
Other things you can do when you volunteer is volunteer your time at this event and get to know those patrons participating. Art businesses thrive well at local events with food and drinks, especially festivals and gatherings that celebrate a common cause among the visitors. Get ready for an excellent networking opportunity!
Attend Industry Conferences
If you are in an area with large conference locations, adding yourself to many of these conferences as a vendor to display your artwork is a great top networking idea. If you have art pieces that can fulfill the needs of many industries, you have an opportunity to market to these industries and let them know that you have work available for purchase and let them know how to get in contact with you.
Some of those industries that take advantage of purchasing art pieces include graphic design conferences, interior designing, and restaurant owner conferences. Many art businesses have succeeded, with Greek and Italian restaurant owners looking for pieces to capture the essence of the native land and give their guests a chance to feel at home while dining in their restaurant. Your more natural and bright pieces would be great for these conferences, setting up near vendors with the latest kitchen needs for their restaurants.
Some conference halls may always allow you to keep some of your art pieces on display, even when you are not there. Your pieces can be secured in cases along the wall, with contact information for parties who are interested in purchasing the pieces they see. This can be a great way to get exposure for your art. You may even have buyers interested in owning your art!
Embrace Social Media
There is nothing stronger in top networking than social media and its impact on any business. The best digital marketing that you can do for your art business is to invest in the best digital marketing. You can get your art across a variety of different platforms, reaching audiences that are both local and national.
To truly embrace the best digital marketing of social media, make sure that you have your art business identified on the different social media platforms. Instagram is great for gathering followers and uploading pictures. If you need to make statuses and tell your followers where you will be visiting or hosting events, you can use platforms like Facebook to increase traffic. TikTok is also a great app for videos, displaying your gallery, and giving sneak peeks of your available art.
Build an Online Portfolio
If you want to generate a larger crowd than just those in your area, you need to build an online portfolio that showcases the different types of work you have either designed yourself or have for sale in your gallery. These top networking tips allow you to build a niche in the art world, and collect a fanbase and clientele for your work. Online portfolios are often referenced by art teachers at high school or art professors at local colleges.
Your online portfolio may have you visiting a local high school or college to meet with students about your type of art, how you decided to go about your designs, and what these pieces mean. Online portfolios are meant to encourage other artists, as well, so make sure that your best work is being portrayed in these areas. This portfolio should be found on your website and then linked to all the different social media accounts that you may have.
Join Online Forums
Top networking goes beyond social media and online portfolios. If you want to really ramp up your online presence, make sure you subscribe and commit to online forums. If you want to build clients for your art, you can find the custom design pieces that they are looking for in these areas. These forums are filled with similar-minded individuals who are looking for certain pieces and can give you inspiration on what you can make.
Online forums are also a great way to see what type of services you can provide and what type of events potential clients enjoy. There is a lot of information you can gather just from reading the different experiences that your customers are getting from other artists and galleries. Sometimes, these forums are broken down into subtopics, which can be very beneficial with information.
Talk to Professionals for Guidance
If you are new to the art world and need help navigating the top networking arenas, reaching out to professionals who have been a part of this industry is best. Other artists who own their own galleries or have connections with larger galleries can give you the best advice for going out and moving forward with your plans to expand online and through local communities.
One of the best ways to engage with these individuals is to schedule an outing with outdoor dining so that you can bring along some of your things and enjoy the ambiance of the weather. Outdoor dining is often preferred for discussing business and tactics. Choose a restaurant with a great patio setting or rooftop dining that captures the essence of the surrounding area.
Collaborate With Others
What many artists have found to be successful in top networking over the last decade is the embracing of collaborations with other artists. This is true in graphic design pieces, traditional art, music, and all the other art forms. Everything from the interior design of a building to the uniqueness of a country store sign can bring together the styles of two different artists and bring together a group of clients you may not have expected.
Signs and designs that are the product of collaboration should always be on display, and they should be properly referenced to show who was involved in the design and how it came to be. What people want to see more of is the story that led to. If you have friends in the industry that you think are comfortable creating a collaboration that brings together generations of clients, reach out to them and see their thoughts on the subject.
Request Feedback
It may be hard to ask sometimes, but strategically, one of the best top networking tips includes feedback from others in the industry to give constructive criticism on your pieces. With the industry changing and different clients having different tastes in art, you want to seek out someone with a background in what you are looking to do and work with those who want to purchase your art.
If you design pieces or even designer office wallpaper, it is important to get feedback to see how to improve so that you can generate more products and get the designs and materials they want. For example, designer office wallpaper should be consulted by leading interior designers who spend time designing commercial offices and are updated with the leading trends of the office. They can give you insight into whether your product will sell to the local market.
Live Where the Scene Is
As an artist, it is important to be inspired and be relevant in order to grow. This is why one of the top networking tips can come from your personal situation, and that is to live where the art scene is growing. to be relevant in the art scene, you have to be an active part of it. That means that you have to be active in the events surrounding your niche and live in that area.
If you do not currently live in the city where your art is booming, you should consider an apartment rental close to that district, allowing you to be in these places in just a matter of minutes. Most apartment rental options will be located in the downtown, above businesses, giving the chance to walk everywhere and be in the action in just a matter of minutes.
This one may not be something that you can do right away, but you want to set goals towards an apartment rental in the area. Start looking at what is available and what that monthly rental looks like in the area you would prefer to be. You may have to opt for one just a little farther away until you are able to afford to move more in the district. You could always opt for roommates, especially if several of you are planning to move to the area, but need to make it more affordable.
Maintain Relationships
Probably the biggest tip you can get into top networking is to maintain the relationships you make. As you navigate this journey of different artists and craters at events and conferences, you will develop a working relationship. When they meet other clients looking for something more in your wheelhouse, you will be their first thought and recommendation for that person to reach out to you.
For example, if another artist has clients looking for metal engraving that is more of what you specialize in, they will encourage them to reach out to you if you maintain that relationship with them. Those who don’t hear from you regularly may not believe you are still around. They would rather encourage them to other competitors because they maintain that relationship and see them be active.
It doesn’t take much to maintain the relationships you build. Specifically, you need to go over and speak first at the same events. If you do not already support them on social media, make sure you are following and at least interacting with some of their posts periodically. Those you are most comfortable with will be the ones that you reach out to for collaborations and a custom design that may be requested by one or more of your clients.
If you come across any forums about your friends that you make in the industry, make sure you show public support as an act of good faith. This looks good to both your clients and theirs, which makes you improve your own status in the community. Other relationships that you need to maintain will follow suit.
Take Advantage Of These Top Networking Tips
Being an artist, selling art, and just becoming relevant in the community is something that can be overwhelming, especially if you are new to it. Make sure that you are working to take advantage of these different networking tips. While each of them will improve your business, it is important that you at least start with a few of them, and work your way up to the rest as you generate success in the industry.
It may not be possible at the moment to move forward with an apartment rental in an arts district. However, you can always work to maintain the relationships that you create, doing favors for others and working together so that you all are successful in this industry. Keep in mind that no matter what you design and specialize in, you are all looking to sell art and have that appreciation for the craft.
