How to Create Effective Social Media Ads to Promote Your Art
If you run a Facebook Page or Business Instagram account, you’ve probably been bombarded with suggestions on how to turn your content into an ad. Obviously, social media sites heavily depend on user ad-spend to generate revenue, so the more people that buy in, the more money they make.
Personally, I have nothing against ads. Sure, poorly-targeted, spammy ads can be annoying. But if you’re willing to invest the time and money into developing a strategic ad campaign, by all means, go for it!
However, the key is being strategic.
I don’t have any plans to run an ad campaign anytime soon, but I know more than enough about social media advertising to identify a bad ad when I see one. And unfortunately, I’ve been seeing lots of bad ads come from artists, arts organizations, and creative businesses.
What makes social media effective?
Before you hit the “promote” button on that auto-generated Facebook ad, take a moment and consider your goals. Will more page likes really bring your creative practice or business much more value?
Probably not…
Perhaps that ad space might be better utilized to drive traffic to a page on your website that encourages them to input their contact information so you can send them regular email updates about exhibitions and events. Maybe you should arm them with a discount code and send them to your shop so that you can make a sale, so that your ad pays for itself.
There’s a lot more that should go into a social media ad that Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. want you to believe. So watch this video to learn the who, what, when, where and why of social media advertising — before you find yourself wasting money on an ad that isn’t working for you.
This blog post was originally written by Amanda Mollindo for her project, aftrART. Active from Fall 2016 to Winter 2018, aftrART was a website and YouTube channel dedicated to helping artists understand the practical side of pursuing creativity and the arts. Supported in part by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s 2016 GOOD ‘N PLENTY Artist Award, Amanda produced helpful videos, blog posts and podcast episodes to about the professional development of student and early-career artists.
Since then, Amanda has shifted focus to her own creative practice, social justice advocacy, and communications career. View her portfolio here.
