How To Support Your Favourite Artists
With the rise of social media, the barrier to entry into creating art while making a living has been knocked down, opening the market for creatives from all backgrounds to create full time jobs out of their work. As fans, knowing the best ways to show our support can be challenging, so I’ve created this blog to let you know all the ways you can support your favourite creator.
"When you buy a piece of art from an artist, you are buying hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation. You're buying days, weeks, and months of pure joy. You aren't just buying a thing; you're buying a piece of heart, part of a soul—a small piece of someone else's life." [Credit: @dominicphilibert on IG]
Social Media
There's a lot of speculation on all things social media and how it works behind the scenes, but one thing is sure: the owners of platforms like Instagram want people to spend time on their apps because their revenue is generated from ads. Part of that push to keep people in the app is wanting us to create content others like us will enjoy and share, spend time watching, or engage with. The more Instagram, or its parent company Meta, can keep us watching, the more ads they can not-so-subtly force onto us in between posts, the more money they make.
So, what does this mean for your favourite artist? The more you engage and put time towards the content they create, the more it signals to Instagram that they've done a 'good job' and can showcase their content to others within the app. When your fav posts a new photo, video, or other form of media, one of the best ways you can support them is by engaging in all possible ways, which means likes, reshares, hearts, comments, and watching the content in its entirety.
Another great multifaceted way to support artists is to tag them in your Instagram or Facebook posts when using their goods; you could even send them photos to use on their page later if you’re comfortable with it. For example, tattoo artists LOVE seeing their work show up as healed over time, it’s a good marketing strategy to show new clients how art will look years later on skin. Tagging your artist serves as a post about them on social media and acts as word of mouth, but it also lives on social media forever, offering the same outcome a review does: other potential clients can see what type of content is shared in their tagged section and see their products on a human in real life. Seeing merch in the wild is a good way to help someone who's on the fence and being indecisive about making their own purchase.
Google Reviews
If the artist has a physical location set up with a Google profile, leaving them a 5-star review with a description of your experience can be a huge helping hand for two main reasons. The first is the obvious: when someone reads your review, it'll help them build trust and potentially engage with the artist and their business.
The second reason Google reviews are a gold mine for artists is that Google optimises its search engine. The results when you google a topic are determined by several factors commonly known as SEO, or 'Search Engine Optimisation.' If your favourite artist has a local business, when people search up keywords related to that (e.g., 'Tattoo artist Brisbane' for someone offering tattoos in the Brisbane region), it'll improve the likelihood that their business will show up.
If you're going to leave a Google review and want to know how to make it as impactful as possible to help your fav creator, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Keep it honest, and be relatively descriptive. Using the tattoo artist example I mentioned before, if you were leaving a review for your favourite artist, leave five stars or say, 'Great work!' It is good, but explaining in detail how your experience was, without vagueness, will help boost their chances at improving Google rankings. So, instead of something short and sweet, write a more descriptive review like 'A special thank you to *enter artists name* at *studio name* for my incredible micro-realism tattoo. The care and love you put into this piece of art was great; I cannot recommend *artist name* enough if you want a tattoo in Brisbane. In that review, Google will scan the words you used, such as the tattoo style, the location, and the artist's name, and weigh them against other info on the web (such as that artist's business profile listing what they do and their location) and then signal to others searching Brisbane tattoo artists that your review is meaningful and worth reading, helping the artist you love.
Another wonderful way to improve a Google review is to add photos of the item you purchased. Whether it's a tattoo, framed art, merchandise, or a commissioned service, it all goes a long way to adding context to your review for Google to read.
If you have a Google/Gmail account, but it hasn’t been verified with a phone number and backup email, it may not always show up in the artist or studios Google review section, so before you leave your review be sure to double check your email accounts security/backup settings.
Word of Mouth
It may seem silly, but letting people who listen to you know about your favourite artist can go a long way. Word of mouth has been the longest-lasting marketing tool known to man since the dawn of time. We're all far more likely to trust our bestie, sister, or mum before we believe what we're told on TV or see plastered on a wall in the CBD. Word of mouth can extend beyond the traditional way of dropping it in conversation and wearing an artist's merch in public (I do this with my favourite tattoo artists' t-shirts) or resharing their content to your social media channels. Word-of-mouth exposure can also extend to stickers on your phone or drink bottle, the art you put on your walls when guests come around, and so much more. Ultimately, you want to become a beacon for your favourite creative to the world, and the best way to do that is by letting everyone know why they're so good at what they do!
Purchasing Merch, Prints, Art, Books etc
Supporting your favourite artist keeps their business alive and thriving, offering more chances to scale up and find new clients.
One of the best and most direct ways to support your favourite artist is to purchase the goods they offer for sale, preferably from the source if that's an option. Buying merch allows artists to create an item once and offer it for sale several times, reducing the amount of labour that goes into their work while supporting the artist to continue creating. If you can't purchase small goods, art, or merch from an artist, letting friends who might enjoy their creations know is another fantastic way to spread the word, it may even lead to a potential sale for one of your favourites!
Take an Ethical Approach
When it comes to supporting an artist, be sure that you're always doing it ethically. This means always paying full price for their work, pushing them forward if you know of potential job openings, commissioning their work when relevant, or purchasing gift cards to send friends their way. Understand that all creatives are human, too, and the goods they sell are to support their lifestyle.
Investing In, Donating To, or Helping Artists
This option won't be for everyone, but it felt like it needed its own space on the list: if you love an artist, you can offer up time, money, or space in other ways outside of the traditional norm. One example of this support would be options like gifting them the tools they need to create, allowing them space in a building you own or rent to craft their goods, helping them with advice or business support if you're close to them, or donating money to fund their creative process with platforms like GoFundMe, Patreon, and similar. This will be farfetched for a lot of us in today's economic climate, but it's still an option if you're capable!
Additional Ways You Can Show Support
Involve an artist in events you put on for paid work or exposure.
Nominate the artist for awards, grants, or financial backing in their niche. There are many government and private grants for the arts that many creatives have never heard of!
Donating time to help at their events or simply attending to give the appearance of a bigger crowd at their show will help shift public perception towards the artist.
Engage in micro-communities that exist around artists, such as fan club-style Facebook groups or IG pages.
Final Thoughts
Finding small creators to support if you are able to do so is always one of the best options, and there are SO MANY beautiful small creatives out there doing their thing, dying for support. One last thing to always remember: while we all want to support our favourite artists to get their work out into the world and keep creating, if you are unable to do so, always opt for the free options like social media signal sharing and word of mouth, for example. If you are struggling financially and cannot support an artist, that's totally okay! Please don't feel the need to cause harm to your bank balance when it's not viable; all artists understand this. Just remember to support your favourites in ways that are appropriate to your lifestyle!
