Building An Online Presence for your brand
Visual Identity
Last week, we talked about creating a personal brand and discovering who you are as an artist. Now, I want to explore how to bring that brand online and share it with the world. In today's digital age, the internet is the primary space where people connect—making it crucial to have a clear online presence that effectively communicates your story.
When developing your visual identity online, several key factors come into play: your color palette, how your logo represents you, where you want to showcase your work, and whether you need social media, a website, or even both. The type of content you create helps guide these decisions.
A consistent brand helps you maintain a cohesive presence across all platforms. When people find your profile, they should immediately recognize it as yours. You want to eliminate any confusion about whether they're in the right place.
While you might be tempted to cut costs, your visual presentation and photography deserve significant investment. Quality images are essential for showcasing who you are as an artist and your brand.
Building Your Online Presence
Are you a visual artist, or do you rely on words to tell your story? Is your content long-form or concise? These factors will help determine the best online platforms for sharing your work.
If you are a visual artist — graphic designer, photographer, illustrator, etc. then Instagram might be the perfect platform for your content. But if you’re a writer and rely on your words then you might find that Instagram might be more of a challenge for you. Maybe you should look into starting a blog on your own website. A website gives you the flexibility to have whatever kind of content you want. However the disadvantage to using your own website is you are going to have to work harder to get people to find you. Social media gives you access to their platform and all their users which you won’t have with your website.
Here are three ideas to help improve your content to engage with your audience.
Share Stories Behind Your Work: Let your audience peek behind the curtain - explain what inspired a piece, what challenges you faced, or what the creative process looked like. This personal touch helps build deeper connections with your audience.
Create Content with Purpose: Rather than posting just to stay active, make sure each piece of content adds value for your audience. Whether it's teaching something new, sparking emotion, or starting meaningful conversations make each piece having a meaningful place on whatever platform your content resides.
Focus on Quality over Quantity: Take time to refine your work before sharing. Well-crafted content that truly represents your voice will resonate more than rushed posts trying to keep up with trends.
Another important thing to remember is you have to keep your website or portfolio up to date, as it serves as your digital storefront to the world. Since you are constantly changing and evolving as an artist, your online presence needs regular updates to accurately reflect your current work, style, and vision. Make it a habit to review and refresh your home base frequently - whether that means adding new projects, updating your artist statement, or refining your visual elements. This ensures that anyone who discovers your work online sees an authentic representation of who you are as a creator today.
Networking & Community Engagement
Now that you have your brand established you need to get yourself out there! Talking with other people and sharing your work is a great way to do this. Be active in groups that have similar interests.
You don’t just want to be promoting yourself but also building relationships. Part of building relationships means giving back. You need to support others as well. Be sure to be commenting on other people’s work and providing them feedback. Encourage your peers and be a source of light and encouragement to them on their journey.
Remember that we are all on a journey, and our path is not the only one. Let's help each other reach our final destinations. The journey is so much better when you're not doing it alone.
