Building a Brand Online: How can Artists Ace the Challenge?

Building a brand online might seem a little intimidating, but after all, it's not an overnight process to accomplish. It takes time and effort to make your brand visible before a global audience.

In the process of starting out from scratch, artists may come across certain challenges that can make them feel overwhelmed. That is why this blog brings 8 valuable ways, offering insights into artist branding, helping you figure out, “How to brand yourself as an artist?”

So, without any further ado, let’s learn the art of building your brand online!

What is Artist Branding?

Artist branding is about branding yourself as an artist. Sounds too simple? It might be, as long as you understand what you need to do, and what you need to look for. In the digital age, an artist is no longer confined to the walls of a studio, as their brand now stands before a larger audience, - the global one.

As the years progressed, brands adopted a wider approach by bringing in a visual identity that connects with the audience at an emotional level, and the deeper the connection, the more customer loyalty it serves.

As marketers, being true to your brand identity, and personalizing experiences, is what sets you apart in a fast-paced world. Artist branding is a timeless concept that is likely to be more progressive in the future.

Importance of Branding Your Art Online

Branding for artists largely involves coming across your own identity in the process. Whether it's about writing an artist bio, sharing your personal experiences as an artist, or highlighting your brand’s core values, you are getting involved in a kind of self-discovery.

Finding your unique identity through deep questions will only help you truly represent yourself as an art brand, and people will be better able to connect with you.

On the other hand, persisting in selling yourself with slick corporate visuals will alienate the audience, as they will not have something authentic to rely on. Whether it's your voice or visuals, your honesty in representing your true self will always be recognized, and attract a global audience.

Overall, knowing yourself better is the key to connecting more deeply with your mission statement, offering greater value to your customers.

Three Major Challenges of Personal Branding

Authenticity

In a fast-paced world, brands might not truly represent what they stand for, making customers switch to better alternatives.

Consistency

Starting with digital branding for artists might be relatively easy compared to maintaining consistency with your online exposure. Continuing to offer sustained value and staying connected to a global audience is a challenge in the marketing realm. Consistency is also about maintaining a similar tone across all platforms for the audience to recognize your creative fingerprint.

Relevance

With emerging trends, brands need to stay ahead and relevant with a consistent appeal.

How to Brand Yourself as an Artist in the Digital Age?

Visual Identity

Your brand’s visual identity is not limited to the logo and is inclusive of fonts, photography, videos and other visual elements in between these. Choosing lighter colors with fonts that suit your professional identity will elevate its visual appearance and can be applied when branding for creatives.

Authenticity

Your authenticity matters, especially in the creative industry where the audience is eager to look into your creative process, discover your journey and your personal stories. You might feel tempted to diverge from the path, but staying genuine with your brand voice will serve you in the long run, as the audience will take due notice.

Storytelling

Apart from the technical strategies, storytelling is like a breeze that makes the ordinary and the mundane feel alive. What is storytelling in the art brand all about?

Share your journey as an artist from the very beginning, portray your life now, or what has shaped your experiences so far. Maintain a fine balance between your professional image and personal life, and the audience is likely to feel more drawn to your narratives and your brand.

Artist Portfolio

An art portfolio is your visual resume, and a marketing asset that adds to your online visibility. Having a professional portfolio opens up new avenues for you by helping you connect with potential buyers, collectors and partners.

In the digital age, an artist's portfolio is a must-have for anyone aiming to brand themselves online.

Custom Merchandise

In a world of fierce competition, it's brand merchandise that can help artists stand out and stay ahead of others. Your merchandise, identified with its logo or the company tagline, is your unique identity.

Whether it's clothing or stationery, your products are a tangible embodiment of your core values, and customizing them only amplifies their prominence by grabbing customer attention.

Creating Websites

Having your own website is not just another of your online identities but also a thoughtful move beyond the social media channels. Starting an art blog, and following up consistently with interesting content will keep readers hooked to the core.

Besides, with the right content and emotional resonance, your online presence via a website can also boost real-life sales.

Social Media Presence

The principles of consistency also apply to your social media presence. These are some questions for you to consider:

·       Are you posting regularly or frequently?

·       Are you closely following the analytics and strategizing your moves based on that?

·       Are you connecting frequently with your audience?

·       Do you follow a specific timing to upload your content?

Social media is an asset, if you know how to utilize, and streamline your branding efforts. Reels on social media are trending these days, and viral artworks are circulating all over.

Whether it’s the power of your content or relevant hashtags, there’s ample reason for you to build your online visibility by embracing the ongoing trend.

Interactive Sessions

Hosting an art workshop online is an ideal way to connect with your customers and the perfect portal for artist branding. Beyond one-way presentations, interactive sessions open up a pathway for meaningful conversations that are both productive, and engaging.

Creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere will inevitably boost participation from your clients. Additionally, live sessions on social media are a direct way to engage with the audience and also gain data-based insights into marketing campaigns, helping creators offer a personalized experience for all.

Bottom line

Branding for artists is a broader concept that ultimately arrives at you. Beyond the technicalities of maintaining your online presence, your connection to your audience, both in a professional and emotional realm, matters the most.

For artist branding, you need to overcome the challenges by building a robust and authentic image in the digital era. Above all, make your brand people-centric, and you may come across better initiatives, perfect for elevating your art career and gaining worldwide prominence.