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A Sustainable Social Media Strategy for Artists

“Beige Tree” by Natasha Wescoat

It’s nice to venture out of your comfort zone. At least that’s how it felt when I was asked to apply my knowledge of online social media strategy for sustainability and green marketing to help artists, photographers, sculptors, illustrators and musicians create their own sustainable story online.

We covered so much ground last night in our Social Media Strategy for Artists workshop at the Tempe Center for the Arts, that I told the crowd that I’d post all of the links here, as well as my slides.

The star of the show was Natasha Wescoat, or at least her online persona was. She is a renaissance woman when it comes to social media strategy and activation. If you’re an artist that wants to paint a powerful social media strategy, use Natasha as your instructor. Here’s what she’s done.

The center of Natasha’s online social media universe is her main website and blog. Then she adds horsepower to her persona with a second site, Natasha’s Art Candy, that features a live stream from her studio every Wednesday, as well as offers a veritable pallet of ideas for artists that want to tap online social media for new business.

And she’s just getting started.

Natasha is extremely active on Twitter and freely shares her tips for building your art business here.

She is also prevalent on Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn, and uses each of these channels with different intent. Facebook is much more conversational and directs here friends to various showings and openings. MySpace has a younger, more frenetic and edgier feel for this crowd, while LinkedIn is decidedly more professional in tone. As I’ve mentioned before, blending these channels is a little bit like having a Mullet: All business in front (LinkedIn), party in back (Facebook and MySpace).

The fun doesn’t stop there.

To bolster her “Conversational channels,” Natasha deploys her “Utilitarian channels” including Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr. I call them utilitarian because little conversation typically happens on these sites, and they’re best used to serve media, including photos, videos and Powerpoints to the center of her social media solar system: her website/blog. They offer more visibility online, especially with the search engines. Natasha uses them masterfully.

Then she reaches outside of her own online world and connects within numerous art sites, including ImageKind.com, Art.com, and TweetyGotBack.com. This lady is omnipresent online. And what makes her even more powerful is the consistent telling of her compelling story:

“I’m inspired by the lighter side of life. Through trying times, Ive found myself coping through art and through creating things that made me happier. Brighter subjects that brought me back to life. Now, through my work I hope to be able to do that for others. I want the viewer to feel the poetry, energy, and wealth that comes from the artwork. I want my art to force people to smile again. We all need a little sweetness. A pick-me-up when the world gets too heavy. We cant be serious all the time.” – Natasha Wescoat.

What’s your story?