How to Use LinkedIn to Find Customers for Your Creative Business
This is a guest post by Brooke Hargis, an artist/illustrator, past Art Snack feature, and someone with more experience using LinkedIn as a creative professional than me.
When I posed the question in a previous edition of the newsletter, she replied with thoughts worth sharing with anyone looking to grow on LinkedIn.
The platform has untapped potential because it’s filled with working professionals who may have more discretionary income. If you can influence those individuals about the power of art at home and work, you may find a dedicated clientele with the money to buy all your work.
Here’s Brooke’s perspective, and you can make your own decisions.
I think there is a lot of untapped potential for artists in the LinkedIn space. The artists I see on LinkedIn most often are mural artists, public artists (statues, installations), and corporate artists (those in UX, graphic design, licensed illustrators, or concept/video game art), which make sense because they work with or for businesses. I see a mere handful of "traditional" artists, i.e., paint-to-canvas artists, gallery artists, and show artists.
I run a business account on LinkedIn at my day job, and a lot of my contacts on my LinkedIn are corporate coworkers. They love it when I post my work and will often stop me in the breakroom to ask when my next show is, where it's at, etc. Even if I don't have a considerable following (likely due to not implementing a solid, consistent strategy), I still gain traction with non-artists with disposable income to purchase my work. They haven't yet, but they could if they wanted.
If they interact with my posts, someone in their network could purchase my art. I haven't pushed that there; selling isn't what drives my art currently, as I am trying to build a large body of work to show in a gallery setting sometime soon. I don't take commissions; I make most of my sales at shows.
I find connection and networking more valuable than driving sales or reaching people with disposable income. I have had coworkers connect me to other local artists they know or who they are related to; I have connected with members of arts councils. I have also had coworkers or connections say, "Oh, did you know you could put art here?"
Coworkers have pointed me to charity art events or art walks they attend. Separately from my day job, I have also gotten connected to many graphic designers who have been building their community-- I don't do graphic design. Still, it's more people I can connect with creatively, bounce my ideas, ask for critique, or have on hand when someone tries to commission me for a logo.
Sometimes, tomorrow's income is today's connection, and today's connection might be networking with coworkers, other creatives, or people who can introduce an opportunity.
Lastly, it's an excellent space to recap a show or a series of works. As much fun as it is to throw an image onto IG and watch it flop or fly, I find that LinkedIn is an excellent space to do more "tell" than "show." I can share what went well with a show, what I learned, and what I hope to do next time. Or I can tease something coming soon.
Granted, the opportunity for a lot of telling needs to be balanced. Posts with lots of text perform better with breathing room. Leave plenty of space between paragraphs. Think of it like a newspaper column—one sentence-paragraphs cut the fat.
“I also recommend this strategy for newsletters and blog posts. Attention is fleeting, and reading online can be a struggle for some. Provide breathing room to make it easier for them to move through your content. ”
Posts that start with a hook are even better. Like Instagram, the longer someone spends time on your post, the better it performs. I think that's why a carousel post does well; you have to click between the pages and spend more time reading. If you don't run a blog, this is an excellent place to share work and your thoughts behind creating it. As humans, we love stories, we connect through stories,
LinkedIn can be the perfect cave where you can leave your handprint and say, "I was here. I created. I will return." And there is room for all of us.
Quick Tips:
For every post you make, try to interact with 6-10 other posts by leaving actual comments to spark conversation. LinkedIn rewards "thought leaders."
Carousels perform better than static images. Bonus: Use a carousel to tell a story, not simply share images.
When a connection comments on a post, it is shown to their network, broadening your "reach."
Text in a post should have ample breathing room and use lots of space between paragraphs.
Tuesday and Thursday seem the best days to post, but this might vary by account.
You can optimize your profile by saying you're available for work, like commissions.
Lead your post with a hook that fits before the "see more..." kicks in.
Put links in the comments below a post, not the actual one.
You can also schedule posts; this is new, maybe a year ago.
My Anti-LinkedIn Tip
Out of obligation as a social media specialist, I advise people to lean into the platform that speaks to you best. LinkedIn isn't worth it if you aren't going to show up. Bonus: Collect email addresses at all costs-- own an audience, don't borrow it.
