Social Media tips for tattoo artists

Social media has changed our lives. We share our food, friends, thoughts and views, whether the rest of the world wants to read it or not.

If you're reading this it's because you want to start or improve. Don't get overwhelmed, we've all started at some point, and there's always time to improve your strategy.

For tattoo artists, social media such as Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest represents an opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience. Social media is modern word-of-mouth marketing.

Our skills are shared, commented on and liked countless times, attracting not only the attention of other artists but also the interest of potential clients.

Whether you are a well-known artist or just starting out, social media can draw an incredible amount of clients in a short period of time if you know how to do it right.

There are many social networks, although the most used ones on a daily basis, worldwide, can be counted on the fingers of one hand: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Sometimes new social networks emerge, but not all of them are useful for tattoo artists.

As tattoo artists, we strongly believe that the best platform is Instagram. Prioritising your work on the right social network is essential. Learn about the social networks that work best for your career and study the possible strategies for each of them.

However, what is the most useful social network if you are a tattoo artist? Without a doubt...

It's hard to imagine tattoo artists without Instagram, as it focuses on image posts, making it perfect for showcasing your work.

With over a billion monthly active users on Instagram alone, social media has become a marketing tool for all kinds of businesses.

For tattoo artists, Instagram is one of the best platforms. This is because it is very visual, allowing you to show off your pieces and use relevant hashtags to reach a much wider audience.

When someone visits your profile, they can get a quick idea of your style and skill, allowing them to judge in seconds whether you are the right artist for them. This makes it possible for you to grow your client base incredibly fast, so it's important to do your best.

The most important things to keep in mind are:

• Post only quality content: Sharp, high quality images give profiles a more professional look. To accentuate your pieces, you should ideally invest in good photographic equipment, if possible. If you don't have the necessary resources, don't forget that you can always opt for second-hand cameras. However, if you have a mobile device with a good camera, that should be enough to start with.
  Whenever you publish your work, you should always tag it with as many hashtags as you can. When you tag your work correctly, you greatly increase your chances of getting new followers.
  Did you know: Instagram now allows you to preview the number of posts associated with a specific hashtag.
• Check out tattoo artists with a similar style and see what hashtags they use. This will give you an overview of the most popular hashtags and help your work reach a wider audience.
• Make sure it is a business account and not a personal profile. This will give you an idea about your audience and when they are usually active. You should try to post in that time slot to get more likes. This will help you to be at the top of your followers' feeds when you post.
• Create your own hashtag. It may seem pointless at first, but it's an effective way to make yourself known. Ask your clients to use your hashtag when they post photos of their new tattoos, as this will attract more people to your profile.
• Tag popular profiles: There are a variety of pages that share tattoos from different artists. The idea is that the page will share your work when you tag it. These pages often post tattoos of specific styles, and often have thousands of followers, many of whom will visit your profile.

A Facebook account is not as essential or popular as Instagram can be, but it can be another way to reach out to customers in your area.

• Create a business profile on Facebook and add all the necessary information to let potential customers know when and where you are available.
• Resize your image. When it comes to resolution, not all social networks are suitable for uploading HD images. Facebook, for example, compresses your photos to the point where they become unrecognisable.
• Use the stories feature. From publishing your posts to updates on your work, Facebook and Instagram allow you to make stories that can multiply your publicity. Stories are a great way to show your followers posts they may not have seen.
• Present your message and opinion in a surprising way through video and create a personal relationship with your audience.
  There is no doubt that Instagram and Facebook are the most popular social networks for tattoo lovers. However, there are platforms such as Tattoodo that aim to create a community, a place where fans and tattoo artists can meet.

What is Tattoodo?

Similar to Instagram, fans and tattoo artists can show off their best tattoos, and artists can even use it as a showcase to attract more customers.

The app's interface focuses almost entirely on making photos stand out as much as possible. In addition, there are sections where you can check out "Today's most popular tattoos" or a tattoo search engine where you can filter by style.

Another practical function of Tattoodo is that people can find tattoo studios close to where they live.

You can also interact with other users' posts by liking or commenting on the photo. It is a very interesting tool for those who want to use a social network focused only on tattooing.

As with any other social network, you can measure your exposure in the artist community through followers, likes, visits, comments or rating systems.

The more followers and likes, the more people will see your work. This allows you to interact with more artists and receive a wide range of opinions and advice that will help you improve and develop.

Having a lot of followers and likes also increases your chances from a business point of view. If you only want to use your community for private purposes, it is a great motivation to see people checking, liking and commenting on your work.

Although tempting at first, don't buy followers on any of your social networks. It's pretty obvious when you have thousands of followers, but little participation or fake engagement.

This will turn away potential customers and can give you a bad reputation within the tattoo industry. Instead, focus on building an audience organically through quality content on a regular basis.

So how can you grow your following?

• Post regularly: Since there is an incredible amount of work posted every day, you should post new content on a regular basis, so that your work doesn't get lost among the other posts. This way, you will gradually increase the number of followers and likes. Post at regular intervals and get the attention of your audience little by little.
• Like and comment on other artists' posts. Actively like and comment on other artists' work, and tell them what you like about them. The other person will thank you and may even visit your profile to leave a like or comment - feel free to share your admiration for the best artists! In return, you may receive useful tips or tricks on how to improve your work.
• Familiarise yourself with all the image sizes that are allowed on social media. Remember this when you post new work, so you can adapt it yourself instead of leaving it as it is.
• Use relevant hashtags.

Social media offers artists the opportunity to showcase their portfolios and communicate with a wider audience. It also gives other members of the sector the chance to get to know you and you can connect with them from a professional perspective.

Be someone others want to follow. Become a source of inspiration for your audience. Publish regularly. Choose a platform that you can easily manage and challenge yourself to have a simple posting schedule until you get the level of consistency you need to post more.

If you follow these tips, you can count on creating an aesthetically pleasing platform for your work. You'd be surprised how many clients you can attract through these platforms and enjoy doing so.

And if you are interested in acquiring more in-depth professional knowledge on the subject, you can check our Courses. Sign up and get notified when it's available in 10MASTERS.