Category: Social Media

The Artist's Guide to Success in 2024 - 7 free videos

24/1/2024

Parker Harris are providing seven videos which are free to view - about advice for those trying to succeed in the art market.

The series The Artist's Guide to Success in 2024 is

via their artist mentoring programme on The Art Ladder
only available from Wednesday 24 January to 31 January

The videos are by a number of reputable people and are as follows

Matthew Flowers, Director of the renowned Flowers Gallery, tells you what galleries look for
Sandra Higgins, art advisor, shares tips to grow your profile at any age. Sandra is the past Vice-Chairman of the Chelsea Arts Club, a guide at the Tate Galleries since 2000, a Founding Member of the Association of Women Art Dealers, a Member of Women in the Arts, Londo
Tabish Khan, an art critic specialising in London's art scene explains how to get exposure for your work
Liz Gilmore, Director of Hastings Contemporary (and formerly Director of the Jerwood Gallery and Senior Manager Funding Programmes; Head of Visual Arts
Arts Council England), reveals how public galleries work
Mervyn Metcalf, an investment banker for 25+ years and art collector, describes what buyers look for
Cynthia Corbett, founder/director of a gallery which focuses on art fairs, explains how commercial galleries help artists
Kate Enters, Director of ArtCan, talks about organising your own exhibitions

This series is a marketing initiative for mentoring services via Parker Harris. I don't normally highlight such initiatives but this one seems to have the potential to be rather better than most.

This is what you see if you sign up - and clarity about what you're agreeing to if you sign up.

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6 great resources for writing for the web

14/10/2017

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This is a list of six articles which focus on effective writing for web and business writing which I think you'll find useful.

They provide great tips and techniques for effective writing for the web which makes life simple for your reader and creates engagement and come from from reputable sources.

I've previously written on this website about Writing for the Web - specifically in relation to the development of your website. I'll be adding these articles into this web page above if you just one bookmark for future reading and reference!

The articles below are generic - meaning they're not specifically written for artists who are developing websites and anywhere else where their text is read online. However the tips and techniques provided are BASIC to good writing for the web which create engagement.

Here are the six articles which all come from reputable sources. Some provide lists and checklists you'll want to make a note of or bookmark.

10 plain English principles for writing better web content | GatherContent - this is an ace list of absolute basics for effective writing for the web which gets engagement
Writing for the Web | BBC Journalism Academy - although this relates to generic news-writing, the guidance is still valuable in relation to basic tips and techniques for the basics of writing engaging news online, covering language, style, visual appeal - and how to avoid making mistakes.
Writing for the Web | NYU - New York University provides a very good and quick to read guide providing top tips covering readability and tone; scannability; length, links, search engine optimised writing and cultural sensitivities.
Web writing basics: frontloading | University of St. Andrews - 'Frontloading' is a technique which I employ all the time but don't always remember to highlight as a technique to study
The rules for clear, effective business writing | Financial Times - a bit 'heavy duty' but keep going, there's lots of excellent tips and things to make a note of in this article
Why you should make proofreading part of your content strategy | GatherContent - includes some great tips for eliminating mistakes within your text

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Rubbish written about copyright on social media

19/2/2017

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Some people write complete and utter rubbish about copyright on social media.

Beware that you are NOT sucked in with the sentiments and falsehoods they share.

Here's one such....

Like I said! not worth the paper it's written on or typed on a keyboard! You lose the right to any copyright if you share it on any social media site. Look at Facebooks acknowledgement clause! You have to be careful what ever you show. I'm not saying it's right! but like the song says "It's like that, it's just the way it is!" If anyone is daft enough to share, works of art on any social media site, before they have made enough money themselves out of it. Is a fool!

and here's my response

re. "You lose the right to any copyright if you share it on any social media site. "
1) INCORRECT You never ever lose your copyright unless you sign it away e.g. in a licensing agreement.
2) INCORRECT because Facebook allows and enables you to report Copyright Infringement. Have you not read Facebook's pages about how to tackle copyright infringement?
https://www.facebook.com/help/325058084212425?ref=contextual

I agree people need to be aware that if you post on certain sites that your photos may be shared beyond what you might intend - but that is not the same as losing your right to copyright. That's about people not reading the terms and conditions of use of the site properly.

What to do if you see copyright infringement on Facebook

For the record:

Posting a photograph or an image of your artwork on social media does not mean that you lose your copyright
You can report copyright infringement on Facebook
The Help centre contains a page which tells you How to report copyright infringement on Facebook
This has a useful link to What information do I need to include in a copyright report?
Only you or your designated agent can report an infringement
Note that when making a report you will be asked to provide your complete contact information (full name, mailing address and phone number). Note also that Facebook will provide the rights owner’s name, your email address and the details of your report to the person who posted the content you are reporting. I'd RECOMMEND you do NOT use your normal/main email address but rather one specifically set up for this purpose or any other purpose where you don't want your main email to be hacked/spammed etc.
If you see somebody infringing somebody else's work you can let that person know - but in highlighting it remember that they may have given permission or it might be being used in a legitimate way (ie under the legal exemptions to copyright) i.e. Asking people "Are you aware your image is on ...." is better than "Some snivelling little thief has got your picture...!"

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Image sizes for social media sites

30/12/2016

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Do you struggle with getting image sites right in terms of:

pixel dimensions
file size and type

for all the different images on all the different social media sites you use?

This morning I came across an incredibly helpful infographic which has now been imported into this site - see my new page Image Sizes for Social Media Sites in the Marketing section

2017 Social Media Image Sizes Cheat Sheet by makeawebsitehub.com

The social media sites it covers include:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Google +
Instagram
Pinterest
Tumblr
Linked In and
Ello

The infographic provides the precise dimensions for each specfic image.

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES: The post also provides detailed and very helpful notes about:

the best sort of image to use
resolution
file size
embedding
where and when an image will be seen

In summary I recommend this Infographic. I suggest your save the original post to your bookmarks - but if you lose it any time you now know you can find it again on this site.

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3 solutions for a 1* Facebook Review that undermines your organisation

2/8/2016

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Is it fair for Facebook to allow somebody to give a 1* review rating to an arts organisation - like an art society - when that individual has based their assessment on 3rd party comments by other people made some time ago? I've seen this happen on the Facebook Page of an art society.

How to tackle a 1* Facebook Review

People can review and rate a local business organisation.

ratings can be from 1* to 5* and contribute to an overall rating which shows on the Facebook Page
ratings can be left without a review but a review cannot be published without a rating.

There are three things an art organisation can do to respond to bad review given by somebody who has no personal knowledge of your organisation.

Change the category of your Facebook Page
Report the review for failing to follow Facebook's Guidelines
Identify the issue to your supporters - this always comes last and should only ever be employed if the first two fail to tackle the issue.

#1 SOLUTION: Change your category

There's no limit to the number of times that you can change the category of your Page.

The first thing you need to do is think very seriously about the category your organisation falls into.

If your arts organisation or society has the status of a "Local Business" on facebook this then permits reviews. Your organisation might want to think twice about the category given that

people can provide reviews without any personal knowledge of you (i.e. it's up to you to prove to facebook that they have no knowledge of you - which might not be easy!)
your organisation CANNOT DELETE those reviews (and you also risk getting a lot of spam left in the reviews section - never mind negative reviews!)
if not many people review you the negative reviews linger long on your Facebook Page - and affect its overall rating.

So - ask yourself the questions:

Does your arts organisation really need to have the category of a "Local Business"?
Might the category of "companies and organisations" be more appropriate?

Personally I don't think "business" is the right category for an organisation like an art society unless that organisation knows it can generate lots of positive and spontaneous reviews.

Next you need to change the category.

How do I change my Page's category? is a Facebook Help Page which tells you how you can change the category for your arts organisation.
Look at the table below - from What features are available based on my Page's category? - to see which features you want. Note that ONLY "Local Businesses" have the ratings and reviews feature.

#2 SOLUTION: Report the review

Note that Facebook does not moderate reviews UNLESS they are reported.

You can report a review if it doesn't follow and comply with the Facebook Guidelines for Reviews. So you need to report a Review that is clearly not based on personal experience.

This is what the Guidelines for ratings and reviews has to say.

Ratings and reviews must follow the Facebook Community Standards, focus on the product or service offered by the Page and be based on personal experience. Reviews that don't follow these guidelines may be removed.

What are the guidelines for ratings and reviews?

#3 SOLUTION: Identify the issue to your supporters

For me this last option should only ever be implemented as a response if both the other solutions have failed to address the issue, That said, if your organisation has opted for reviews then you need to make sure that those who are positive about you can leave a review!

The only thing that changes the impact of a negative review on the overall rating is lots of more positive reviews.

Anyone logged into Facebook can post ratings and reviews. People can post a rating without including a review, but you can't post a review without a rating.

You can identify the opportunity to leave ratings and reviews to your supporters. For example:

members of an art society are entitled to talk about their experience as a member
visitors to an exhibition might like to comment on whether they enjoyed it or not

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Art Business Info: NEWS

The Artist's Guide to Success in 2024 - 7 free videos

6 great resources for writing for the web

Rubbish written about copyright on social media

What to do if you see copyright infringement on Facebook

Image sizes for social media sites

3 solutions for a 1* Facebook Review that undermines your organisation

How to tackle a 1* Facebook Review

#1 SOLUTION: Change your category

#2 SOLUTION: Report the review

#3 SOLUTION: Identify the issue to your supporters

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

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Art Business Info: NEWS

The Artist's Guide to Success in 2024 - 7 free videos

6 great resources for writing for the web

Rubbish written about copyright on social media

What to do if you see copyright infringement on Facebook

Image sizes for social media sites

3 solutions for a 1* Facebook Review that undermines your organisation

How to tackle a 1* Facebook Review​

#1 SOLUTION: Change your category​

#2 SOLUTION: Report the review

​#3 SOLUTION: Identify the issue to your supporters​

Art Business Info. News for Artists

Visitors so far

GET Art Business Info. NEWS by Email

Author

Archives

Categories

How to tackle a 1* Facebook Review

#1 SOLUTION: Change your category

#3 SOLUTION: Identify the issue to your supporters