BEYOND THE HASHTAG

John Creighton Petersen
Saturday May 4, 2019 – Evening Workshop

Everyone’s social media goals are different – what are yours? Are you looking to simply gain new followers, increase impressions and likes, or to drive traffic and sell your fabulous artwork? This workshop is designed to help take your Instagram presence to the next level by introducing you the variety of different tools and techniques to organically grow your Instagram community and establish yourself as and artist on this platform. Whether you’re brand new to Instagram, or you’ve been on the platform for years, this workshop has something to offer for everyone!

Although this platform has been around for almost a decade, many people are still apprehensive about joining Instagram or how all of the algorithms actually work. What many people don’t realize is that Instagram has seen year after year growth, especially from people who are looking for an alternative to Facebook. Personally I have placed more of a focus to Instagram over the past couple of years after finding that this platform has resulted in more traffic and sales to my website and in this workshop I’ll share with you what I’ve learned to help you do the same!

Here’s what you’ll gain from the Beyond The #Hashtag workshop:

  • The basics: hashtags, tagging, profiles, navigation, linking
  • Identify your audience and how to reach them more effectively
  • Switching to a Business Profile and utilizing the tools only available to this type of profile
  • Organically growing your Instagram following
  • Utilizing analytics to maximize reach of your posts
  • How to create posts that capture more engagement
  • The ability to sell your artwork directly from Instagram

Success in the realm of social media is like making homemade pasta sauce from scratch – it’s a labor of love, requiring dedication and patience from preparation to letting the sauce simmer until perfection. Just like making pasta sauce, seeing a return on your efforts placed into growing your social media audience and communities takes time but is well worth the investment in the long term! I am a firm believer in creating a social media audience organically over time, meaning that with the right tools and content your growth will happen on it’s own. The reality is that social media growth (despite what people think) does not happen overnight. Similar to planting a garden, your social media presence needs some TLC and cultivation before it blooms and bares fruit. And this workshop will be the seeds for your garden!

I have helped individuals to large manufacturers establish and grow their social media presence on a variety of platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. With so many different tools available on these social media platforms, sometimes it seems simply overwhelming to know exactly where to start. This workshop has been specifically tailored for artists, focusing on our specific needs that are different from others on Instagram.

Supplies to bring to the workshop:

  • mobile device (phone and/or iPad)
  • pen and paper (or the like) for taking notes