9 Social Media Tips for Promoting Your Designs

Social media can be a handy tool to help authentically market your work. We’re here today to dispel the rumors the voice in your head has been spreading that promoting on platforms like Instagram and Facebook is too overwhelming. 

While there is work involved, there are simple ways to use your creative skills to make this a fun way to connect with communities of both artists and unique surface design enthusiasts. We’ll go through a few easy elements to incorporate into your posting practices and dive into how you can specifically do this during Spoonflower promotions using our provided overlays to announce that your designs are on sale.

Looking for tips and tricks by social channel? Don’t miss our Ultimate Guide to Social Media.

Social Media Marketing Tips

1. Join the Spoonflower Fans group on Facebook. 

This is a community-run, private group of some of the most successful and most active surface designers on Spoonflower. You’ll find a constant flow of conversations buzzing about everything from trends in the Marketplace to Design Challenge themes and tips for using specific design tools. Connecting here will become a great resource for you as an artist.

2. Put your best face forward. 

It’s important to put a face to your business so folks connect with YOU as the person who is creating the art that they can view. Use a brightly-lit headshot for your profile photos and be sure to include photos of yourself within your feed to introduce yourself to your audience throughout the year.

Artist Jo Kalute (jokalute on Spoonflower) shares her workspace on her Instagram account @hellojokalute

3. Maintain consistency.

Whether using your portrait or your logo as your social media avatar, be sure to keep it consistent across all channels to help build recognition for your brand.

4. Learn to take great photos.

Good lighting, styling and the perfect angle are the biggest factors in producing professional-looking photography. Visit our Photography Tips for Artists and Designers article for a complete guide. 

5. Go behind the scenes.

Share insight into your creative process along with your finished designs on Instagram. This will encourage engaging conversations and allow shoppers to appreciate the hard work that goes into your designs even more!

Kristin (youdesignme on Spoonflower) works on a watercolor design.

6. Use hashtags on Instagram and Twitter.

Hashtags are virtual links to other online posts with a common interest. They can help you reach potential customers regardless of whether they follow you or not. 

For example, if you use a popular hashtag for your home state it may lead you to connect with local buyers. Want to contribute to a popular design prompt on Instagram? Using the associated hashtag will allow more people to see your work.

 Some of the most commonly used hashtags to include in your Spoonflower posts are: 

7. Don’t Shy Away from Captions.

Don’t underestimate this important step! If you’re sharing a new pattern design, share the concept behind it or why you chose a particular color palette, or even what product you’d love to see your pattern on. Again, shoppers love to know the story behind the design. See how Spoonflower Maker Yeah Baby Goods grew her Instagram following to over 50k in six months by changing her caption strategy.

8. Engagement is Key.

Whether through commenting on other people’s posts or replying to comments left on your posts, use more than five words in comments to boost the algorithm. Overall, try to project your personality behind the patterns you create. It’s a social platform and people are trying to forge connections.

9. Don’t Neglect Instagram Stories.

They are fast becoming just as important or even more important than the main feed images. Show a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your daily life—whether that’s the inspiration behind a new design or even the flowers that are growing in your garden. It helps people feel you’re more accessible, and it’s gone in 24 hours so you don’t have to overthink it.

For a complete guide on how to market your designs on social media, visit our Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing in the Spoonflower Seller Handbook.

How to Use Overlays to Promote Your Shop During a Sale

Let your community on social media know that your Spoonflower designs on are on sale with our promotional overlays! Just follow these instructions to be ready to spread the word for our upcoming promotions.

*Did you know newsletter subscribers are the first to know about our sales? Be sure to update your newsletter settings by selecting Manage Email Preferences at the bottom of any Spoonflower email. 

Download Promotion Overlays

To access renders of your design on the variety of products we carry at Spoonflower, select a design from your Design Library, then click View All Products from the left-side menu. From there, right-click any render to save it to your desktop.

Insider Tip: Did you know you can download a small, medium or large file? Go to your all products page for your design and right-click the product render you want and click “Open Image in New Tab”. Look for /m/ in the URL in the new tab and change the /m/ (medium) to /s/ for small or /l/ for large and voila! You’ve adjusted the size of the image.

See how three Spoonflower artists are using promotional overlays to promote their designs on Instagram.

Featured artists: movezerb, annebomio and danidesign.