The social networks offer an exposure chance never seen before, increasing the already thriving online art market and offering new opportunities for artists and market players.
[signinlocker id=4040] According to the report of Hiscox Art Online Trade with Art Tactic, social media are growing in importance and many galleries are exploring their use as a marketing tool and for online sales, also considering a 32% of collectors who state how social networks have had an increasing impact on the decision to buy an artwork.
These numbers show how social networks have become a new channel in the art market.
Some of the main operators have already understood their potential; an example is the Gagosian gallery, that with the help of a social media manager in its staff, has tested the online sales showcase at the art fairs, with excellent results.
David Zwirner, famous German art dealer, has instead hired the influencer Elena Soboleva as director of online sales, also creating on his website a sales section called “Viewing Room”.
Among all, the famous art dealer from New York, Brett Gorvy is a texbook case, having managed to sell a $ 24 million Basquiat work via Instagram.
Many galleries as well were first online born, like the Unit London— a real model to understand what can be done with a social account even for physical galleries:
- Showcase the available artworks
- Promote vernissage, exhibitions and events
- Storytelling the participation in international fairs
- Enhance their artists through a new channel of visibility
Artistars such as Damien Hirst have become 3.0, deciding to independently manage his Instagram account—which is now the favorite social media among collectors and professionals of the art world- launching contest for his followers and telling his poetics as in a sort of diary. Even Maurizio Cattelan is becoming more and more social, between stories and posts that last only one day, the artist is still more than active on the art scene.
Social media become a showcase for artists and art galleries in many ways:
- They allow you to show your works of art, while reaffirming your own statement
- They allow you to communicate the availability of works on the market and make contact with collectors interested in buying
- They offer the opportunity to share with the followers the participation in events, exhibitions or the presence of their art works in prestigious collections thanks to the sharing of their posts.[/signinlocker]
The social networks offer new opportunities for promotion and sales to artists and art galleries who are able to capture the signals of interest from collectors, who are increasingly more and more attentive to develop due diligence on virtual purchasing channels.
