ONLINE: Social Media for Creatives: Mistakes, Myths & How to Avoid Them

press release: Facilitated by Rachel Werner

Branding yourself and being active on social media are two very beneficial ways to promote exhibitions and arts-based services. But it's not uncommon for a working artist to be a novice in terms of crafting marketing plans. What's the best way to engage on digital platforms to cultivate an ongoing interest in your work? And how should you get started? This workshop will explore ways to design and produce an active online presence that keeps clients coming back—plus attract new ones—using free and paid content. Come with your questions!

Rachel Werner is the content marketing specialist for Taliesin Preservation; guest faculty this year for Hugo House and The Loft Literary Center; a We Need Diverse Books program volunteer; and a 2017 World Food Championship judge. Formerly the digital editor at BRAVA, she has contributed print, photography and video content to Fabulous Wisconsin, BLK+GRN, Madison Magazine and Entrepreneurial Chef. She is also the founder of The Little Book Project WI, a community arts and nonprofit bi-annual collaboration. 

For the past five years Dane Arts, through its annual Dane Arts Buy Local Market (DABL Market), has provided a platform for Dane County visual artists and the greater business community to come together and build partnerships across arenas.   

Additionally, DABL organized business-educational workshops for artists to grow their skills. Previous to these unprecedented circumstances, DABL had re-envisioned itself for 2020 to focus more on providing artists across disciplines skills and training opportunities related to their business and their work.  

“And with the current realities we now face, and the recent surge of pop up markets from other entities thanks to DABL, we now feel we can be of an even greater resource for all working artists by offering more practical, personal, and business oriented programming,” states Mark Fraire, Director of Dane Arts. He adds, “We hope this program shift will encourage more artists to participate in DABL so they can better equip themselves with additional skills to sustain their practice.”    

This year DABL will turn its focus to helping artists build their art businesses. As much of our lives have moved to social media we find artists are doing what they do best, finding creative ways to keep us entertained, creating community art projects, playing living room shows for tips, and helping us find the beauty of community.  

To support this effort, DABL will be hosting a combination of live and recorded workshops taught by artists and other professionals. These workshops will be held every other Wednesday from 7a-8p, starting May 6th through the end of the year.  These workshops are FREE and open to all artistic disciplines. Please help us spread the word.  For an evolving list of workshops visit our website https://dablmarket.com/workshops. 

We will be hiring local professionals that will give you practical tools to build and grow your art business.  If you have any suggestions for workshops, are interested in leading a workshop or know a great presenter, email us at dablmarket@gmail.com.