On April 22nd, we hosted an inspiring webinar featuring artist **[Meredith Walker](https://www.cohart.com/meredithwalkerstudio/profile), who shared her journey and strategies for using social media to build an art career. As someone who went from graphic designer to successful painter while living hours away from major art scenes, Meredith offered invaluable insights on how artists can harness social media to create opportunities.

Cohart’s Growing Your Art Business: The Social Side ft. Artist Meredith Walker

#### Meredith’s Social Media Journey

Meredith began her painting career in 2019 after working as a graphic designer. What started as a therapeutic escape from postpartum depression evolved into a flourishing art practice. Based in Columbia, South Carolina—four hours from the nearest major art scene—she credits Instagram as the primary driver of her career success.

_"Instagram truly has been the reason I've been able to make a career,"_ Meredith shared. _"We live in an age where you don't necessarily have to be in a certain place to make art work for you and to make a career out of it."_


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#### Foundational Social Media Principles

##### Establish a Clear Identity

One of Meredith's non-negotiables is making sure people can find and connect with you easily:

- Include your actual name
- Share your location
- Provide contact information
- Explain how to purchase your work

This information should be consistently visible across all platforms.

##### Consistency Over Frequency

A key insight was reframing how we think about consistency. _"Consistency is key, but consistency doesn't mean every day,"_ Meredith emphasized. _"If you can log on once a week but you do that over five years, that's consistency."_

Instead of feeling chained to the algorithm, she suggests asking, _"What can I bring to the table?" and "How can I make this work for me?"_

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#### Strategic Content Creation

Meredith broke down how she approaches different content formats:

##### Reels

- Have the longest lifespan
- Most effective for reaching new followers
- A "playground" to experiment with trends that feel authentic to you
- Remember: "Your work is important because you're important"

##### Posts

- Think of your grid as "your portfolio and CV if they had a baby"
- A mini-website that showcases your professional journey
- Focus on quality over quantity
- Consider using carousels and music (current Instagram preferences)

##### Stories

- Your "friends" space—people who are genuinely interested in you
- Like "walking into a party where you're familiar with some people"
- Perfect for day-to-day insights, studio views, and works-in-progress
- A "scrapbook" that fosters deeper connections

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#### From Online Connections to Real Opportunities

For artists hoping to translate social media presence into career advancement:

##### Strategic Positioning

_"Dress for the job you want,"_ Meredith advised. She openly pins the same artwork she's submitting to shows at the top of her profile so jurors can easily recognize it.

_"I'm getting less and less embarrassed by just being really open with what I want,"_ she reflected.

##### Targeted Networking

Study galleries or brands you want to work with:

- Follow their accounts
- Engage with their posts
- Learn from the artists they represent
- Join email lists and respond to announcements

##### Local Community Engagement

Despite geographic limitations, showing up in your local art scene remains crucial for connecting with fellow artists and learning opportunities.

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#### Practical Tips

- **Quality matters**: Ensure clear, well-composed images and videos
- **Use a business account** to access analytics
- **Invest in basic equipment** like a good light setup to simplify content creation
- **Wait for inspiration** with social media content, just as with your art
- **Experiment with different formats** and use insights to see what works


#### Finding Balance

Perhaps most importantly, Meredith emphasized maintaining perspective about social media:

_"It's an abusive relationship a little bit... the app doesn't care about you. But the connections that you make on the app are very real, and a career can be built from it."_

She reminded us to make the platform work for us, not the other way around—setting boundaries while leveraging the unprecedented global reach social media offers artists today.

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Our community found this webinar incredibly valuable, with engaging questions throughout the session. We're excited to continue this conversation with upcoming webinars on branding, email newsletters, and collector perspectives.

What social media challenges are you facing as an artist? [Reach out](mailto:hello@cohart.com)—we'd love to hear from you!


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Meredith Walker shares tips on leveraging social media as an artist in a webinar hosted by Cohart.

Leveraging Social Media as an Artist: Key Insights from Meredith Walker

Leveraging Social Media as an Artist: Key Insights from Meredith Walker

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