Below are seven ways in which you can work with Art UK to promote your collection.
1. Link from your website to Art UK
To encourage people to explore your collections, you can direct them straight to the artworks on Art UK.
Download a selection of graphics to use on your website. Below is some suggested wording to signpost online audiences to your collection:
Explore our collection on Art UK, the online showcase for art in every UK public collection
Hyperlink the graphic and copy to your collection on Art UK by using the unique URL, which you can find by going to your venue/collection page.
If you are unsure how to embed graphics or someone else manages your website, please get in touch and we would be happy to advise.
2. Embrace social media
Drive conversation via your social channels. Share blogs and news stories, post images of your works and photos of photography sessions – all linking to your works on Art UK. If you would like support in creating posts, let us know and we would be happy to help.
Follow Art UK and like and share our latest updates:
3. Build a newsletter following
Announce your collections are live on Art UK via your email and printed newsletters, linking to the works and any articles you have published. Remind people that they can visit many of these artworks in person.
4. Generate press and media activity
Consider approaching the local press to make some noise about your art in your community. We are happy to support press activity.
Art UK has secured national media coverage and promoted regional interest stories throughout the project. So far, we have seen coverage in popular titles including The Guardian, BBC, ITV, Irish Independent and The Art Newspaper.
5. Support fellow collections
Venues across the UK are publicising their collections. Keep an eye on their activities, particularly social media, and draw links with your own works, artists and styles. As well as supporting your regional friends, if you are a museum in Edinburgh and a collection in Dorset shares art with a connection to yours, give them a shout out and join the conversation!
A collective voice will help raise your own profile and generate interest in your art. The sculpture project in particular has a national reach and by supporting one another, collections across the country will all benefit.
6. Consider offline marketing
As well as online promotions, use offline communications such as printed newsletters, leaflets, exhibition guides, posters and magazines to bring visitors online. This will encourage people to learn about the art they love outside of the museum or gallery. Don't forget to remind them they can visit the works in real life too.
7. Make sure your Art UK venue page is looking its best
Your organisation has its own collection/venue page on the Art UK website. Users can search collections geographically by region, county, collection and venue. When navigating the site in this way, venues are displayed in a grid, with the name and an accompanying photograph of the venue. When users click through to a venue page, they see the venue image larger. A logo is also displayed, as well as other information about the venue.
Many venues are missing images and as such display a placeholder instead. Many others have inferior quality images and logos, inherited from the old Your Paintings site where the images were less prominent and displayed at a smaller size.
We are looking to increase the number of venues that have images and logos, towards achieving an image and logo for as many venues as possible on Art UK. Venue images work best as landscape-orientation building photos or interior shots. Unfortunately, artwork images cannot be used in place of venue images.
If you have a venue image or logo to send us, please email them to images@artuk.org
Venue images need to be at least 450 pixels in height.
If you have any questions about marketing your collection, please get in touch via collections@artuk.org