The Art of Marketing Art

Welcome to Tincan, a newsletter about marketing, culture, and how small brands make a big impact. Subscribe here.

There’s a ritual that happens nearly every time a major artist is about to drop an album: the Instagram wipe. The grid goes blank, and just like that, anticipation builds. Right now, Lorde’s Instagram is wiped except for one post. A$AP Rocky’s is empty. Lucy Dacus, whose album drops at the end of the month, has just 18 posts up. HAIM’s is wiped, too.

But then there are the exceptions: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, two of the most image-conscious artists of all time, seem shockingly unbothered by old posts lingering in the digital ether. For them, the past isn’t something to be erased. Maybe they see it as part of their spotless record.

This tension—between curating an image and letting a feed evolve in public—came up in a conversation last week. A friend asked me what he needed to figure out before he could start posting for his brand. Did he need a solid brand identity first? Did his core messaging need to be locked in?

Social media often feels like a branding exercise, but it’s not a brand book, it’s a space where things shift. Sure, there are branded elements (the profile picture, the occasional graphic), but the algorithm favors something looser, more in-the-moment. According to Sprout Social’s 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report, the biggest reason people unfollow brands is for unoriginal or repetitive content. If it’s not interesting, people just change the channel. And what is interesting? Authentic, entertaining posts from people they care about—not super slick branding.

One of my favorite examples of a brand getting this right is Dan Pelosi, aka GrossyPelosi. His website is a beautifully designed, tightly curated experience: color palettes, patterns, typography, all perfectly in place. But on Instagram, his brand moves. It’s glamorous, sure, but it’s also messy and alive—screenshots, candids, even recycled text from Stories slapped on top, despite the fonts being inferior to his own. He posts constantly (over 12,000 times!) without agonizing over every single one. The consistency isn’t in the polish; it’s in the voice. And voice requires practice and mistakes.

Social media is an ongoing experiment. If a post doesn’t land, it disappears into the scroll. If your brand shifts, no one is going to dig through your old posts and call you out on it. Even Beyoncé, meticulous as she is, lets her old posts stay.

Last week, I posted my first reel and immediately spiraled into post-upload regret. Alyssa talked me down: she said the whole point is to reach the people who love it. It won’t resonate with everyone, but who cares, because the people who don’t like it won’t even clock it. They’ll just scroll by. 

And she’s right. We’re all overstimulated. The things that stick, stick. Everything else just drifts past. There’s comfort in that.

Q&A: MAN LEE

Each issue, I’ll feature a quick-hit Q&A, a brand spotlight, or an FAQ breakdown.

This week’s Q&A dives into the ups and downs of marketing art—and how it’s really about framing a body of work for public perception, not just selling it. My friend Sam Reichman, who co-helms the art rock band MAN LEE with partner Tim Lee, shares her experience as they prepare to release their debut album, Hefty Wimpy, this Friday, March 7th.

What does marketing look like for you right now?

This year was the first year in my life that I've had to think about marketing myself as an artist. It required a bit of a mindset shift from where I'd been operating: Writing, recording, and producing this record was an expansive process where we got to bring in new collaborators, sounds, and ideas. Then once we finished the album, we quickly realized we needed to narrow the focus and turn our attention to a release strategy that involved music videos, art and merch, and PR.

What’s been the most frustrating part of promoting the album?

It goes without saying that it's tough for new artists these days—the algorithms are evil and no one is getting paid what they deserve. But I have to believe that we'll eventually reach the people that our music will resonate with. And the first step in that journey is IRL connection. We are playing more shows locally and hope to play in other cities soon, and that's very exciting to us. Community can and must grow organically.

Anything about this process you’ve actually enjoyed?

Our producer, Lora-Faye Åshuvud, encouraged us to take our time with the rollout and I'm so glad we did. The process of packaging up this body of work for public perception (notice I didn't say consumption lol) was incredibly worthwhile because it clarified our vision and solidified our approach for the next album. And this is the beauty of marketing: To be effective in communicating your ideas, you have to constantly be questioning why you're doing it.

A band or artist whose marketing approach you admire?

I admire Slothrust's commitment to doing absolutely whatever they want. I've been a fan forever, but last year, when they put out four different versions of a cover of Ginuwine's "Pony," I doubled down. No additional marketing necessary.

Follow MAN LEE on Bandcamp, Instagram, Youtube, and Spotify.

Got a marketing question for the FAQ? Know a business owner or creator with a smart approach to branding that I should feature? Hit reply and let me know!

Last Scraps

• The future of the internet is likely smaller communities. The Verge published research on online communities, finding that people want connection on their own terms. This part stuck with me:
  
  "Sometimes, just being present is enough to create meaningful connections. Ninety percent do nothing; 9 percent post once in a while; and 1 percent do 80 percent of the content creation."
  
  It’s a good reminder that building an online community can require only small contributions—even just showing up can make the difference.

Thanks for reading! Tincan is written by me, Anne Marie (she/her)—a designer, DIYer, and marketing strategist based in Philadelphia. Find me on my website, Instagram, LinkedIn.

If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter and know someone who also hates marketing but has to do it anyway, share this issue with them.