Art in the Age of Social Media: Interaction Behavior Analysis of Instagram Art Accounts

Instagram is the top preferred social media platform in the art world, however, we know little about the features of the most-liked artworks, and what role does the interaction between artists and followers play in the most-liked artworks? This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the interaction between artists and followers on Instagram and the features of the most-liked artworks. Data from 706 artists’ accounts 497,649 posts on Instagram and 35 questionnaires. The results reveal that likes and comments were greatly influenced by interactions, with confusion and curiosity being a big reason to engage. The artist’s life experience and interaction with the followers had a positive influence on the most-liked artworks. Interaction with followers does not have much impact on their artistic creation, although artists expect more likes. Our study expands the research of mobile social media interaction in the art world, which is of great significance for the research on the interactive psychology of artwork and digital marketing communications on social media. The findings can also support future research on citizen curators and sociology analytics research areas.