Why artists should be offering their audiences free mobile wallpaper versions of their art, plus instructions on how to create one and where to share it.
NOTE: Mobile wallpapers are a great way to engage with your audience, but they should never be used as the incentive for the lead capture pop-up on your site. This will attract the wrong types of people to sign-up for your list.
Mobile device usage is booming.
Over the past year, many website owners have seen mobile use of their site approach or surpass 50% of all traffic.
And so we need to re-calibrate our marketing approach for this new reality.
That means meeting your user where they are likely to be: on their phone.
Today’s tactic is one of our favorite ways to do that.
The Case For Offering Mobile Wallpapers
First, take a look at what Apple has to say about mobile usage:
“[the] average user unlocks their phones 80 times a day.” – Ben Bajarin
And this is just the average user. The heavy user comes into contact with their phone upwards of 130 times a day.
And almost every time this interaction occurs, the user sees an image: their phone’s wallpaper.
What if your art was that wallpaper?
Can you think of any other way to get your art seen by 1 person over 80 times a day?
We can’t.
That type of access to your fans’ everyday lives is invaluable.
It will be the image they see most often – all day every day.
When paired with consistent use of other marketing strategies (ie: frequent use of Instagram Stories, romance marketing, and Instagram Ads), this intimate relationship between your audience and your art can be highly profitable.
An admirer of your art today, a buyer of the real thing tomorrow.
So let’s look at how to get it done.
How To Create Mobile Wallpapers
Creating mobile wallpapers requires 2 things:
- A digital image of your artwork/photograph
- An image editing program (you will only need basic functionality) such as Preview, Photoshop, or an online free program like Pixlr
Before we begin, a word on how this image needs to be sized.
Aspect Ratio
The most common aspect ratio for mobile phones is 9:16 (which becomes the TV-standard ratio of 16:9 when the phone is turned horizontally).
- iPhone 5: 640×1136 (9:16)
- iPhone 6: 750×1334 (9:16)
- iPhone 6s Plus: 1080×1920 (9:16)
- iPhone 7: 750×1334 (9:16)
- OnePlus 5: 1080×1920 (9:16)
- HTC 10: 1440×2560 (9:16)
- Google Pixel: 1080×1920 (9:16)
- For more, see here
So go ahead and pick any resolution with a 9:16 ratio. We recommend 1080x1920px, and it is the size we will be working with in the following demo.
Now, let’s create the wallpaper!
First, open up your image editing program and create a new document.
Then, enter in the dimensions of the desired wallpaper size. We will use 1080 pixels x 1920 pixels.
Import the image you want to turn into a wallpaper in the new document you’ve just created.
If your image is originally shot as a landscape image (as opposed to portrait), choose your favorite part of the image to use as the wallpaper.
And that’s it!
Export it as a JPEG to minimize file size.
What To Do With Your Mobile Wallpaper
The final step is to distribute your new wallpapers to your audience. One of the best ways to do that is with Instagram Stories.
Instagram Story
Post your wallpaper to your Instagram Story.
Don’t forget to first include a message in your Story telling your followers that the next image is a wallpaper for them to screenshot.
See the example video below:
