As a crafter you know that you can only sell what people see, so how do you spread your name and get people to see your wares?.
Social Media is a great way to do this but which platforms?
- Twitter – http://www.twitter.com
- Facebook – http://www.facebook.com
- LinkedIn – https://gb.linkedin.com/
- Google+ – https://plus.google.com/up/search
- Instagram – http://www.instagram.com
There’s plenty more too, use the ones that suit you and your business. For this blog I’ll be focussing on Twitter but check back and there will be more (as I get used to using them myself).
On Twitter, unlike Facebook, you are limited on what you can write, by 140 characters. With that in mind, think of short phrases describing what you’re trying to sell. The 140 characters also includes photographs which equal 24 characters.
Here’s a quick example:
#fiverfriday includes this beautiful#bunny. Just £5 http://ow.ly/10pLub on@ConsciousCrafty#craftbuzz
So based on this tweet, I’ve told people that I’m having a special offer (#fiverfriday) on my #bunny and that it is purchased through the link above on Conscious Crafties (@consciouscrafty). You may also note that I’ve put a hashtag of #craftbuzz at the end, more on this further down. I also added a photo so people could see what I was I was trying to sell. USE YOUR PHOTOS!! People are less likely to click on a link if they don’t know where it leads.
Keep things, short and sweet with as many hashtags (the #) as possible for people to reach your item. When someone searches twitter they’re searching the hashtags, so for you to be found when someone searches #handmade you need to have #handmade in your tweet/other tweets.
If someone likes your item they will pop through your link and buy it OR they will retweet your post. When someone retweets your item, it means that it begins to show your tweet in their feed, and all their followers see it too.
It’s like when you hand out flyers, not only are you trying to show that person what you do, but also anyone else they come into contact with.
Another good way to get your items seen is to take part in networking hours on Twitter. This is where, during advertised times you can post your items and the people who run the networking profile which retweet your message to their followers.
Here’s a list of known networking hours, feel free to message me if you know anymore that you’d like added to the list.
Monday to Friday
#uklatehour = 9 – 10
#bizhour = 2 – 3…
#b2bhour = 2 – 4
#womaninbiz = 6 – 7
#ukbusinesslunch = 12 – 1
Monday
#enterprisehour = 8 – 9
#northwesthour = 3 – 4
#gifthour = 8 – 9
#creativehour #ccc = 7:30 – 8:30
#mondaymarathon = all day
#lincshour = 8 – 9
#bayhour = 8 – 9
#horsehour = 8 – 9
Tuesday
#chesterhour = 8 – 9
#treasurytuesday = all day (For Etsy Treasuries only)
#dartmoorhour = 8 – 9
Wednesday
#northwesthour = 8 – 9
#wrexhamhour = 8 – 9
#britcrafthour = 9 – 10
#devonhour = 8 – 9
#nwpukhour = 8 – 9
Thursday
#ukbusinesshour = 8 – 9
#sunderlandhour = 8 – 9
#etsyuksellers = 8 – 9 (etsy only)
#eastangliahour = 8 – 9
#southwesthour = 8 – 9
#leedshour = 8 – 9
#kirkleeshour = 8 – 9
#wirralhour = 8 – 9
Friday
#northwesthour = 9 – 10
#fridayfaveathon = all day
Saturday
#merseyhour = 1 – 2
Sunday
#crafthour = 7 – 8
#handmadehour = 8 – 9
#englandhour = 9 – 10
#spooniecrafts = all day (conscious crafties only)
#waleshour = 8 – 9
#equinehour = 8 – 9
#brumhour = 8 – 9
#sundayhour = 8 – 9
#holmfirthhour = 8 – 9
#eastdevonhour = 8 – 9
I know, I know it’s a huge list, how are you meant to keep up with all these networking hours? You might not be in as life happens. I use http://www.hootsuite.com and schedule the tweets (and Facebook Posts) for when I’m busy. You write what you want to post and then schedule what time you would like them to go live.
So what happens if you want to share things but it’s outside of the special hours? Well here’s a list of handy hashtags to use whenever;
- #Tweeturbiz
- #etsyuksellers
- #mylocaltweets
- #britishcrafters
- #chestertweets
- #northwalestweets
- #shareourshop
- #craftpromote
- #womeninbiz
- #epiconetsy
- #etsymntt
- #giftideas
- #THLx
- #tweeturbiz
- #tweeturpromo
- #tweeturbizuk
- #ukbiz
So there’s your tips and tricks. If you have some you’d like added to the blog, let me know in the comments below.
HAPPY TWEETING
Crafty Miller 