Very very interesting discussion, and I am just not sure… My shop was closed for three months after Christmas due to a house move; when I reopened I sold two cards within a few days. The first one; well I have no idea how they “saw” my shop. The second card was from a fellow folksy “friend” from the Folksy 365 Daily Listing Challenge… Then after about a week I received a massive order!!!
Last week I opened a Facebook Shop, and posted on Instagram, but no sales!!! So where my buyers come from I have no idea.
When I look on Google, and type in say “tulip birthday cards” a lot of my Cards show up on images.
And a lot of Google images are actually from Pinterest - so I am guessing that when you are on the Folksy Forums; especially the Folksy 365, then your items do get “pinned” quite regularly.
Can I ask about Twitter… its not one I use at all, do you just use it for your crafts? Have to admit the SM side of things is a bit beyond me as I simply dont really understand it, wish I could do all that @Caroleecrafts does in 20 minutes!!!
Getting the right Hashtag is most important - we’ve only managed it once and that was in December 2020 - we were trying to get to grips with IG and did #porridge#lovers for our spurtles - it was picked up instantly and we had 7 sales straight away through Folksy and 17 by direct email! Rob was having to keep rushing into the workshop to make more, which was great but slightly alarming when you’re making all this stuff by hand. Then we had 3 orders in quick succession through Folksy from the US, it was a woo woo happy dance experience but we haven’t got it quite right since but I know from that it does work it’s just a case of hitting that sweet spot - so I’d say just keep going little and often but definitely regularly. I do Twitter FB and Pinterest and Linked in regularly but not too often - don’t spread yourself too thin and keep on keeping on…
I’ve found by ensuring your website or Folksy Shop link when labeling your photos with a brief description does get you more back links and Google loves it - their Robots know you’re business is alive and kicking! And even if the item is sold it still directs the viewer to your site…
Don’t give up - we’ve only been on Folksy just under a year 1 year but it’s been great - we’ve sold things to folks we’d never have met face to face at selling events but it is taking time. I think you have to keep shouting about yourself on social media - who else can you meet otherwise! So don’t give up - post your usual post about whatever you’re up to and always add your shop link to everything - even when leaving comments on blogs other folks posts - they won’t be offended, they’ll either edit it, or send you a message to say please refrain, or they’ll publish it and be delighted, may even ask you to do a guest post about what you do…!
I have had a few sales through Twitter. I take part in the UkGiftHour on Saturday and Sunday morning and sometimes the UK Crafters hour on Sunday evening. For me it has been more successful in terms of sales than Instagram
I have linked my instagram and facebook because i dont realy like facebook but it feels like a nessasary evil to get notissed and get sales so everything i poast just automatickly pops up there and i try and poast to the grid at least twice a week and there is almost always something in my storys i also re list everything in my shop every morning on my way to work
I’ve set up my twitter account now … but still stumbling around in the dark really, can anyone give me any advice on how to best use it and share your own twitter feeds so i can see how its done! Heres mine https://twitter.com/helenwi30182274 … many thanks!
I’m missing craft fairs too I had a couple of regular ones where there were familiar faces coming every month and the organisers were very good at keeping the regular stallholders in the same spots so people knew where to find us. I’ve made friends with a few of the regular stallholders and miss our gossip in the quiet moments, hopefully they’ll reopen later this year or next year
Can I ask how this works @HandknitBySam … i’ve set up my Twitter account now and looked at those hashtags but being a total technophobe I’m not sure how it works, do we post using their hashtags on our own feed?
Hi @helenhandmade
During the designated times (usually 9.00 to 12 on Sat/Sun morning for UKGiftHour and 7.30-8.30 Sun evening for UKCraftersHour) you post on Twitter and tag your post with their hashtags and you often get retweets. I always like and retweet others too (not always all of them as it can be lots!) Engagement does vary but I can get over 50 retweets from the UKGiftHour. Hope that helps
As a non social media person, the whole world of it is completely puzzling to me. I would really like to know how Facebook and Instagram users relate ‘likes’ back to actual sales ie how do you know who is just ‘liking’ stuff as a habit rather than actually buying your makes? Obviously as a non user, I don’t have a lot of knowledge, but Facebook and Instagram posting about your products seems hugely time consuming and all that people seem to describe is how many followers and how many likes they have - how is it possible to assess your sales against these?
Social media can have an impact on your business in so many different ways. I don’t necessarily think there’s a direct correlation between numbers of likes, views, followers and sales but I know my social media presence brings many of my sales.
When I list something new in my shop, I always post it on my Facebook business page. I also share it to various handmade craft selling-type groups. I’ll often have someone see it in one of those groups that then buys it and leaves a comment saying so. I also get lots of requests for bespoke orders through my Facebook page. I’ve recently started using Instagram too. I never post the same thing I’ve posted on Facebook at the same time, so that it doesn’t get boring. I have had sales where the customer has told me that they saw the item on Instagram. I try to make my posts friendly and chatty, not just “look at this thing I’m selling”. This has helped build up a following of people who are genuinely interested in my work.
The benefits of social media can also be more subtle. I’ve got to know a lot of other artists and crafters through social media and have consequently been invited to join groups where we hold regular market nights on Facebook. Not only has this resulted in my work reaching more people, but the themed nature of the market nights has encouraged me to explore areas of design that I would never have previously thought of, and my work has evolved and improved as a result. The friendship, advice and support I’ve gained through being a part of these groups has also been invaluable.
FB and IG don’t show everything you post to everyone who follows you, they use an algorithm to decide what to show you. That algorithm looks at how frequently you as a follower of a page interact with that page but also how much other followers of the page have interacted with a post (amongst other factors) - so the more likes a post has the greater its chance of being seen by more people, the more people who see a post the greater the chance of finding the person who wants to buy it. Having lots of inactive followers to your page can be detrimental to how the algorithm sees your page - if they aren’t interacting with your page then the algorithm thinks you are putting out dull content that people don’t want to see so is less likely to show it to people.
How quickly social media can convert posts to sales depends on what you are selling. Lower priced items can be a more immediate sale - people see it, think oh that’s nice and buy it (you can sometimes track that using the stats page). My price points are a more considered purchase for many people so its more of a slow burn - show them something, they fall in love with it but can’t afford it right now/ think it will be the prefect present for X’s birthday in a few months time etc etc, they regularly see my posts (about other items) but that reminds them of me and my work so when they are ready to buy I’m still in their mind. (I’ve had messages from people who have been coveting items they spotted on social media waiting for the right time to treat themselves)
Social media also allows you to advertise other services you offer rather than just items for sale - I do commissions and repair work so can show pictures of those which lets other people know that I can do that for them should they need it in the future.
That is really interesting Helen, and Sasha, thanks for responding. It seems that SM can fulfil an important role in profile-raising rather than direct sales, which is what I thought might be one of its major effects - in the same way as image building through public relations activity as compared to direct advertising in the media. I worked as a writer within the marketing industry for the majority of my life, as well as writing for PR and the magazine industry, but the majority of my work was before social media became so powerful an influence. I think SM obviously has its place in the portfolio of marketing activity, and skilful use of it can be very effective, but it poses challenges in actually quantifying direct sales.
I personally haven’t done any social media for a long time, except for the very occasional post, but it is something I’m conscious that I need to do again because ultimately, I have an online shop that relies on online traffic, so social media is an important way that people can find me…
From the dim and distance days of craft shows, I was often asked by people browsing whether I had a Facebook page, so I think it’s an important way people can check your ‘credibility’. By that I mean that if someone was to invest a couple of hundred pounds in a picture from me, they’d want to know a little bit about me or what I do before committing to purchase. I also had conversations with people who had seen me on Facebook so recognised my work. If they weren’t in the market to buy a picture it definitely gave them an incentive to buy some printed cards.
My area of specialism is art so I realise other areas may have different buying behaviours but in terms of advice to those of you who don’t like social media, my main bit of advice is just choose one, and allocate yourself some time each day (maybe 20 minutes) to ‘do social media’. In that way it’s a small investment of time and after you’ve done it for about a month or so you’ll have a better idea of whether you think it can be useful to your business.
I had a couple of regular ones where there were familiar faces coming every month and the organisers were very good at keeping the regular stallholders in the same spots so people knew where to find us. I’ve made friends with a few of the regular stallholders and miss our gossip in the quiet moments, hopefully they’ll reopen later this year or next year 
It makes more sense to me to do a couple you enjoy rather than them all 