Why I do Folksy Friday's (& maybe you should too)

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We recommend tagging @folksyhq, as although it’s generally sellers creating Folksy Fridays and sharing each other’s work, it’s also to help show people the great variety of work that’s available on Folksy and hopefully get more people looking at the site, which fits with the buyer focused folksyhq account (although no problem if you tag @folksysellers instead).
The main thing is that you add the tag on the photo, rather than just putting it in the caption, as it’s the photo tag which adds the post to the tagged section on whichever Folksy account.

@GlintBeads To share someone’s post you click the paper plane icon underneath the post and select ‘add to story’, but unfortunately it only seems to give that option on phone, not computer.

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Wow Lou @thestitchyroom - the prize for the most organised person definitely goes to you! Like Sharon @TheOldButton I’ve been known to do 2 or 3 weeks worth in one go but never to plan a whole year - amazing!

But honestly Brenda @teabreaks I completely get that overwhelmed feeling - it feels like you learn one thing, then it all changes, then something else comes along… it does feel never ending sometimes when all we want to do is make/create. Totally get that! I think just liking/commenting on other people’s posts (when you can) is a brilliant way of showing support. And doing that on Facebook is brilliant too - doesn’t have to be Instagram, just whichever social media site you feel at home on. And it doesn’t have to be every single Folksy Friday post either - just spending 1 or 2 minutes once a week if you can is brilliant.

I think it’s a valid point you make Debby @Bearlescent - not being able to tag sellers is a pain. And like Christine @ChristineJonesPrintmaker mentioned, tagging a seller on FB or IG and then seeing that their account leads to somewhere other than Folksy is annoying. I confess, I don’t check that - I just tag them if they have an account. Maybe a better way would be by tagging the seller on the image (so that they get notified - in the same way you would take Folksysellers), but then just give the name of the shop on the listing description. I’ve seen some people give the full url link to a shop - the slight problem there is links aren’t clickable on IG (although people could in theory copy and paste), and on FB they will actively suppress a post that has links pointing away from the site - they don’t like people leaving FB! As far as I know, a way around that is by creating the post description, but putting the links to the shops as a comment on the post after you’ve posted it. I think that’s a way around it. Not ideal though! I think what I might try this week is just tagging on the photo so that sellers know they’ve been mentioned, and on the description I’ll just give the shop name. I’ll have a think about that!

You’re right @GlintBeads - both FB and IG (and probably X/Twitter) are guilty of that: not showing your favourite people to you in your feed. I think that’s all down to how much/often you interact with those people - if you don’t like/comment regularly I think the algorithm assumes you’re not that interested anymore (even though you are and you’re probably cheerfully looking at posts) and so doesn’t show them to you anymore. I’m not sure why you would have been blocked, I think it could happen if you say the same thing over and again on several posts (so it thinks you’re spamming), but I honestly don’t know! (Perhaps that’s something to bear in mind when you’re commenting on lots of FF posts - make sure you say something unique each time!)

When I get mentioned on posts it comes up as a notification alert on both FB & IG, it doesn’t show on my feed - so it could be that people are missing their mentions just because they’ve not been on the site for a few days. Or I guess if they’re super-popular and have lots of followers who generate lots of notification alerts they just get lost in the pile! I always put my FF posts on the ‘Promoting Folksy’ thread here on the forums and tag shops if I can (not always possible as not every seller is on the forum) - I figure that if they don’t see my mention on the social media site itself, they will at least get a notification that they’ve been mentioned by someone on here.

But I think what I do want to say is - I hope my post hasn’t made anyone feel guilty, that’s honestly not what I meant by it! If you don’t want to/can’t do a FF post that’s absolutely fine, please don’t feel bad about it. Yes, I’m hoping that more of us will start doing them, but just as important is for a few more sellers to help those that do - because by helping (by which I mean liking/commenting/sharing/whatever on FF posts) then it’s kind of helping all of us.

I agree with @plumporridge - hands down the best thing about Folksy which few other marketplace sites have is our sense of community. The forums are friendly, supportive and we’re all rooting for each other in a way that is so unique. I don’t sell on E.. but I’d be willing to bet their forums aren’t half as helpful or supportive of one another as we are. That’s a real USP and one we should all be proud of because we’ve made it that way ourselves.

We’re like a little army for good! :flexed_biceps: :clap: :yellow_heart:

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Thank you Kim :blush:
Im going to try again, but Im still struggling to find an easy way on my phone.

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Brilliant idea Debbie. I post my Folksy Friday’s to Pinterest and have a ‘Found On Folksy’ board I add to as well.
I’ve got the save to Pinterest widget thingy for my browser so not difficult at all to post to Pinterest.
I’ve got ‘sort out pinterest’ on my To Do list for this week actually so will have a play with adding some gift idea boards.
Louise x

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Lol - I’ve hade ‘sort out pinterest’ on my ‘to do’ list for over a year - every time I go on there, I realise I have no idea what I am doing! :cry: :cry: :cry:
Kim @kimfolksy thanks for the confirmation, I thought that was the case!

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When i do them I usually add shop tags to each picture on the board but then also tag in the write up, perhaps just tagging the board as you suggested then just add their names to the text body would be quicker. I always have good intentions of doing one but never seem to get around to it at the minute.i use to post yo instagram, facebook and on the forum, pinterest too if i remembered. I think if I started them again I would just limit it to Instagram and the forum as I don’t like facebook and am very lapse with my own content on there, I find Instagram much easier.

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Brenda, I know exactly what you mean, I feel like a dinosaur these days.

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Another dinasaur here.

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Great post! I do it for all the same reasons as you and I’m a great believer in collaboration. I’ve made some good virtual friends doing this, peers that I enjoy engaging with and that’s a big plus for me. You’re right about allocating some time to it, it’s not a quick job to do and especially if you’re trying to create a quality collage of items that compliemnt your theme. It certainly helps with comments and likes, and some of the other Folksy sellers are great at engaging and sharing, but of course not everyone is and that’s something that you just have to accept. I think the more that try it even if it’s only once a month, it will help Folksy get an higher footfall and consequently more potential customers for all of us, win-win. :blush:

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I did do it, I think I managed to do it twice, but, they take me ages to do, plus I was never quite happy with how they looked and my understanding of Canva is very limited, I keep telling myself I’ll try and learn to be more tech savvy but honestly it feels like there are not enough hours in the day.
I always try to comment and like any of the Friday boards I see on Instagram and I try to be supportive of other Folksy sellers but again, tech stuff I’m really not great at nor very quick, I was finding myself spending hours every day on SM and that isn’t good for anyone.

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Thanks Janette @ElizabethLarsenKnitwear :grinning_face:

And yes, @PaintedHorseArt - social media is a huge rabbit hole and it’s very easy to find yourself there for hours! I have a set time for liking other people’s FF boards - I do it just after I’ve posted mine and spend a few minutes seeking them out and commenting/liking as much as I can. Then I try to be strict with myself and leave - because the next thing you know you’re scrolling through feeds and looking at recipes and cat videos :joy:

To be honest Debby @Bearlescent, they do say it’s best not to try to be across ALL the social medias: that it’s far better to master (ie, get to know and be familiar with) just one (or two) and leave the rest alone. So just sticking to IG and the forum is a great idea I think. It can feel overwhelming sometimes otherwise so I think you’re on the right track!

And honestly, to all those that just can’t or don’t want to do them please don’t worry about it - we still (really) need you, so if you can spend just a minute or two each week to give someone’s Folksy Friday post a bit of love that would be amazing. It’s not about drumming up business for Folksy’s benefit - it’s about helping fellow sellers, and that’s something we’re all brilliant at! :innocent:

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Ok. Right please dont laugh, but can i have an idiots guide on how to do this please.
Do i screenshot my finds and then create a collage style board? Do i just pick random items or have a theme? How do i find peoples instagram and Facebook shops to tag them? Sorry for so many questions, but i really do want to start to join in with all the networking posts.

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Hi Jo - there’s an article on the Folksy blog here which should help you: What is Folksy Friday and how can I join in?

It says to do 8, that’s not a rule (I only do 4 items each week) - just whatever you fancy really.

It depends how you’re doing it really and what software you may have, I work on a pc and just right click an image and copy it - then I use photoshop to create my collage board. But lots of people use Canva which is I think free to use.

Yes, just pick whatever takes your fancy - but ideally you want a theme of some kind. That can be whatever you fancy - it can be a colour, a phrase or keyword, you can choose Folksy’s own theme of the day (you can find them listed on your dashboard), it can be geographical (as in, here’s a roundup of makers in Lincolnshire), or anything really! It makes it easier to find items if you have a theme, and helps when you write the description that goes with the post when you put it on social media.

When you see an item you want to include, go to that sellers shop page and scroll down - you should see links to their own social media accounts. Not everyone has them though, but most will have at least one or two. Visit their, say Instagram, page - see what their page name is (for example, for me it’s ‘photofairytales’), and then add an ‘@’ sign before their name on your post and it will alert them you’ve done it and also provide a link for customers to find their page/shop. So, if I were to include one of your items on my FF board, I’d go to your shop page, navigate to your Facebook page, and see that your page is called ‘jomcsdesigns’ - so I’d put @jomcsdesigns on the post. You’d then get a notification that I’ve mentioned you on my page (so hopefully you’ll come along and like/comment on my post), and also my customers will be able to simply click to visit your FB page if they wish to. (Your FB page isn’t working by the way, don’t know if you know!)

If someone has no social media links I’ll just state their shop name.

When you post, if you’re on Instagram remember to tag the actual photo with Folksy and Folksysellers - or if you’re on Facebook just tag Folksy on the description you write.

Oh, and mention you’ve done a FF board on the ‘Promoting Folksy’ thread here on the forum too - just to make sure as many people as possible can find your post.

If you have a look at a few FF posts from other people you should get the hang of how people are doing it!

Shout if you need help though, I’m sure people will help! :grinning_face:

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Thank you so much for taking the time to help me.
I have also updated my Facebook and Instagram links so hopefully they will be working now. I look forward to joining in hopefully i will do it right.

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Hi Sarah,
A great post with lots of details, good to see that you’re really passionate about it.
Many thanks for the tips from a newbie.
Jo.

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Ah thanks so much Jo! :grinning_face:

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Thank you to everyone here who has given tips for social media, I find the whole thing fascinating. Totally beyond me but still fascinating :laughing:.

Following @RosyMoonUK 's fine example, I have shared a couple of FFs to ‘my stories’ this morning. To be honest I haven’t much of a clue what that means because I don’t use a smart phone and don’t see many stories wafting about on my desktop, but I thought as it only takes a second to share (and I am there commenting anyway), I might as well do it and will try to do it a bit more in future. But I can only share posts that I find on FB, I’m limited to what I can do on IG.

So this got me thinking how so many sellers don’t have a FB page and I’m sure it’s getting fewer every week. My FF boards are taking me longer and longer because I usually try to include only shops which have both FB and IG. (I also check that all links are working, I don’t include shops with broken links either). I feel like I’m making it difficult for myself but if I’m going to spend time and effort on a FF board, I want it get as much exposure as possible.

Is Instagram much more popular than Facebook now?

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Glad to see I’ve been a good influence for once, Amanda :joy:

I find I get more views and interaction on Instagram, but I’m sure everybody will have a different experience. I have my Instagram and face book linked which saves a bit of time when posting :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Your encouragement is great! We need more and more people to be involved as you say, in any capacity, a like, a comment is enough if that’s all you feel up to. But, to also share other Folksy sellers is a great way to build Fokksy’s reputation and our own at the same time too. I need to check the hastag out myself on a Friday and dedicate a little of my time to do the same, thanks for the tip.

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