Intro to Social Media Marketing for Etsy Sellers

Social media marketing... We have all heard about it, but many still choose not to use social media, or they struggle to make social media marketing work for their Etsy shop. This year I hope to change that! As a leader on the One Big Sale Day Team on Etsy my focus for 2015 will be on bringing all of you information on how to build a strong social media presence for your Etsy shop.

Let's begin by answering a simple question... What is social media?

"Social media are the websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking, It connects us to each other and thus to potential buyers using content that we each create."  

- Etsy

If your new to social media it can be really hard to find the right place to start. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest... How do you find the right platform for you and your shop? The best way to figure this out is to discover what each social media site has to offer...

Facebook

Facebook is great for forming a stronger connection with people you already know. For your Etsy shop that might be your personal friends and family, along with customers and loyal fans of your brand. On Facebook it is really important to post quality content that engages your fans. You are able to post simple text status updates, photos, videos, and links. Your fans are then able to interact with those posts by liking, commenting, or sharing the post on their own timeline for their friends to see. The more likes, comments, and shares a Facebook post receives will determine the reach that post gets on the social platform.

Twitter

On Twitter you use "tweets" to share information. Tweets are posts that are limited to 140 characters... and those 140 characters can contain text, photos, videos and/or links. Twitter is fantastic for getting your brand in front of a wider audience, and with the proper use of hashtags you can put your tweets right in front of your target market! If you want to get your brand visible to more then just the people you know Twitter it is a great place to be.

Birdcage Asymmetrical Earrings by MinimalistThings

Instagram

Instagram is a social app where you can post a variety of photos to share your shops visual story. It is great for sharing "behind the scene" type photos of your shop along with many other photos that can engage your followers! Instagram is currently growing in popularity recently reaching over 300 million active users, but in order to post to this growing social network you will need to have a device that is capable of running the Instagram app (iPhone or Android). Instagram (like Twitter) is great for reaching a larger audience, especially when you find that perfect hashtag to pair with your post!

Pinterest

Pinterest is a unique social media site that is like a virtual bulletin board. You can pin products, pin  your favorite recipe, or pin a link to your favorite blog article. Each pin (when pinned correctly) provides a link back to the original content. So if you pin your products directly from Etsy (which is super easy since Etsy automatically provides a pin button on each listing page) that product is then circulating around pinterest with a direct link back to your shop! You can also join group boards (find OBSD group boards here) to get your pins in front of a larger audience. 

Etsy recently shared a great article on the Etsy blog called What's Your Social Media Personality Type. If you are still unsure where you would like to begin with social media I suggest checking it out. You can take the quick quiz to find out which social media site best suites your personality!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest are all great places to start in your social media journey. Just remember that when you find the right fit for you, and your Etsy shop, it will be much easier to get results with your social media marketing efforts.

Do you want to learn more about marketing your Etsy shop on social media? Want to participate in the One Big Sale Day social media campaigns? Join us for our first ever One Big Sale Day Live Social Media Marketing Workshop on Friday, March 6th 2015 @ 8:30 a.m. (PST)! Find out more on the team...

What social media sites do you use to market your Etsy shop? Do you have a great social media marketing tip? Let us know in the comments below!

About the Author - RockaBeauty Mama (OBSD Team Leader) TJ, aka RockaBeauty Mama, is an Etsy seller who has spent years learning the ins and outs of running a creative small business. When she became a stay at home mom, back in 2011, she began doing regular research on and off of Etsy whenever she found the time. She loves sharing what she has learned with other Etsy sellers who want to better their shops. In early 2014 she opened her own Etsy shop, RockaBeauty Boutique, where she sells her handmade retro inspired and alternative style accessories.

Merchandising - Putting it in Practice (Part 2)

In the last part - Keeping your shop fresh through the year, we talked about when is a good time to freshen up your shop to keep views and sales up. In this part we will talk about how to put things in practice especially when it is a online shop.

Let's break down Etsy's main concerns in merchandising a little further and talk about what we could do to achieve it.

Shopping experiences -

This means that shoppers find your items easily and are greeted with items and services they are looking for during that time or season. Also they get all the information they need to make a decision from the pictures and the descriptions

What you can do to achieve this:

1) Make sure that your titles, tags and description are fleshed out. Titles and tags should use all available space, while descriptions should always include material, size and also is in the 'voice' of your brand.
More on writing descriptions - https://blog.etsy.com/en/2014/5-tips-for-writing-stellar-product-descriptions/

2) Offer relevant gift packages or link your items with other similar items within your shop, that could go together as a gift package.

3) Re-organize your shop by placing seasonal items on the first page or by featuring them on the top.

4) Ensure that your photos are clear, bright and provides information like size, colour, texture... etc.
More on Photography - https://blog.etsy.com/en/2010/etsys-guide-to-photography/

Brand Marketing

Although you might change up your shop for the season, your brand should remain consistent and strong. Keeping your brand identity consistent helps your customer recognize your brand, strengthens your identity and helps differentiate your shop from all the others out there.

What you can do to achieve this:

1) Make sure that your about page is filled out and that it represents what your brand is about.
More about crafting your about page - https://blog.etsy.com/en/2014/tips-for-crafting-a-killer-about-page/

2) Using images and visuals on your social media account also could help letting your shoppers know that you have in season items in your shop and draw them in. But make sure that the visuals you use is in line with your branding visually, so that it does not confuse your shoppers.
More about visual branding on social media - http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/strong-brand-voice-social-media

Valentine's Hearts & Wedding Bells by couturenicole

Inventory expertise

This might be the hardest of all three in my opinion, as it deals with trends and forecasting what would sell. Preparing your inventory for the season is the essence of merchandising.

What you can do to achieve this:

1) Keep up with trends by subscribing to Etsy Finds, browse Trending Items regularly to get an idea of what shoppers are looking at and liking, and read up on Holiday merchandising desk published in the Seller Handbook in September/early October.
How trending items are chosen - https://www.etsy.com/uk/help/article/3793

2) Prepare multiples of your best selling item and offer a variety in terms of colours, sizes and application (eg: as a necklace, ring or earring). This will take preparations from the beginning of the year, planning your product offerings whilst keeping up with latest trend.


This article covers some of the few key points on merchandising for your Etsy shop. Merchandising is a large and important area when it comes to marketing your online shop, so there is a whole lot of information online. Here are some I've found which could give you further information -

• How to give your online store a merchandising makeover for the holidays
• Basics of online merchandising
• An introduction to online merchandising 

I hope you will find these links interesting and informative. Here's wishing you a wonderful year!

About the Author - Yini (OBSD Team Captain) Yini runs a small handmade home decor shop on Etsy, Kotona. In May 2014 she started the One Big Sale Day team, to harness the power of togetherness amongst team members and help each other promote their shops.

10 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Etsy Shop - Etsy Tips and Advice

Struggling to get traffic to your shop seems to be a growing problem on Etsy. I see it everywhere! The Etsy forums and teams are riddled with members wondering why their views or sales are low and they want to know how to drive traffic back to their shops.

So here I am with 10 ways to drive traffic to your Etsy shop! Shall we begin?!

1. Work on Your Titles and Tags 

Getting your listings to show up higher in Etsy searches will almost always increase your views. How do you do this? Work on your titles and tags!

To learn some basics on how your titles and tags work together to determine where your items fall in search, then you should check out the following articles:

• Etsy Help - How do I make sure my items are getting found in search?
• Etsy Blog - How to get found in Search
• Etsy SEO for Long Tail Keywords by Scott Taft

Would you like to see a detailed tutorial on how to optimize your titles and tags to show up higher in Etsy search? Let me know in the comments below and I will do my best to add it to the line up!

2. Shop Photography

Having quality shop photography is very important when your trying to sell your work online. A photo that shows off your work well is more likely to get customers to click into your listings and it gives them a better understanding of exactly what you are selling. You also increase your chances of being featured in Etsy treasuries and on blogs if you have professional stylistic photos that complement your brand.

In August the One Big Sale Day team will be doing a Photography workshop! If you would like help with your photos you should check out the weekly threads on the team! We will also be posting weekly articles on the blog that will cover the topics we discussed throughout the week :) Check out the first thread in the series here:

• OBSD Team August Photography Workshop - Week 1

3. List more items...

Every product you have listed on Etsy is one more chance for someone to click into your shop. With more items in your shop you will show up more frequently in search results. Build up your product line as much as you can so that there is more of your shop on the web for potential customers to find!

Member Product Feature
Rainbow Lotus Geometric Zen Doodle Pendant Necklace by Zentranced on Etsy

4. Get on social media... Like right now! 

When you think about your target customer where do you think they are? Chances are most of them are hanging out on some form of social media! With the proper use of social media marketing you can catch the attention of many potential customers. Have a look at the inforgraphic below (source: Leveragenewagemedia.com) to see recent stats regarding some of the most popular social media platforms...

(Source: 2014 Social Media Comparison Infographic via Leveragenewagemedia)

If you are completely new to the idea of social media marketing then I strongly suggest thoroughly researching how to market your brand through your chosen platform. Take it one step at a time... There is no need to go open every type of social media account in existence! That will just create extra work for you that in the end won't pay off.

Here are some helpful articles to get you started:

• Etsy Blog - How to Effectively Use Social Media to Market Your Business
• Handmadeology - 5 Social Media Marketing Tips for Etsy Sellers

Want even more help? Back in 2012 Handmadeology released a free 5 day ecourse called Social Media Blitz 2.0. Some of the info is now slightly outdated (because social media is constantly changing) but it is still a great way to get introduced to marketing your Etsy shop through social media.

5. Get involved in the Etsy community!

On Etsy, as many of you already know, there is a very strong community! From teams, to forums there is a lot of love and sharing going around. I think it is very important to be involved in the community you sell in. It helps to spread the word about your business! 

If you opened up a brick and mortar store would you just quietly sit in your shop hoping people came in? Probably not! You would probably get involved in the community (at least a bit). You would frequent the local coffee shop and you would make friends with your neighbors! You would tell people and the community about who you are and what you do! 

So... Do the same on Etsy! Join teams, talk in the forums, favorite and share other shops! Make treasuries featuring other sellers work. If you make well curated on trend treasuries it may even get featured on the front page of Etsy (which brings a big spike in traffic even as the curator)!

6. Start Blogging 

This may not be for everyone but it can really help build awareness for you brand. If you think you would enjoy blogging about your shop and other (relevant) topics then I would consider it time well spent. Share your story, or upcoming products... Write about fashion or home decor! If you share articles that are relevant to your customers then your blog is just one more door into your shop :)... Just make sure you blog about relevant topics, and have a well seen link back to your Etsy shop (in multiple places) on your blog or else it won't help so much with increasing traffic on Etsy. 

7. YouTube

Just like social media, YouTube is huge! There are so many great ways to share your products and your shops story with a YouTube channel. You can do simple product videos using photos from your listings, you can Vlog about your shop, or you could even share tutorials (which is very popular). YouTube users watch over 6 billion hours of video each month!!! That is an insane amount of video watching! With 1 billion unique visitors monthly it is very likely someone will watch what you share...

Member Product Feature
Twig and Moss Ring Bearer Pillow by laceandtwig on Etsy

8. Branding and Customer Service

SO... You might be asking "How does branding help bring traffic to a shop?" My answer.... How does it not?!

By properly building your shop brand that includes providing every customer with exceptional customer service you will create brand loyalty! Customers will remember your shop by name, they will come back for more, and they will tell all their friends about how amazing you are!

If you think you could improve in this area (most people can these days)... Here is a great article from the Etsy blog that talks about building customer service into your brand:

• Etsy Blog - Your Customer Service Guide 

9. Off line promotion!

Just because you sell online does not mean you are limited to marketing online... How can you market off line? 

• Carry business cards with you everywhere you go and hand them out to anyone and everyone who asks about what you "do". 
• If you sell something you can wear... Then wear what you sell! Every time I leave my house I make sure I put on one of my accessories. When anyone complements the piece while I'm out then I hand them one of my cards (that I am always carrying!)... and if I don't have my cards on me... I then have to resist the urge to physically kick myself for missing the free marketing opportunity. 
• Grassroots sticker campaigns!!!!! Get some business stickers with your Etsy shop address on them, then slap them around the city! If you do this I strongly encourage legal use of your stickers... Please do not put stickers on others property without their permission... If you do then you are negatively advertising your shop and the sticker will most likely just get torn down anyways.  
• Make bumper stickers! Put one (or 10) on your car and hand them out to friends, family, and anyone else who would like to support your business. Next thing you know you are getting customers from sitting in traffic :)  
• Post flyers and business cards on local community bulletin boards.
• Put an ad in the paper... People still read papers right?  

This list is just a few of the many ways you can market offline... Get creative with it and have fun!

Have more ideas for offline marketing? Tell us about them in the comments!

10. Get featured!

Getting featured on the web and off is a really great way to get traffic to your shop. Bloggers are constantly looking for content to post... and if you have a shop that would make a good feature then bloggers are typically happy to hear about it. Many people wonder how you get featured in blogs and magazines and there are really only two ways to get this done...

1. You get approached by the blogger or magazine (typically because your work is well known) or...
2. You go out on a limb and tell bloggers and magazine editors about your shop and then you hope for the best!

Typically for Etsy sellers that are trying to get their shops noticed in the crowd #2 is the way you will get featured. Just make sure you don't spam bloggers and magazines with your shop. Be familiar with the person and/or business you are approaching. If you have never read the blog then in my opinion (and many other opinions) you should not pitch to be featured until you have familiarized yourself with the writers work!

Member Product Feature
Handmade Fabric Hair Bow In Light Blue Gingham by RockaBeautyBoutique on Etsy

So there you have it... You now have an arsenal of ways to drive traffic to your Etsy Shop! I hope you all found this post helpful. Have you tried any of these ideas out? How did they work for you? Have any other great traffic boosting ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by... Have an awesome day!

About the Author - RockaBeauty Mama (OBSD Team Leader) TJ, aka RockaBeauty Mama, is an Etsy seller who has spent years learning the ins and outs of running a creative small business. When she became a stay at home mom, back in 2011, she began doing regular research on and off of Etsy whenever she found the time. She loves sharing what she has learned with other Etsy sellers who want to better their shops. In early 2014 she opened her own Etsy shop, RockaBeauty Boutique, where she sells her handmade retro inspired and alternative style accessories.

Want to see your items featured in our Etsy Tips and Advice articles? As a member of the OBSD team you can submit your products in our team thread to have them featured in our blog posts!