As a crafter or artisan who monetized her passion for handmade products, you may have taken advantage of the free publicity you can get by uploading photos of your handmade creations on Facebook, Instagram, and other Social Media platforms.
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You may also be elated by the number of Followers and "Likes" you're getting. After all, it feels good to be recognized and appreciated for all your hard work.
But as someone who's been in the DIY crafts industry for more than 15 years, I realized there's a far more important indication of a crafter's success on her Social Media Platforms.
So what's that thing that should matter more to crafters?
Engagement.
Engagement means getting your followers interested enough to inquire about your products and make a purchase, and not just press the "Like" button.
Engagement means getting people to comment on your products, videos, and other types of content.
Your social media accounts can be the first step toward a long-term relationship with potential customers.
Quality over Quantity
Your Instagram or Facebook account might have a high volume of followers, but are those numbers truly the ones you should be focusing on?
Even if you have gotten more than 10,000 followers on your Instagram account, but you end up with a very low volume in sales, are you really getting the ROI (return of investment) you deserve?
Contrast this to getting just a couple of thousands of followers, but who are loyal to you and regularly (or periodically) buy from you, eagerly wait for your promos, watch (and share) your videos and posts, and put a good word for you to their friends and acquaintances.
That's why it's possible to keep your business afloat and even thriving with a lot less number of followers but more engagement.
How Can You Concentrate on Improving Your Engagement?
Build your brand
If you want to turn your followers into potential customers, and keep them long-term, they need to find out what you're all about.
Here are just a few ways to build your online reputation:
- Share stories about your DIY crafts or handmade products.
- Think about what separates you from your competitors, and capitalize on that.
- Use your handmade crafts to get involved in causes you care about, like raising awareness for breast cancer, getting vaccinated against COVID-19, or providing livelihood training for society's marginalized sector. Encourage your customers to buy from you, and publicize that you're donating part of the proceeds to organizations or charities that support the causes you believe in.
- Shoot videos of product hauls or unboxing.
- Through videos, demonstrate any unique techniques you use when working on your crafts projects.
- Give a virtual tour of your craft room.
- Raffle off any excess items you have.
Content of good quality is key
Make your photos stand out by improving the look of your flatlays. Write meaningful captions that lead to a call to action.
Vary your content
Don't get too caught up on sharing photos of your handmade products that look professional and aesthetic. Disrupt the norm by varying your content.
You can shoot videos and upload snippets of them to "tease" your followers. If you can convey a message or facts through infographics (e.g. ratio of women vs. men when buying greeting cards), do so.
Use the design software Canva for your promos or announcements. Also, funny memes and gifs can illicit a laugh among your followers.
Provide a link to your website or blog
After about a year or two into your DIY crafts business, consider maintaining your own website and blog (click here and here to know more about blogging).
Include the links to your website and blog in your social media platforms, so your followers can be redirected to them.
Know what's trending
One of the most exciting aspects of being a crafter or creator is that the industry itself has never thrived without its own share of fads and trends.
Whether it's about popular brands introducing new tools or equipment to make the DIY process easier, or new craft materials or techniques to improve the appearance of our products, creators are free to experiment until they find what works for them
Master the use of hashtags
For every photo or video that you upload, try to think of 5-6 of the most relevant hashtags (#) that you can attach after writing a caption for your content.
Similar to search engine optimization (SEO), hashtags are like keywords that are related to your products and brand identity (e.g. #craftivism, #buyhandmade, #diycrafts, #whybuywhenyoucandiy).
