![Online Handcrafted Shop: how to plan your social media content [template]](http://onlineyougrow.com/cdn/shop/articles/cov-marketing-plan-8_4d63ec5d-6be8-42c2-b1d3-275b9d16df25.png?v=1715863963&width=1100)
You're an artisan or craftsperson. Let us pose a question - are your handcrafted creations gaining the visibility they deserve on social media?
We're asking because we've noticed that many talented artisans face challenges when it comes to crafting effective social media content that truly showcases their work.
That's why we've created a free social media planner template, specifically designed for creators of handcrafted goods. This resource is designed to streamline your social media strategy, helping you to engage and enchant your audience with every post.
Moreover, if you're looking to elevate your online shop's profile with proven tactics and strategies, be sure to explore our Marketing Pack for Handcrafted Goods Shops.
Continue reading to learn how you can utilize this tool to boost your online presence and ensure that each post effectively contributes to your shop's success.
What social media platforms are best for promoting an online handcrafted goods shop?
It's a common misconception that all social media platforms are equally beneficial for promoting your handcrafted goods shop.
The effectiveness of each platform varies significantly due to differences in user demographics, content preferences, and interaction styles. For instance, LinkedIn, which is predominantly used for professional networking and business-to-business communications, may not be the best channel for a business focused on selling unique, handmade products to individual consumers.
As an owner of a handcrafted goods shop, you should prioritize social media platforms that excel in visual appeal, community building, and niche marketing, such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. These platforms are more suited to showcasing the unique qualities of your products and connecting with a community that appreciates handmade craftsmanship. Below, we've provided a detailed breakdown to help guide your choices.
Additionally, we've compiled comprehensive guides for each recommended platform in our resource pack tailored for handcrafted goods shop owners looking to expand their reach.
The best social media platforms for a handcrafted goods shop
| Social Media Platform | Relevancy Level for Handcrafted Goods | Detailed Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| High | Instagram's visually driven platform is perfect for showcasing the intricate details and artistry of handcrafted products, engaging with followers through stories, and using hashtags to reach niche markets. | |
| High | Pinterest is ideal for handcrafted goods due to its focus on visuals and DIY culture, allowing for long-term visibility and driving traffic to your shop through pinned images. | |
| High | Facebook offers a broad user base and powerful tools for business pages, event promotions, and targeted advertising, making it a versatile platform for building customer relationships and selling products. | |
| TikTok | Medium-High | TikTok can be leveraged to reach a younger audience with creative, engaging videos that highlight the making process of your goods, tapping into the trend of authenticity and craftsmanship. |
| Medium | Twitter is useful for quick updates, customer interactions, and sharing content related to the handcrafting community, though it may not be as effective for visual storytelling. | |
| Low | Given its professional and B2B focus, LinkedIn has limited applicability for a handcrafted goods shop aimed at direct consumer sales and personal engagement. | |
| Snapchat | Medium-Low | While Snapchat can connect you with a younger demographic through ephemeral content, it may not provide the sustained engagement or detailed product showcasing needed for handcrafted goods. |
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How to get started on social media for your online handcrafted goods store?
Setting up and managing a social media account for your online handcrafted goods shop is a task you can absolutely manage on your own, especially when you're just starting out.
It might seem daunting at first, but with a little planning and creativity, it's quite manageable. We've broken down the process for each social media platform in our marketing strategy pack for handcrafted goods shops.
Identify Your Ideal Customer
Understanding your target audience is key.
Your social media tone, style, and content should be designed to resonate with your specific audience. Think about the unique characteristics of your products. Are they eco-friendly, artisanal, or perhaps culturally inspired? Who would be interested in these features? Maybe it's environmentally conscious consumers, art lovers, or those who appreciate cultural craftsmanship. Knowing your audience helps you craft messages that speak directly to their interests.
Optimize Your Social Media Profiles
When setting up your profiles, make sure your bio effectively communicates what your shop offers. Include key details like the types of products you sell, your unique selling points (e.g., "Handmade pottery from local artisans" or "Custom-made jewelry"), and links to your online store.
Is It Time-Consuming?
Initially, setting up your profiles and getting accustomed to social media tools may take some time.
However, once you establish a routine, managing your social media can become a seamless part of your daily activities, much like checking your email.
Should You Hire a Professional?
Whether you should hire someone depends on how comfortable you are with social media and how much time you can dedicate to it. Starting on your own is a great way to learn what engages your customers.
If your business expands or managing social media becomes too overwhelming, consider hiring a professional with experience in digital marketing for online craft businesses.
7-day Social Media Kickstart Plan for Your Shop
Here’s a brief guide for your first week on social media. For a more detailed 30-day plan, check out our marketing strategy pack for handcrafted goods shop owners.
| Day Number | Actions | How to Do It Well |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select appropriate platforms | Choose platforms where craft lovers and potential buyers spend their time, like Pinterest and Instagram. |
| 2 | Set up your profiles | Use appealing images of your products for your profile and cover photos. Ensure all bio details are complete and engaging. |
| 3 | Determine your target audience | Reflect on who is most likely to purchase your products and tailor your content to their interests and needs. |
| 4 | Plan your content | Create a content calendar that includes a variety of posts, from behind-the-scenes insights to product launches and customer testimonials. |
| 5 | Begin posting | Introduce your shop, share stories about the artisans, and highlight the craftsmanship behind your products. |
| 6 | Engage with your followers | Respond to comments and messages, and interact with your community to build relationships and loyalty. |
| 7 | Review and refine | Analyze which types of posts gain the most interaction and adjust your strategy to focus on what works best. |
What are the best strategies to increase the followers of your online handcrafted goods store organically?
Here is a table of 12 very specific and creative content tactics an online handcrafted goods shop can use on social media to organically increase their followers, along with the types of content that customers engage with the most.
This table is concise and summarized. If you require a detailed description, complete with step-by-step actionable tips, and winning theories derived from studies of actual real-life use cases of successful online craft shops, please refer to our handcrafted goods strategy pack.
| Strategy | How to make it so it brings you profit |
|---|---|
| DIY Tutorials | Host live DIY sessions where you create your products. Encourage followers to craft along and share their creations using a specific hashtag. This not only engages your current followers but also attracts new ones interested in crafting. |
| Artisan Spotlights | Feature stories about the artisans behind your products. Share their processes, inspirations, and workspace setups. This humanizes your brand and builds a stronger connection with your audience. |
| Customer Creation Contests | Organize a contest where followers submit photos of their own crafts made using your products. Offer incentives like discounts or free items for the best creations. This encourages user-generated content and increases visibility. |
| Collaborations with Craft Influencers | Partner with craft bloggers and influencers to create content or co-design products. Their followers become exposed to your brand, potentially increasing your follower base. |
| Product Teasers | Tease upcoming products with sneak peek photos or videos. Create a buzz by letting your followers vote on new product designs or colors, making them feel involved in the creation process. |
| Themed Craft Kits | Introduce themed craft kits and share the experiences on social media. Themes can be based on seasons, holidays, or popular design trends, creating a fun and engaging atmosphere that encourages sharing. |
| Exclusive Online Workshops | Promote exclusive online workshops where followers can learn a new craft technique or use a special product. Share these experiences on social media to attract high-engagement followers. |
| Interactive Polls and Quizzes | Use polls and quizzes to engage your audience, such as guessing the material used in a product or voting for their favorite item from a new collection. This interactive content keeps followers engaged and encourages them to visit your profile often. |
| Material Highlights | Highlight the unique materials used in your products through informative posts or stories. This educates your followers and showcases your commitment to quality and uniqueness. |
| Customer Appreciation Features | Share customer reviews or photos of customers with their purchased items, with their permission. This not only shows appreciation for your customers but also encourages others to support your shop and share their own experiences. |
| Eco-Friendly Practices | If your shop focuses on sustainability, share your eco-friendly practices, such as using recycled materials, supporting local artisans, or minimizing packaging waste. This attracts followers who value sustainability and want to support like-minded businesses. |
| Limited-Time Promotions | Create urgency with limited-time promotions or exclusive items available only to your social media followers. This encourages people to follow you to not miss out on special deals or unique craft items. |
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What are some common social media mistakes to avoid as an online handcrafted goods shop?
Running an online handcrafted goods shop comes with its unique set of challenges, especially when it comes to managing your social media presence. Here's a detailed table that highlights common mistakes, their potential impacts, and offers practical advice on how to improve your social media strategies effectively.
| Mistake # | Mistake Description | Consequences | What Not to Do | What to Do Instead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ignoring Customer Feedback | Damage to brand reputation and customer loyalty. | Do not dismiss or ignore customer comments and reviews. | Engage actively with feedback, addressing both praise and concerns promptly to show your commitment to customer satisfaction. |
| 2 | Inconsistent Posting | Reduced follower engagement and loss of visibility. | Avoid erratic posting or overwhelming followers with too many posts at once. | Create and adhere to a content calendar to ensure consistent engagement with your audience. |
| 3 | Overly Promotional Content | Users may unfollow or ignore posts due to perceived spamminess. | Refrain from making every post a sales pitch. | Balance promotional posts with content that adds value, such as DIY tips, behind-the-scenes looks, or customer stories. |
| 4 | Not Using High-Quality Images | Poor visual content can detract from the perceived quality of your products. | Avoid using blurry, poorly lit, or irrelevant images. | Invest in high-quality, attractive photography that showcases the uniqueness and craftsmanship of your products. |
| 5 | Ignoring SEO Practices | Missed opportunities to increase discoverability and sales. | Do not overlook the importance of SEO in your product descriptions and posts. | Utilize relevant keywords, optimize product descriptions, and use hashtags effectively to boost your visibility online. |
| 6 | Not Collaborating With Influencers or Craft Communities | Limited reach and missed opportunities for growth. | Avoid isolating your brand from the broader craft community and influencers. | Partner with influencers and engage with online craft communities to expand your reach and credibility. |
| 7 | Failing to Showcase Your Unique Selling Proposition | Difficulty in differentiating your shop from competitors. | Avoid generic or vague content that doesn’t highlight what makes your products special. | Communicate your unique selling points, such as sustainable practices, traditional techniques, or local sourcing, in your content. |
| 8 | Neglecting User-Generated Content | Loss of potential authentic endorsements and customer trust. | Do not ignore the content and testimonials provided by your customers. | Encourage customers to share their photos and experiences and feature them prominently on your social media and website. |
| 9 | Poor Crisis Management | Risk of escalating negative situations into broader issues. | Avoid deleting complaints or responding in a defensive manner. | Handle crises transparently and professionally, showing your commitment to resolving issues and maintaining trust. |
| 10 | Lack of Personality in Posts | Failure to engage customers on a more personal, relatable level. | Avoid overly formal or impersonal content. | Show the human side of your brand, perhaps by sharing stories about the artisans or the creative process, to create a more engaging and personal connection. |
| 11 | Not Utilizing Analytics | Inability to understand audience preferences and optimize content. | Avoid neglecting the data available from your social media platforms. | Regularly review analytics to understand what types of posts perform best and refine your strategy based on these insights. |
| 12 | Ignoring New Social Media Features and Trends | Falling behind in a rapidly changing digital marketplace. | Do not stick to outdated methods or ignore emerging social media tools and trends. | Stay updated with new features and trends, experimenting with them to see how they can benefit your brand engagement and reach. |
How to implement a successful system on social media for your online handcrafted goods store?
When it comes to social media management for an online handcrafted goods shop, the focus is as much on the uniqueness and quality of your products as it is on the stories behind them.
Developing a strategy for this involves a mix of creativity and genuine storytelling.
How to track results?
For tracking performance and results in your online shop, analytics are crucial. Each social media platform provides specific tools for this purpose.
On Instagram and Facebook, you can utilize Insights; for Twitter, there's Analytics, and so forth. These tools help you monitor engagement rates, follower growth, and the overall reach of your posts.
Success metrics for handcrafted goods might include direct interactions on posts showcasing new items, the number of orders placed directly through social media links, and customer-generated content, such as photos or reviews of your products. An increase in these metrics usually signals that your strategy is effective.
What marketing budget?
Regarding the right marketing budget for your online shop, there isn't a universal figure. However, for a small to medium-sized business, starting with a weekly budget of $100 to $500 on paid advertisements can be a good way to begin.
This budget allows you to experiment with various ad formats, targeting options, and platforms to discover what brings the best return on investment. You can adjust based on the campaign's performance and your specific goals.
While paid advertisements are not essential, they are highly beneficial. We delve deeper into this in our strategy pack. With the decline of organic reach on social media, paid ads are an effective way to ensure your content reaches both existing customers and potential new ones.
The advantages include increased visibility, targeted reach (allowing you to focus on specific demographics, locations, interests), and crucially, actionable insights from ad performance data. This feedback enables you to continuously refine your approach for better outcomes.
How often should you post?
As for posting frequency, the key is consistency rather than volume.
For an online shop specializing in handcrafted goods, posting once a day on visually driven platforms like Instagram and Facebook is advisable.
Utilizing Stories and live features provides additional, informal ways to engage daily. On Twitter, where interactions are more rapid, two to three posts a day can keep your brand relevant without overwhelming your followers. The goal is to maintain a steady presence that keeps your audience interested and engaged without being intrusive.
Make your online handcrafted goods store more profitable
We have studied the strategies of the best handcrafted shops in the world. All their tactics are explained in our pack!
Where can you get the social media strategies that will actually work for your online handcrafted goods store?
We understand the hesitation many artisans feel about diving into the world of social media marketing.
It's not uncommon to see the realm of digital promotion as daunting, especially when terms like "customer engagement" and "retention metrics" seem like a foreign language.
Running an online handcrafted goods shop is already a full-time commitment, and finding the time, resources, or budget to dedicate to what might seem like a corporate luxury can feel out of reach. Add to that the skepticism born from past attempts that didn’t pan out, or the belief that the quality of your craftsmanship should naturally attract customers, and it’s easy to see why stepping into social media marketing might be put on the back burner.
Recognizing these challenges, our team has crafted a strategy pack specifically tailored for artisans like you.
This set of tools is designed to demystify the process, breaking down the jargon into simple, actionable steps. We've focused on strategies that are not only cost-effective but are also easy to implement, ensuring they don't require a hefty upfront investment or extensive marketing knowledge.
Our artisan strategy pack addresses each concern, from the misconception that significant financial resources are necessary, to the challenge of keeping up with the rapid evolution of digital marketing.
We offer clear, straightforward solutions that highlight the value and effectiveness of social media, aiming to transform skepticism into optimism.
By doing so, we aim to make it easier for you to see the potential in leveraging social media to enhance your shop's visibility and customer engagement, without detracting from the essential operations of your business.
Your online handcrafted goods store could make more money!
Most handcrafted shop owners don't know how to grow their business. Let us teach you the right strategies.
