Social Media Marketing

Hi,

I was wondering how many people are using social media tools like twitter, Facebook, foursquare etc? I'd like to help promote your accounts and generate traffic to your iCraft pages. The more we can coordinate the better we can all make some exciting wins.

Let me know by posting to this thead. Looking forward to coordinating some awesome cross promotions!

[PetiteTuques]

I use facebook- http://facebook.com/petitetuques

Recently started on twitter- http://twitter.com/petitetuques

I have an account with myspace, but really don't use it much. Never heard of foursquare- except that we watch it on tv      (it's a show for kids)

Can't wait to hear from everyone else! Thanks!

Awesome! Thanks for sharing that info. I can't wait to compile a list of all of us out there.  Once I do have a list I'm going to start a campaign and specifically try to target activity to these pages and accounts. We'll take note of a few metrics before (as a benchmark) and see what the effect was.

I think it's great that you're onboard with these tools - they can really make a difference. And working together using them...wow...we're truly going to make an impact:)

The more people the better!

Denis
Ps: oh yeah, foursquare is a location based social networking site - like facebook's "places".
(and a TV show too! I know that now thanks to you! Is that the one where one group is dressed in blue turtlenecks and they practice bending and stretching motions?)

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Not me. (Sorry)

[PetiteTuques]

We should add our blogs- they are probably more important to sellers, because there's less "noise". I know fairy cardmaker has a blog!

I have a blog, but I don't contribute to it as much as I should.

http://petitetuques.blogspot.com

That's ok
I'm sure there are many sellers who haven't started working with these tools yet. But I can help get you started if you like. Just let me know!

Not me. (Sorry)

You're very right regarding the importance of blogs to showcase sellers and their creations.  Other social media tools spread the word out to the public and connect them (introduce them) to your digital spaces. Kind of like the "mailman" for your newspaper.

Another great thing about blogs is posting comments on other group's blogs.  For instance, there are many "handmade" as well as "craft" focused magazines and publications. A good number of them have a digital version of their magazine online. So when I post a comment on their magazine it shows a link back to iCraft, and if you are posting comments it can show the link back to your sellers page - it can be very helpful.

I'm going to put a "one-pager" together and post it on our iCraft blog. We can use all these tips and tricks together

We should add our blogs- they are probably more important to sellers, because there's less "noise". I know fairy cardmaker has a blog!

I have a blog, but I don't contribute to it as much as I should.

http://petitetuques.blogspot.com

[iCraft Admin]

Hey Fairy Cardmaker,

I remember when Christine (aka PillowThrowDecor ) was against Twitter. She finally was convinced by others to give it a try, and I think she is very glad now that she did. Here is one of her posts on how Twitter worked for her. https://icraftgifts.com/forum/1104/twitter-quick-list/

I am not saying that Twitter and other social media sites work for everyone, but there are definite benefits of using those sites for promoting your business. At a minimum, you could register Twitter and Facebook accounts and feed automatic product updates to them. We provide this functionality, as part of your profile.

From my own experience and from looking at web analytics data for iCraft, I can say that you can get additional 10-20% of free traffic in a relatively short period of time from those sites. Our traffic from Twitter and Facebook alone went up by 15% within the last year. And if you think those visits don’t result in sale, that’s not true.
Here is one example. I posted this product photo from thebeadedlily to our Facebook page yesterday
http://www.facebook.com/icraftca#!/photo.php?fbid=490770817021&set=a.86014352021.79960.7670217021, and today she sold 5 products – see 5  last jewelry items on the Last Sold page https://icraftgifts.com/handmade/last-sold/  I don’t think it’s a coincidence.

Twitter brought some sales too. Bounce rate for Twitter on our site (according to GA) is at 44% with the average 3.07 number of pages viewed for 2:24 mins. That’s not bad actually. This means that only 44% of people, who come to iCraft from Twitter, leave our site after seeing only one page. Other 56% stick around and check out more than one page.

According to a 2009 survey by Gartner research firm "More shoppers turn to Facebook, Twitter for buying advice" - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38417017/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/.  And I think this is just the beginning. Canadians already surf web, watch YouTube, consult Wikipedia more than any other users - http://yhoo.it/g9NYFv With the widespread adoption of mobile devices, social media sites will be used even more often.

Anyway, just wanted to share this with you.  

[Beajoux]

I use both Twitter (frequently) and Facebook (not so frequently). In the new year, I should probably utilize my FB page a lot more.

http://twitter.com/Ainse
http://www.facebook.com/Beajoux

[Fairy Cardmaker]

I just loathe the idea.  I'm not saying it's not useful.  I just personally don't like it.  When I talk on the phone to clients at work, I do it with a smile so that I will put my brain in the right frame of mind.  (I hate the phone too and have to give myself 2 minute pep talks before I phone clients.)

If I can't be excited about FB and Twitter, then I'm better off avoiding it, IMO.  I have my blog.  While blogs can also be little more than e-noise, I feel a smaller percentage of blogs are e-noise v. FB and/or Twitter.  FB and Twitter still feels like spray'n'pray marketing to me.  I want to focus on *my* market, which I am trying to do through Project Wonderful and my own blog.

Sorry, I opt out.  It may not be right for my business to do so, but it is right for me.

This is my blog:
http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/

[Northern Girl Jewelry]

I have a facebook fan page:  http://facebook.com/NorthernGirlJewelry

I also have a blog:  http://thisnortherngirl.wordpress.com

I've tried twitter, but I found it wasn't a good fit for me.  I don't like to just drop links to products in things like twitter and facebook, as that feels to spammy to me.  So a blog and a facebook page are about as much as I can handle.

Hi All,

Twitter is incredibly powerful for marketing if you know how to use it. Generally the approach you should take is to find people who are in the same industry and follow their followers. Idea is that their followers will most likely be interested in you because they have shown interest in a similar person. As a result for every 2 people you follow you will find 1 will follow you back. Then it is a matter of engaging those interested people with not just pitches but cool information about what you do. In the tweet you include a short description and link to your page. The rule on Twitter is 60-40...60% educational and engaging and 40% is pitching. Remember the pitches must be a soft sell you are in theory pitching to friends so keep that in mind. But saying something like 10% off today on my hand made crafts for all my Twitter friends is legitimate.

Remember also to use hashtags which are keywords with a # in front of them. So use #craft #handmade extra this will connect you to the greater audience.

[MeMeBevsCreations]

Wow! Sounds good to hear someone has to give themselves pep talks before doing them like me...I just had to do it to renew my drivers license today
I do use Twitter, Facebook and blog but have to talk myself into doing when I finally do. I loathe the phone..always have to give myself pep talk to make calls to anyone even family.

I just loathe the idea.  I'm not saying it's not useful.  I just personally don't like it.  When I talk on the phone to clients at work, I do it with a smile so that I will put my brain in the right frame of mind.  (I hate the phone too and have to give myself 2 minute pep talks before I phone clients.)

If I can't be excited about FB and Twitter, then I'm better off avoiding it, IMO.  I have my blog.  While blogs can also be little more than e-noise, I feel a smaller percentage of blogs are e-noise v. FB and/or Twitter.  FB and Twitter still feels like spray'n'pray marketing to me.  I want to focus on *my* market, which I am trying to do through Project Wonderful and my own blog.

Sorry, I opt out.  It may not be right for my business to do so, but it is right for me.

This is my blog:
http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/

[Spotted Paw Creations]

I have a group on facebook and have a twitter account, but I do not use it very much.  I want to start a blog in the month or so. 

[iCraft Admin]

Blogging is a great way to reach new customers, connect with fans, gain following and, by the way, update everyone on what's new in your store.  Did you already decide on what you are going to blog about?