Okay, I'll admit right off the bat that today's blog post is a bunch of blathering. In case you haven't noticed, a lot (if not most) of these are just my own internal dialogues. Then again, why shouldn't they be? Isn't a blog the modern day journal?
Yes, sometimes I try to pass along useful info, but sometimes I just need a sounding board or place to vent or maybe just a place to compose my thoughts.
Today is a "compose my thoughts" day. This commentary is probably a result of me trying to figure out social media marketing or just regular marketing to my advantage and getting overwhelmed by how much I don't know and don't want to know (or do).
Sometimes I don’t want to list a new item on Etsy because I don’t want to have to think of a dozen keywords. I know. That’s pretty lame. They’re there to help me, after all. But sometimes as soon as we think we’ve got it, someone comes along and informs us that the search engine algorithms have changed and now we must… (fill in the blank).
How about Pinterest?
- Promoted Pins
- Buyable Pins
- Business Pinterest
- Verified Pins
- Rich Pins
Remember when there were just pins? I’m not blaming anyone… just saying “I can’t keep up”.
More and more of my jewelry buddies are lamenting the loss of jewelry making time in exchange for social media marketing time. And yet if we don't do it, we KNOW we're not going to be noticed.
Who are these automatons who can make enough jewelry to have more than 100 listings on Etsy at all times and can still spend almost 8 hours a day with Pinterest and Facebook and Instagram and Twitter?
I've got to say that while I'm totally a numbers person, in regards to social media I'd rather have people than numbers.
And what do I mean by that?
I mean it doesn't mean anything to me if 5000 people view my post if they're not even remotely close to being interested in my jewelry (we're talking social media marketing here, so yeah... "buying" is the goal... it's marketing, just another form of advertising).
Anyway, yeah it's GREAT to have huge numbers of views, but what's more important than numbers is getting in front of the viewers that are your target audience.
I can hear you (and me) in the back of my head saying, "But hey, you never know where a sale is going to come from so don't be so closed-minded!"
That's not what it's about. It's like this...
If you sell $2000 engagement rings, would you rather have 500 teenagers walk past your booth at a show or 100 disposable income 30-somethings?
That's just an example, but I hope my point is getting across.
Spend your energies where they will do the most good.
- Figure out who your target market is
- Figure out WHERE they are
- Spend your valuable time and resources marketing THERE rather than willy-nilly all over the places that are trending at the moment
Now, back to the "people" comment.
Yes, I'd rather have people than numbers. People are entities I can talk with, inform, and interact with. People are entities I get to know and learn from. People are the entities who will remember me and whom I will remember.
So while higher numbers are better than lower numbers, people are better than any numbers.
Get to know your target market... seek them out... interact with them. Do one of the things that sets us apart from the mass-produced high-end jewelry stores... give your potential customers personal service... emphasis on the "person".
If I were buying a piece of art directly from the artist, I'd be thrilled if he spent a little time with me talking about the techniques he used to create the piece, sharing the inspiration for the piece, telling me where he sourced the materials, etc. And this very thing happened to me recently. I was interested in someone’s artwork, and after talking with him (at two different shows) I am now a collector of his work. It’s nice to have nice art work and a super bonus if you hear stories about said artwork.
Our work has stories... let's use that to our advantage. Now go out there and meet some PEOPLE!
