I spend a LOT of time on Twitter and Facebook. I constantly surf the Etsy forums and I subscribe to more blogs than I care to admit, but I am not a guru. I know how each of these things work, I know about good practices and etiquette, but I do not consider myself a guru. I will never be that guy that can tell you how you can turn your business into a profit monster just by following these x-amount of twitter tips.
I consider myself more of a social media enthusiast, someone that enjoys the aspects of these sites and tools, uses them to my advantage and likes to commiserate with others of the same ilk. I cannot get you to wealth an independence with my robust amounts of knowledge on the subject. However, there are 3 things I have learned about social media that I feel the need to share because there are so many artists and crafty folk out there that are going about it wrong… in my opinion.
1. Shut Up and Be Yourself
One big mistake you can make is to be something you’re not on Twitter, and more so, Facebook. Now I’m not talking about being a 50-something male from Nebraska pretending to be a ‘tween girl from Thailand. No, instead, just be true to yourself; act as you would if you were standing in a room with these people instead of sitting in front of a computer screen. The more you act like a human being, the more likely you will attract like-minded folks who dig your stuff and might eventually buy from you. Granted, if you’re a total douche, then maybe “be yourself” isn’t the best advice. In that case, I can’t help you other than to say, “Stop it”.
2. When it Comes to Posting, Think Quality, Not Quantity
If you’ve got 10 followers on Twitter and 10,000 tweets, you’re doing it wrong. Yes, it’s ok to hock your wares there, but it doesn’t have to be every single word out of your keyboard, and you don’t have to lather-rinse-repeat over and over just to get your point across. If people are truly interested, one time for a particular statement is enough. You may really like that custom made doohickey you created last night, but it’s not a good idea to tweet about it every 5 minutes. For me, I try to keep my spreading of tweets to a minimum; one in the morning and maybe again in the afternoon or evening for the opposite crowd, but ONLY if it’s interesting enough. Comments about your dog sneezing on your lunch should not be uttered once, let alone multiple times.
3. The Keyword is “Social”
This is the big one that so many people can’t seem to figure out. If you post up constantly about you, you, you and do not interact with others, eventually the few that are paying attention will kick you to the curb. Twitter works for me because I engage people. I’m not there to push my stuff 24/7. I do share links and I do ask people to spread the word, but I also try to share their stuff too. I make conversation, I find other things that aren’t mine and share them in order that I might send a little coolness their direction. Interaction is the key, now get with the fuckin’ program. (F-word used for pronounced emphasis). Make friends, not just “connections”.
These are my opinions. They work for me, I have sold Beach Cities stuff on Etsy because of these interactions and relationships I’ve created by following these simple rules, but your results might vary. I’m pretty sure at the very least, you might make some really cool friends. So come on ilk-types, lets start commiseratin‘.
Image courtesy of rent-a-moose
