Your Crafting Business and Pinterest

      As many know, Pinterest is a free website that allows its members to upload, save, sort, and manage images (known as pins) and other social media content (videos, PDFs, links, etc.) through collections known as pinboards.  For the consumer, this site is a great way to browse thousands of items and organize potential ideas for numerous occasions, projects, wardrobes, and more.  To the business owner, however, Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to their own website or a page on their Etsy account.

       Pinning one's own images to Pinterest greatly increases traffic to the website. Being a maker, Pinterest is a great medium to post the masterfully taken images of your products on. In order to make sure people are directed to your site, pinning other relevant images that don't contend with your page is a good route to go.  This way there is a greater chance that people will be exposed to your products and therefore more likely to make a purchase.  

       Lastly, advertising on Pinterest is basically free.  Anyone can upload their own images onto the site.  Of course, there is a way that you can pay to have Pinterest sponsor ads for you but it is perfectly acceptable and feasible to advertise your business for free.  The great thing about this website when compared to other social media platforms is that the life of a pin lasts for a very long time.  If posted on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you probably have anywhere from a day or two to a week of exposure.  On Pinterest, it is possible for your pin to be active for many many months!  Overall, Pinterest is a great way to advertise your crafts and drive traffic towards your business.

Implementing Facebook Ad Campaigns

       Social media.  A concept, an idea, a website.  Basically, nowadays, it is nearly impossible to live without this form of communication.  Even though billions of people use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on every single day to keep up with friends and family, social media lends much more than a hand as well to companies all around the world.

        Recently, I decided to take Social Media Marketing as a class to fulfill my college credit hours.  One day, while listening to my professor's lecture, she mentioned the reach of a Facebook Ad campaign.  Having a very small business myself, I thought, "Why not try this for myself?"  After creating my page in late December of 2016, I had a pretty small audience.  Of course my friends and family members liked my page in order to show support but that was basically it.  Every week I may have gotten one new like or one more engagement with my posts but nothing significant was happening. 

        Then, while my professor was actually lecturing on the subject, I decided to implement my own Facebook Ad campaign regarding my business.  I set my target market, selected how long I wanted the ad to run for, and how much I wanted to spend.  One week would cost me $7.  ONLY $7! For less than $10 I could easily reach an audience that would take interest in my product and who would have otherwise been out of my grasp.  Within the first few days of the campaign I had over 1,000 views on my page and hundreds of engagements. 

        Although my campaign is not yet over and I am not yet sure of the results, I am so intrigued by how much reach and how much of one market segment I was able to capture.  I recommend to any small business to try this method of advertising at least once.  For such a low price any company can expand their horizons and really put their business out there for others to see.  

Crafty Connections

          My whole life I have been creating.  From drawing to painting, scrap-booking to jewelry, and knitting to crocheting, I have always been keeping my hands busy with crafts.  In 3rd grade, I was lucky enough to have my grandma show me the ropes of crocheting and in 5th grade a family friend introduced me to the realm of knitting.  Over time I took classes, read books, and watched videos online in order to further my yarn-crafting knowledge.  I was obsessed with expressing myself through this needlework and wanted nothing more than to be the best knitter/crocheter I could me.

           In January of 2014, I decided to bring my love of knitting and crocheting to the internet.  I had already had a personal Instagram account for the typical pictures of me and my friends but finally found the courage to create another specifically for my crafts.  I couldn't think of a better way to connect with others who were also in love with yarn and everything you can do with it.  This platform allowed me to expand my horizons and explore farther into my craft than I even thought possible.  

            Aside from friends and family supporting me, my account quickly grew.  I went from 0 to 1000 followers in less than a year. 1000!  I couldn't believe how great the Instagram community was.  It was so easy to find makers that 1) inspired me, 2) encouraged me, and 3) heightened my passion for needlework.  Being able to see what others were making and being able to engage with them pushed me to improve on my knitting and crocheting abilities.

            

            Today, I have almost 2,000 followers that instill in themselves the same work ethic and passion as me.  By using social media, I have been able to meet those like me and make friends all over the world.  Some accounts even inspired me to pursue one of my dreams and start lightly selling a few of my creations.  Instagram has allowed me to expand my horizons, market my passions, and instill in myself a motivation and drive that I hadn't know before.