I've sold my jewelry using Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook, but I'll be the first to admit that the process is a little mysterious to me. Why does it work sometimes but not other times? That's why I was excited to research and write the article, "Boost Your Social Media Savvy: Using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to Sell Your Jewelry and Get Inspired" for the new issue of Beadwork Quick + Easy.
For the article, I interviewed jewelry designers Heather Powers, Jill Wiseman, Heather O'Cain, Eliza George, and Donna Luehrs on how they used social media for selling work or finding inspiration. In the article, I share their specific tips for using those specific social media platforms. When I interviewed them, I found certain themes came up repeatedly:
- Be yourself. If you try to adopt a special online persona that is different than your natural one, people will know and shy away from you.
- Share more than products for sale. Even if your main goal is to sell online, if every post or message is "sell, sell, sell," you'll drive people away. It's better to use a natural approach, sharing work in-progress, talking about your mistakes or innovations, and asking for feedback and opinions. It's even better to share a bit about your life outside of jewelry making, whether it's a funny photo of your dog or your kid's graduation.
- Find something you enjoy. You'll be most successful at social media if you enjoy it. All the interviewees talked about making connections with others as one of the aspects they loved about being online. They all genuinely liked the back-and-forth that comes with social media. You need to get something out of it besides feeling like you "should" be online because "they" said you should be. It shouldn't feel like a chore.
If you're interested in more social media tips, I hope you'll check out Beadwork Quick + Easy!