Treat my articles as inspiration. Think about how my suggestions might work in your context. The handicraft market is very wide. My observations are generalized and will not necessarily be true in every case.
What problems do you have on Social Media?
I am returning to a topic from one of my webinars, namely Social Media. I did this webinar in reference to one of my posts on the group, in which I asked you what problems are you facing on Social Media.
The responses included such issues as:
- It takes a long time to prepare good photos, content and publish them
- Opening a new account takes time to grow and sell
- Lack of ideas for community involvement, to stand out
- Share your ideas while the competition is copying us
How does it work with Social Media? – Little background.
Today I would like to deal with the topic of being distinguished from the crowd. But of course, it all depends on what brand you want to create, and I wrote something about it in the article about creating the Premium brand and how much you want to try something “out of the box”.
And so, from my observations, it appears that brands that have opted for extraordinary solutions usually fared better than others. Others began to follow them, but they already had a well-established position in the market.
Let’s take a look at the history of Social Media. First, they all gradually adapted to Facebook (perhaps ignoring the times of the earlier Social Media, such as MySpace, which in those days was really about making contacts, not selling). Discovering its sales opportunities, then using its additional group options and paid ads, seeing the effects, more people and businesses using this medium appeared. This was followed by mass marketing training on Facebook, and when the market began to saturate, other interesting selling options appeared – on Instagram or Pinterest. Thus, businesses, especially those related to the sale of goods, joined other channels, exploring them and creating “best practices”. However, also here the market saturates, and the final is such that it is becoming increasingly difficult to break through it.
What can be done to break through the competition on the handicraft market? – Few tactics.
1. Try a different style.
It will be directly related to the vision of our brand, so you also need to consider whether the rebranding of our brand will be beneficial and how it will affect our existing customers (also provided that we have regular customers). Rebranding does not have to be associated with the change of the logo itself, but with the change of its main values or distinguishing features. It is often accompanied by a visual change, because we are introducing something new and we want to mark the “new chapter” in a way that will stuck our customers in their heads.
People respond most to information that evokes specific emotions in them – fear, compassion, or laughter. As the first two fall out of the handicraft business, there is still a last option. Therefore, such a change of style may be, for example, to introduce a more fun approach to our communication. I personally like it very much, and the statistics confirm that funny content on social media receives more reactions and recognition than “stiff” information or photos.
2. Get on social media where there is not so much craftsmanship!
Another thing is the choice of social media. Everywhere, 3 social media are cited as the basis – Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. Recently, a lot of people have joined TikTok, but it’s starting to be a crowd there too. Unfortunately, few still “dare” to social networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter, and I think that there is a lot of potential there, because your potential customers are there!
So let’s start from the beginning, with our ideal client, which we talked about in one of the previous articles. You usually describe such people as richer, because they can finally afford the prices of handicrafts that are not compared with mass shopping. Therefore, these people probably hold higher positions or are entrepreneurs themselves. So let’s consider how many of them sit on “unproductive” social media, and how many will be on those related to their career or business development?
There are several handicraft businesses in both of the channels I mentioned, and what? – that’s where they have the highest sales! Showing yourself from the side of the person running a business, posting content related to it, or Tweeting your daily thoughts or works can be a great distinguishing feature for you. On these channels, not so much, and thanks to this, it attracts the attention of recipients – your potential customers!
3. Target a different audience
It is worth considering whether sometimes targeting a different niche of our products will not be a good treatment. Re-thinking if we really get to the people we target, but I have already discussed this in previous articles. There are many interesting niches and trends that are worth considering. I prepared such a list of potential markets and added to my eBook in which I described step by step, or rather problem by problem, how to prepare your handicraft business.
In addition, I would like to draw your attention to the growing cryptocurrency market and people who have grown rich on it recently. I also deal with this topic and watch what is happening, but I will devote a separate article to it. I think you will potentially have clients there as well. And these people are mainly on Twitter
4. Make partnerships
Perhaps you will think that you are too small a business, you are just starting out and this is not the right time? On the contrary! Mali, because they are small, have great power – if they join forces with other beginners. After all, we’re not talking about a partnership with a big company right away! Start by thinking about what your product complements with. Suppose you are making baby clothes. Therefore, you can “fraternise” with someone who makes toys, decorations for children’s rooms, photographers, etc. In each of these markets there are many start-up businesses and you can show them off! Even if you do not have huge ranges, it adds to everyone both “points for professionalism” and the exchange of these clients – and we have a “win-win” 😊
Hope I gave you some inspiration to think about. Let me know what you are already doing to stand out and whether you have implemented any of the strategies!
See you in the group and have a beautiful day!
Aga
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