I like to drop in and participate in some of the discussions that go on in the Etsy forums as they are a great way to network and get some advice on how to improve your sales. One topic that’s always seem to be a popular one is, “Do I need to be on Facebook/Twitter to sell?” Answers usually fall in one of two camps. Camp A: no…social networking is just a waste of time. Camp B: yes…they’re a great way to get more traffic to your store. So which camp do I fall into? I fall into Camp C: It depends.
What does it depend on? Mostly it depends on your attitude. If new technology interests you, if you like to play around with different things to see what works, and if you don’t mind being on the computer, then social networking will probably work for you. If on the other hand you’d rather get a root canal than send out a tweet, set up a Facebook page, or blog on a regular basis…stay away. Because your attitude will show loud and clear that you’re only doing this because you were told you “should”.
I’m an advocate of giving new things at least an honest try. What do I mean by an “honest try”? It means putting forth a good amount of effort for a period time to see if something will work. Opening up a Twitter account and sending out a tweet or two every couple weeks for a month or so is not an “honest try” because everything takes some time and work to be effective.
On the other hand, if you put in the time and effort to market yourself regularly on social networks, put in the time to make friends, followers, and connections, and have done it for a period of more than a few months and finally come to the conclusion that social networking isn’t for you…then by all means, move on to something else. Because there’s no reason to keep up with something that doesn’t give you results.
Bottom line? Can you get along without social networking? If you can’t make it work for you, sure you can…artists have been doing it before. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, home shows, advertising, blogging, or word of mouth…all of these things are just tools. But keep your mind open to trying new things. And make the “honest effort” to see if they’ll work for you. And then choose the tools that work best for you.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Its always great to test things out and if they dont work refine, get advice and try to make it work, Social media is excellent way to get the word out effectively if you do it the right way
Love this topic, Nicolette!
Your suggestion to give something an “honest try”, in my opinion, is the very BEST suggestion. I happen to be a huge fan of Twitter but I must confess that I didn’t really care for the site at first and I really couldn’t see the relevancy in it as a marketing tool.
After my “leaning curve” period was over and I had truly given it an honest try as a social media marketing tool, I wouldn’t ever think of NOT using it!
You’re also extremely wise to let people know that you absolutely should not stick with any business building tool or marketing strategy that simply is not right for you, not working for you, or you’re totally uncomfortable with.
I’m the kind of gal that only wants to do the type of business building activities that I really love! Otherwise, it just feels like a chore and who needs more of those?!
Melanie
#blog30