As I’m sure you’ve noticed, just about every business has a Facebook Page. Businesses don’t have a page just because it’s the popular thing to do; it’s a way of getting into the world of your potential customers. A Facebook Page centralizes quick links to your main website and contact info, it showcases desired photos, and can even connect customers who can share personal stories of success with your product. Best of all – it’s free!
All you need is a little bit of time to set up the page and then spend a few minutes a few times a week to check how things are going.
Facebook Page Set-Up
If you want a Facebook Page, but don’t have one yet, here is a great link specifically for Etsy Sellers. Be sure to set up your “
MyEtsy” section. Here’s what mine looks like:
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The
MyEtsy application shows your banner with your shop items. If they click on an item, it will take them directly to the item’s listing in your shop at Etsy. Also, if a page visitor clicks on “Share,” then their Facebook post will include a link to the same item’s listing at Etsy. Handy, don’t you think?
When you have at least 25 fans, you can get a shortened link address. This makes it much easier to share your site address. When logged into Facebook, go to
http://www.facebook.com/username. Select the Page that you are giving a username. If you click “Check Availability,” it will automatically assume you want it if it’s available, so be sure to pick something you like and can easily remember.
Regular Check-Ups
Now you’ve got a page.
Here are some tips of what to post and how to encourage visits and comments on your page.
- Post Lots of Links
- Etsy Treasuries (featuring you, one’s you like, some you’ve made, etc.)
- Blog posts (if you keep a blog, this is a great way to announce that you’ve posted something new!)
- Blog features (include links when other blogs are featuring your shop)
- New Items in your shop
- New shops (promote friends, family and fellow-sellers!) – tag their Facebook Page in your post by using the “@” symbol just before their page name
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- Showcase “1000 Words” (Photos) – Pictures are a great way to get people to look! For most people, it seems to be easier to process photos than reading words.
- New items
- New logos
- Current Items (sometimes posting a photo of an item that’s been sitting in the shop can give it new activity. Better yet, post a new photo of the same item)
- Plans – sometimes you can spark interest by sharing a photo (just give them a hint, not the whole plan!) of something you’ve got in the works
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- Be a Person, Be Personable
- Respond to comments left on your page in a timely manner.
- To quickly check if anyone has made a comment, click on “Notifications” in the menu on the right side of the page.
- If there is anything new, there will be a number (how many notifications you have waiting) that will be floating at the end of the word “Notifications”
- Be friendly
- The Etsy world gives us a unique opportunity to give personalized customer service even to people across the world
- Show that you care about them as a person as well as a potential customer
- Share Success
- Ask select customers if they wouldn’t mind taking a photo of the item they purchased from you and linking it to your page.
- They can also share by uploading a photo to your page
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Those are the three main things that I do to keep my page engaging. I’d love to get more ideas! If you do something on your Facebook Page that works, please leave a comment and share with our readers!
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AWESOME tip! I had no idea that existed. I added that right away. Thanks a ton!
ReplyDeletewww.designerfamilytrees.com
Facebook.com/DesignerFamilyTrees
This is some great info. I will totally have to come back once I get my page set up.
ReplyDeleteYou are the best, Anna! Thanks for a great article. And I love your FB page - I aspire to have a good one eventually! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is FANTASTIC for those just starting up with Facebook! What a great article! This is definitely the Part 1 to my blog post "the Dos and Donts Of Social Networking"
ReplyDeletehttp://jadelouisedesigns.blogspot.com/2011/08/dos-and-dont-of-social-network-postings.html
I found doing random comment games on the page helps keep the fans interacting. Ask questions.
On my page (www.facebook.com/jadelouisedesigns) we do "random questions" where I ask a Pretty random questions, just to keep the fans interacting with me. They have been a lot of fun.
I also just started a new feature which I call "sunshine moment" where I ask each person to post something Positive that happened with them that day...we're trying to bring more "positive" things to peoples lives.