The Power of Social Media It works! The “How and Why” for a Brick & Mortar (plus online) business How many people here use SM? How about traditional advertising? Both? SM not a new concept, just a new way of doing what we always did….word of mouth on a global scale. i.e.: Traditional advertising can and should always include links to your website which should be linked to your FB and Twitter which should have a strong, interesting bio/background story that leads them to your door. (Use great photos of your shop/front door as well as your work. If I click on someone’s linked photo and it’s a crappy shot, I don’t even bother to look.) Non-traditional advertising options: gift cert donations to fundraisers (gets them in the door!) with accompanying displayed example of your work that includes website, online info. These are often advertised online with links to the donors sites and go out to a whole different list of potential clients. (Use Atlantis shadowbox story) Use all your available resources to work together, traditional as well as contemporary. Beth Williams

Social Media Strategy Why – objectives and goals Content – What you are trying to sell Who – Who are you trying to reach How – Make it all work together Especially when running a creative business, connections are everything! “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” = we’ve all heard, and there’s a lot of truth in it. Connecting with other like-minded artisans who are all striving for the same goal of success can help everyone. (ie hashtag groups such as #glasschat, #jewelrychat) The “experts” say that social media is here to stay; it’s no longer “if” you’ll have a presence on SM but when and where. SM not a new concept, just a new way of doing what we always did….word of mouth on a global scale. Connect the dots between all the options

Why (do we need it)? (Insert whining here) Businesses using SM are considered cutting edge and in the forefront of what they do! Cutting edge = name recognition Name recognition drives sales “I don’t have time to spend on this!” ”Can my business really make money using sm, is it a gigantic time suck or is it a necessary evil?” (use Nancy’s story…within a week of starting on Twitter she had several new sales from her website from new followers) “Likes” + “Followers” (people who like or follow you) are much (up to 68%) more likely to buy and make recommendations to other friends; like the old shampoo commercial, “You tell 2 friends and they’ll tell 2 friends and so on and so on and so on!” Good or bad, we trust what our friends tell us.

What type of SM for you? Options for B&M store and online business: Facebook Page Twitter Constant Contact email list My website & shopping cart Many others, another discussion What I do: many choices, but this is what seems to work for me Facebook Page (a few years now) (400+) Twitter (since March 15, this year) (250+) Constant Contact email list (couple years+) (1200+) My website & shopping cart (since 1994-5)

What? What content will you use to create or attract interest? How often will you use it? Don’t just sell and promote yourself, you need to have valuable info. Readers get tired (quickly!) of only seeing “look at my new ______!” or “I have new work in my Etsy shop”! (but tell the story briefly of that new work: show a photo and say “Sunset sky over the water last night was beautiful! See my new work that were inspired by it here…”) People love to explore, discover, and learn before they purchase; they gain trust in you and your product by interacting with videos, webinars, articles, tutorials, pictures. Content can be: New items on your etsy or website, special sales/offers, upcoming classes or shows, new line of work or inspiration, being published, new gallery, awards… Connect and engage with your customers. (ie, my 20th year in business, special local goings-on, personal recommendations for local events (how to get here, train/trolley schedule) Regularly but at different intervals for different media! Balancing the line between staying professional and adding some personality is tough; your clients/followers want to feel like they know you a little bit so you want to engage them but no one really wants to know how wasted you got last night!

Who? Who is your target audience? How do you decide? How do you build your network? For me, I want locals, tourists, cruise ship passengers, designers (all walk-ins) for my brick and mortar studio, and “friends” and “followers” for the online; I follow different travel agencies, chambers of commerce-type groups as well as interior designers, jewelry designers, garden designers, lots of artistic types who would appreciate what I do and say and RT my info…. Find out what SM your clients/targeted audience uses; collect email addresses at shows/sales, explore on FB or Twitter to see who else is on and using regularly; go to some of the people that you follow and see who they are following, you can find lots of new valuable connections that way. “Liking” and “Following”, you need to spend a little time every day or so and be “sociable”. Politeness is just as important as IRL…retweet info you think is great, tweet about new work you’ve found or blogs you like; spend 10 -15 mins a day (am with your coffee, while you’re eating lunch, whatever…) Constant Contact, Linked In; more pieces of the puzzle of building your network

How? (putting it all together!) Multi-pronged attack! Facebook Twitter Constant Contact Website / shopping cart / Etsy With a b/m store or at a show, you can create a buzz or excitement by using SM to drive people to your door or booth; offer a free bead or something special to “ie: the first 5 people” that come by and mention that they got your tweet (either directly from you or via retweet). If you use photos in your SM conversations (convos) (and you should, everyone loves a good picture) make sure they are good, clear, interesting shots! Obviously that is even more important for your website, shopping cart, Etsy or eBay sites, any time you are using images to sell your work. Just to reiterate….keep a regular presence, add/send good content, forward/retweet interesting info! Am sure I’ve forgotten lots more, but these are the basics and the best thing to do is just set up your accounts and explore the applications. Have fun with it! Handouts have some sites to check out for more info