Craft Focus - June/July 2020 (Issue 79)

77 SOCIAL MEDIA @ Beth Morton, social media coordinator at Craft Focus discusses the impact of social media and how it’s crucial during a worldwide pandemic What social media platforms does Craft Focus and which proves most effective? Craft Focus uses Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share information and products online. We use all three platforms because they all appeal to different clients and customer -bases and it counts to spend the time and make sure you’re covering all angles. Facebook offers a more personal approach to social media, often reaching the end consumer in their living room at home in an evening. Twitter is a more corporate and buyer-like approach to social media offering occasional updates on the business, and Instagram being a nice mix of the two (and probably the more effective method for Craft Focus ). There’s a large crafting community on both Facebook and Instagram. On Facebook you’ll find smaller self-employed craft businesses engaging on their business pages or within specific crafting groups where sellers and buyers come together to #ShopSmall. Instagram offers fresh and engaging image- based content with the occasional splash of live-streamed demonstrations and webinars via stories from both businesses, buyers and consumers. It covers all bases in one go, which makes it the easier of the platforms really. What helps a post reach the most people? Knowing your target customer will help your posts reach the most people (and more importantly, the right people). It may seem tempting to stick non-relevant trending hashtags in your posts and spam post them on lots of accounts but all three social media platforms have different strengths of spam filters and you will fall into them resulting in temporary blocks on your accounts - which is not what you want when building a brand. Doing a little research to see what content your competitors or fellow crafters are posting will always help. This is great for learning what hashtags are used within the crafting community, which are the people you want searching for and seeing your content. The last point would be: Engage, engage, engage! The most important and simplest thing you can do without needing to be social media savvy is to engage with the craft community on your chosen platform. By commenting, following, reaching out and networking with other profiles that you like the look of, you’re putting your name out there and you’re building connections that may come in handing later down the line. How is social media helping during the current Covid-19 pandemic? Everyone is online − constantly. There has never been a better time to work on your social media presence really. Engagement has risen dramatically while people are confined to their homes and attempting to occupy their brains. As has the amount of craft consumers beginning new projects, and never-before crafters being welcomed into the community. This means there’s a whole new wave of fresh faces just waiting to see your content. What advice would you give to any craft businesses that have currently closed their doors? Hang in there. It may seem daunting right now but focus on what you can control right now at home. With websites such as Amazon limiting their amount of stock that goes out while they focus on ‘essential items’ it opens up a whole new way of shopping for a crafter. More and more people are turning to smaller businesses to purchase their leisure items and there’s set to be a massive boom in shopping small. # SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS Social status @craftfocus @craftfocusmag @craftfocus Did you know? Research from the Digital 2020 Global Digital Overview published by Datareportal on the 30 th January, 2020 shows that nearly 60 percent of the world’s population is already online, and trends suggest that more than half of the world’s total population will use social media by the middle of this year. FOLLOWUS... LIKED AND RETWEETED ON TWITTER BY: Just Hands TV @justhands-on.tv Trotec Laser UK @TrotecUK Stockwell Ceramics @stockwellbutton Craft Focus is at the heart of the online community. Here’s a quick update on what’s been happening LIKED AND SHARED ON FACEBOOK BY: JosyRose @JosyRose TheMagicTouch (GB) Ltd @TheMagicTouchGB Home & Gift Buyers’ Festival @homeandgiftharrogate THIS MONTH ON SOCIAL MEDIAWE’VE BEEN MOSTLY • Bringing you up-to-date with 2020’s hottest trends • Inspiring you with brand-new craft products • Posting the latest industry news