Facebook Fan Page Management: Response to Mabel

Hey Sarah, I read you post on getting blog followers, it was very good. I’ve just started a Facebook fan page, but I’m not sure what kinds of things to post to it. Also, how do I get more fans?


Thanks!
Mabel

Mabel,

Thanks for your question, and congrats on expanding your social network to Facebook! While it can overwhelming at times to manage a studio, a fan page, a blog, and a Twitter account, most artisans find that it’s worth it for the increase in sales and traffic.

Regarding what to post, take a peek at some of the pages you’ve “liked” on your personal Facebook account. Most likely, you’ll see a post from them every day or every few days with some new article, link, or important update. Generally, if you have a page that updates too often, they end up dominating a news field, which can annoy your fans. Remember, Facebook isn’t Twitter, and if you plan to post your tweets to your Facebook fan page, so do sparingly and make sure they are important updates.

Generally, you should post an update once a day or every few days with news about sales, giveaways, and the occasional newly posted item (try to avoid posting a Facebook update every time you update your store). You can also update them with important information which may not be related to your business, such as a helpful craft business article or venue update. You can use Facebook to promote your blog too, but try not to post an update every time you blog.

You can also use your fan page pictures to create a story of your creations. Post pictures of your work as it progresses to show how you create a piece. Include pictures of your workshop, or a booth you had at a craft show to help fans get to know you better. And don’t forget to put your Facebook Kiosk on your fan page too!

You can gain fans for your Facebook page in a similar fashion to gaining blog followers. Fill out the link on your Market Hub, add your Facebook link anywhere else you can (such as forum and email signatures), promote your page though Twitter and similar channels, and post high quality updates. You can also post a widget/badge for your Facebook page on your blog or any website you run.

You can even promote your fan page through Facebook. Make sure to fan other artist’s pages and comment on their updates and pictures. You may even consider running a Facebook ad campaign for your fan page, although you may choose to reserve this form of advertising for your studio.

Lastly, if your page is brand new…give it time to grow! :)

Sara
Sell Handmade Crafts Online
Have a question for the blog? Email it to Sara@ArtFire.com.



Have any other thoughts on good updates or how to get fans for Facebook? Post them in the comments!

Sharing Personal Information Online: Response to Anonymous

There is a great deal of hype everywhere that giving our private information on Twitter/Facebook is very risky. I think this should be covered because as for me, I am very guarded who I join/what I say/and my profiles are empty. I only give information related to my shop, not my personal information like birthdates, anything personal. My local news stations have had some terrible horror stories and are warning people to exercise care in using these social networks? Do you have any advice?




Anonymous


Anonymous,

As a business owner, it is your own choice how much information you share. While sharing too much can be damaging, so can sharing too little. If you’re going to do business online, you’ll have to share some information. You have to share enough information for people to believe you are a real person who wouldn’t scam them. It can help draw customers (especially in the handmade market) to brand your business as being personal and share  your name (for credibility) and your story (to allow the customer to connect with you). However, where you draw the line after that is up to you and your own comfort level.

A lot of users choose to create a Facebook Fan Page for their studio to market themselves on Facebook, and keep their personal Facebook account set to private. This way they can allow people to fan their business page on Facebook but save their personal account for connecting with friends and family. Many people do the same thing with Twitter as well.

I hope that answered a few of your questions. This can be hard topic to properly address, but if you’re really concerned about your private information, I’d recommend reading over the Terms of Service and privacy Policy of any site you join, social media related or otherwise, to determine if they are able to share your information.

Sara
Sell Handmade Crafts Online
Got a question for me to answer on this blog? Email me: Sara@ArtFire.com.

Posting Items to Your Facebook Feed: Response to Mary

How do I promote my items on my Facebook news feed? I am simply lost on that one.

Thanks. Mary


Mary,

To promote your items, just post the URL of one of your items in your Facebook status update. Once you post a link, Facebook should recognize it as a link and pull the item’s picture (although you might have to use the arrows below the picture to sort through to find the right one for the link). You can then include an update to your friends to let them know more about the link, such as, “Check out this new banana scented handmade soap I just posted to my store!”

If you need more information on promoting your store on Facebook, be sure and check out my Facebook Guide.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

Sara
Sell Handmade Crafts Online

Response to Pam: Duplicate Content, Facebook, and Twitter

I love being able to import items from my Etsy shop to my ArtFire shop, but do I have to be worried about duplicate content and being penalized in Google searches?


I have a personal Facebook page and also my Fan page, although not all of my friends are also fans. What is the proper protocol for posting business related items...post to the fan page then post a link to the first post from my personal page? I don't want to "spam" my friends, but they might be interested in my art, also.


I also have a Twitter account. What should I be Tweeting? How often?


Pam Geisel
For Quilts Sake
www.forquiltssake.com
www.forquiltssake.artfire.com


Pam,

Wow, those are a lot of good questions! I’ll try my best to answer them all in turn.

Question 1: Duplicate Content
While the listing pages for ArtFire and Etsy are very different, there is still the possibility of running into trouble with duplicate content. However, this can easily taken care of by using making a few changes to your imported item’s title and description. You don’t have to redo the listing, just make a few small changes. Making these changes can also be a helpful way to test which title or description works best for your listing so far as SEO (search engine optimization) goes. ArtFire has a guide for after you import you can check out to find more ways to tweak your listings.

Question 2: Facebook
This is really a personal preference, and really depends on your fans and friends. Some people will post every update they have for their fan page onto their personal profile, while others will keep their fan page and personal profile completely separate. You could try only posting important news to both your fan page and personal profile (for example, if you normally post every time you list a new item, only post it to your fan page, while for big sales and events, post to both accounts). You could also try just “liking” your fan page posts from your profile, as this will also show up on your friend’s news feeds without showing the full post. But again, it’s up to you to determine the right amount of promotion with your Facebook account. There really is no proper protocol, so it’s up to you to determine what works best!


Question 3: Twitter
I could probably devote any entire novel this to question, but I’ll try to keep it brief. With your Twitter account, you want to create the right balance of fun, personal updates, as well as business updates. I go over this in greater detail on my Twitter 101 Guide. You’ll want to try and incorporate Twitter into your daily promotional practices to get the best results from it. Start with about 3-10 tweets spaced out over a period of time throughout the day. To a new user this might sound like a lot, but you’ll be surprised how easy it can be once you’re used to it!

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sara
Sell Handmade Crafts Online

Response to Alice: How to Set a Custom URL on Facebook

Dear sell handmade crafts online blog,

I noticed you had a post about facebook pages. after I  read it I went out and made one your post was so helpful. But now I don’t know how to set my url to be my page name. right now its all numbers and hard for people to remember. I see others with urls like: www.facebook.com/artfire which is their page name. Can you help me?

sincerely,

Alice

Dear Alice,

Sounds like you're having trouble setting your vanity URL or username for your fan page.  Don't worry though, I can walk you though how to do it.  

Start by logging into Facebook. 

In your browser bar, enter in the URL: http://www.facebook.com/username 

Click the link at the bottom of the page reading "Set a username for your Pages".

Select your page from the dropdown menu. 

Enter the username you'd like to appear in your page's URL. It might be easiest to make this the same as your shop name so people have no trouble finding your fan page.  Remember you cannot change your username after it's been set. 

After you've make sure that the username is available, click save.

Your Facebook vanity URL should now be set! Try evering in your new URL to see if it takes you to your page. 

Hope that helps, let me know if you have other questions,

Sara

Sell Handmade Crafts Online

3MZ9XE8FG977

Confused Seller Response - Why You Should have a Facebook Fan Page for Your Business

Dear Sell Handmade Crafts Online:

I’m new selling and have just opened up my jewelry shop with ArtFire.  I’ve hooped on the forums now and again and people have asked me do I have a Facebook page. I have a Facebook page for myself but I don't want to to give this out to other people.  I've seen Facebook pages that look like their a business, but I'm not sure how to do it or what I would do if I had it.

Regards,

Confused Seller

   

Dear Confused Seller:

Welcome to the wide world of selling online! It’s wonderful that you’re involved on the forums on ArtFire.  It’s true that Facebook was initially designed to help people stay in contact with friends and family, and it’s a good idea to keep your personal Facebook account separate from your business.  However, Facebook also has “pages” available for businesses which are separate from profiles and allow you to promote your studio without giving people access to your personal Facebook account.

 If you’re just getting started selling your product online, it can be very helpful to have a Facebook page for your studio.  With this page you can promote your brand on Facebook to their 400+ million users. It will also allow your shoppers on ArtFire the ability to “Like” your business on Facebook, helping you to establish a connection with them as well as provide exposure to your shoppers’ Facebook friends.  

You can also put your Facebook Kiosk on your Facebook page to allow people to shop while they check out your page.  The Facebook Kiosk Guide has a few steps for setting up the Kiosk and your Facebook Page you might find helpful.  You can also check out the Promoting Your ArtFire Studio with Facebook and the SEO Tips for Facebook guide as well for more information on using your Facebook Page. Don’t forget to add a link to it on your Market Hub once you’ve set it up!

 Good luck, and feel free to contact me again if you have any other questions!

 

Sara 

Sell Handmade Crafts Online