Twitter is being used by all kinds of businesses for lead generation, public relations, marketing, sales and sharing new products. Many craft business owners find it difficult to overcome the learning curve, learn the Twitter lingo, gain a following and sustain interesting conversation while providing enough reason for followers to keep up. I came across an interesting article on EtsySuccess that included how one Etsy seller is using Twitter. Read full article here.
Selling on Twitter
Selling on Twitter is as simple as tweeting with a link to an item in your Etsy or other online shopping cart. However, before you start pitching everyone, create lists of potential buyers using Twitter Lists. For instance, your most important list will be previous customers.
* As with your other social accounts, choose a username / handle or close version of your business name that helps identify your brand.
* Set up a Twitter business account (or convert your personal account) to take advantage of extra features.
Growing Your Following
* Search Twitter for popular influencers in your niche and other sellers with products like yours. If you sell accessories, type in what kind, like “handbags”, in the search bar at Twitter.com. On the sidebar, Twitter suggests “Who to Follow.” As you follow some, Twitter continues to show more in your interests.
* Bloggers use Twitter to announce their newest posts. Use Twitter to find bloggers who review products like yours.
* Follow leaders in your field (those with lots of followers) and follow their followers. As long as your Tweets are helpful or entertaining, many will follow you back.
* Seek popular Twitter users in related niches. For example, if you sell repurposed clothing or accessories, identify big influencers in fashion to follow. Going sustainable is trending in the fashion world.
* When entering or starting conversations on Twitter, aim for engagement. You’ll grow your influence faster with genuine connections rather than just blasting out promotional tweets.
Tweets
* Tweet directly from Etsy when you publish a new product listing, get a five-star review, or offer a coupon. See Shop Manager > Marketing > Social media.
* Learn the best time of the day to tweet with a tool like Tweriod.com.
* Posting on Twitter teaches you how to focus your message. Tweets are limited to 280 characters.
* Tweeting is another way to engage through dialog. It’s like sending brief instant messages.
* Frequent tweets generate more followers. Use social posting tools like Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule when your messages go out.
* Mix your tweet content; seven helpful or entertaining tweets for every one tweet about your products. If that feels too pushy, try ten to one (promo).
* Tweets with images get more engagement. This rule is true on most social media sites.
* Statistically, Tweets with links get more clicks.
* Use Twitter Analytics to learn which of your tweets get the most engagement.
* Tweetdeck.twitter.com lets you manage all your Twitter activity.
Hashtags
* Hashtags (putting the # sign before a keyword tag) in Twitter work like they do in Instagram.
* Using two relevant hashtags in a tweet gets more engagement.
* See the section on Instagram hashtags as the same guidelines apply on Twitter.
Automatically post tweets from your Etsy store using the Etsy-approved app Etsy-fu: https://etsyapps.com/etsy-fu/
The above article is excerpted from Sell Your Crafts Online; The Handmakers Guide to Selling from Etsy, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Shopify, Influencers and More.
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