Social Media Growth Tips for Handmade Businesses

1. Use a Scheduler to Curate and Post Your Content:

There are so many services out there, from Planoly, Hootsuite, Buffer, or my personal current favorite, Later. You’ll want to find the app that will work best for you, because it does depend on your brand, which platforms you are on, and what app features you need. Any one of these tools can be utilized to schedule your content in advance which saves TONS of time in the long run. Take a day or two and plan out your next month of content in one shot, instead of stressing that you haven’t posted anything for 5 days. To build a community, you need to post regularly or your followers may lose interest quite quickly.

2. Don’t Just Share Product Photos:

This is an important one! Don’t just share your product photos, no matter how gorgeous they are. You are a handmade business, which makes you special, so show that. Share some behind the scenes photos, work in progress shots, photos of events you attend, photos or videos showing your items in action. The possibilities are endless for small handmade businesses, and showing the person behind the brand makes people feel like they can connect with you. That’s just one of the many reasons why handmade is better!

3. Keep an Eye on Trending or National Days:

When you are planning your content for the next month, make sure you look for any upcoming holidays or national days that fit your brand AND that your target market will respond to. As an example, if you sell pet products, you might want to be aware of when National Pet Day is (it’s April 11th, by the way) or National Dog Mom’s Day (second Saturday in May). I love looking through the National Day Calendar website for ideas.

4. Utilize Hashtags That Your Audience Will be Using:

Using generic hashtags are great, in minimal amounts. You really want to find and use targeted hashtags that your target market will be looking at. For example, if you are posting a picture of a beautiful ruby bracelet you’ve made you might consider hashtags like #crystaladdict or #boholovers instead of just ones like #handmadejewelry and #rubybracelet for Instagram and Twitter.

5. Engage, Engage, Engage:

Engagement is so important on social media, and social media should be social. Building an authentic and real following takes a lot of time in the form of engaging with your target market. Like their posts, leave a couple real and genuine comments on their posts, follow them. Don’t be too focused on numbers. You are better off focusing on what really matters, and that is engagement. You don’t want thousands of followers that aren’t going to even look at your post, let alone comment or like it, would you?

Do you have any additional tips for growing your social media following?

Tara Reid

Tara Reid is a multi-passionate business and marketing strategist for introverted entrepreneurs who want to grow without relying on hustle culture or social media. With 18+ years of online business experience, she helps course creators, service providers, and digital product sellers build sustainable businesses through evergreen marketing, blogging, SEO, Pinterest, and email.

As the founder of the Introvertpreneur Club, Tara’s mission is to show heart-centered entrepreneurs that you don’t have to be loud to be successful. You just need the right strategies that fit your personality.

When she’s not supporting clients or creating new resources, you can find her at home in Canada with her three rescue dogs, a cup of coffee in hand, dreaming up her next project.

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