Social media is a big part of our daily lives — whether you like it or not. And while it’s easy to find yourself mindlessly scrolling an infinite feed of content tailored to your exact hobbies and interests, social media has another role for Etsy sellers. And it’s a big one. So here’s how to use social media to maximize your Etsy shop’s potential.
While the reasons we all use social media vary, and the content our algorithm feeds us is different, there’s no denying that it’s a powerful tool for business owners.
According to Kepios, 4.76 billion people were using social media worldwide by January 2023. And by 2027, this number is projected to increase to almost 6 billion.
Of those 4.76 people, the average user spent 2 hours and 31 minutes scrolling content. And of all the social media platforms used worldwide, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram rank the highest.
With more than half of the world’s population on social media, it’s clear that your Etsy business should have a presence on at least one of these platforms.
And since more people are spending an increasing amount of time on social media, it’s never been easier to get your small business in front of a global audience.
All it takes is connecting with your customers (and potential customers) on their preferred social media platforms through engaging content.
Whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest, here are several ways to maximize your Etsy shop’s effectiveness on social media.
Master one social media platform at a time.
There are a lot of social media platforms out there that help Etsy sellers reach a wider audience.
And each one shows content to its users differently. So if you’re new to posting on social media for your Etsy shop, you need to know this very important thing: simply posting content and hoping for sales doesn’t work.
It’s not as easy as it looks. And you’ll need to dedicate a reasonable amount of time to researching your preferred platform, then learn to create the type of content that works for it.
If you’re new to posting on social media for your Etsy shop, you need to know this very important thing: simply posting content and hoping for sales doesn’t work.
All this to say, you shouldn’t try everything at once on every channel.
Not only is it an insane amount of work… but you’ll also struggle to determine how effective each new strategy is and how to master each platform separately.
Instead, pick one channel and one strategy to test. Then give it a shot and let things play out for a couple months.
But don’t stop there. Follow each step in this list to increase your success rate when using social media for your Etsy shop.
Identify your target audience for your social channels.
Your target audience on Etsy and the audience that will follow you on social media are the same people. So where do these people spend their time online?
Before you can figure that out, you’ll need to know your target demographic. This means knowing the following about your audience:
- Age
- Gender
- Geographical Location
- Income Level
- Interests & Hobbies
- Challenges
- Browsing Habits
- Values
In order to figure all this out, you’ll need to think about the type of person who would typically purchase a product like yours.
It also helps to use a variety of resources you can find online, like market/industry research, published social media analytics, Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, published surveys, and consumer stats from existing transactions.
Once you know your target audience, you can nail down where they most likely spend their time on social media. Use the graph below to help you figure that out.
Establish the type of content you want to create.
Why are you on social media in the first place? Ideally, it’s to sell more Etsy products to happy customers. But how are you supposed to make that happen? With quality content that engages viewers and makes them want to own your products.
And you might be surprised that there are many ways to make this happen.
Like any social media “influencer,” you’ll need to figure out how to reach your audience, keep them engaged, and make them stick around for more. And this starts and ends with the content you create.
Is your content educational, entertaining, comedic, inspiring, meme-worthy, heartfelt, or all of these things??
Or does your content just seem like an ad for your products?
Social media users don’t typically scroll with the intention of purchasing something. It just sorta happens naturally. So start by creating quality content first, then incorporate your products without getting too sales-y.
Leverage your product photos.
Social media is all about visuals. And lucky for you, eCommerce (and your Etsy shop) is all about visuals too. For an Etsy seller, your visuals are your listing photos, shop tours, Etsy Explore videos, etc.
Consumers shop with their eyes. They want to see your product, visualize what it would look like in their hands, and see it in a natural environment.
When it comes to shopping online, if something looks good in product photography, you’ll consider reading the description and adding it to your cart.
Consumers shop with their eyes. They want to see your product, visualize what it would look like in their hands, and see it in a natural environment.
So, take some extra pictures and videos next time you’re working on your listing photos. Or when you’re creating your product. Or when you’re sourcing your materials. Or when you’re searching for inspiration.
Use these pictures and videos to humanize your Etsy shop. Show your viewers the challenges you face, what decisions go into creating your product, how you create your product, and more.
This shows how much work you put into the products you sell in your Etsy shop and how meaningful it is to purchase from your small business.
Figure out what’s trending.
There are many social media channels out there that can be used to help you figure out what’s trending in pop culture and all over the world.
For instance, Twitter’s “Trending now” section shows popular topics and hashtags blowing up across multiple niches and interests.
While Instagram’s search feature displays popular content related to your interests.
When using social media on your own time, pay attention to growing trends closely related to your target demographic’s interests. If there’s a trend worth incorporating into your products, you may be able to create viral content that provides a direct link back to your Etsy shop.
Every week, we share new Etsy product trends in our weekly newsletter, The Squeeze. Subscribe today to see what’s popular tomorrow.
Post your reviews.
Positive reviews from your Etsy shop are social proof.
Proof that you can create a product people are happy to own. That you know how to deliver a quality product on time, and your customers are so thrilled they want more people to know about it.
And there’s not much other content you can share on social media that encourages your customers to buy without seeming too pushy.
A simple screenshot of a recent 5-star review is excellent content for your social media marketing, regardless of what channel it is.
Take it a step further to recreate your positive reviews with a graphic that fits your brand.
Include a link in your bio.
This is the most straightforward tip on this list, but one we want to make sure you’re doing.
Most social media platforms are made to keep users on there. Facebook is notorious for encouraging users to upload their content to the platform rather than send people away to an external site.
So when you encourage people to visit you off-site, they must know where to go. Tools link Linktree help social media marketers get their users off-site and into the desired location – that location being your Etsy shop where they can make a purchase.
It’s standard practice to use the phrase “Link in bio” at the end of all your posts so people know where they can find more information about whatever it is you’re talking about in your social media content.
Use your email list.
Are all your email subscribers following you on Instagram?
Similarly, are all your Instagram users signed up for your email list?
Use one audience to grow the other. Share social media content in your newsletter. And if subscribers open and read your email, they’ll likely have no problems following you on your preferred social media channel.
Similarly, use your social media channels to share the incentives that your email subscribers get when they sign up.
It’s a win-win.
Related: Here’s how to grow an email list from your Etsy audience.
Tell a story.
While our attention spans are undoubtedly getting shorter and shorter, people still love a story. An authentic story, at that. And social media, particularly video, is a great way to share your own personal story.
This doesn’t have to be your life story — but documenting how you developed a product for your business can be engaging content for those wanting to learn more.
Show your behind-the-scenes.
Similarly to telling a story, people love to see what happens behind the scenes of small businesses.
The subreddit r/oddlysatisfying is populated with businesses that show how satisfying their work is – from carpet cleaning to watch repair; a lot of content on this subreddit is made by the businesses themselves.
Your followers and the general public are naturally attracted to anything mildly interesting that happens when creating your products — so use social media to share that content!
Take advantage of national holidays.
There’s an endless amount of smaller national days that we don’t hear about — as well as the more niche and interesting ones. From Shark Week to National Donut Day, there’s something out there for any Etsy brand to discuss on social media.
Don’t reach too far to make a day relevant, though. Trying to associate World Vegan Day with your leather belts is just poor taste, so pick and choose what works for you and your audience.
Over to you
These few ideas should be enough to get some content flowing on your social media channels. But remember the following:
- Pick a social media platform that works for your audience
- Don’t try to create everything in every style all at once
- Measure, test, and assess what works and what doesn’t
With that in mind, go get your creative juices flowing and see what works for your Etsy shop in the world of social media!
