This document discusses the importance of an online presence and social media for craft and design businesses. It covers choosing social media platforms based on your audience, maintaining a consistent brand and tone, engaging with followers by posting regularly and curating relevant content. The document provides tips on using social media effectively as part of an overall marketing strategy and tools to help manage social media accounts.

1. The role of Social Media and Online
Communication in Developing and
Growing your Craft and Design Enterprise
Ciara Gannon
Communications Assistant
Design & Crafts Council of Ireland

2. •Why an online presence is important
•Choosing a tone and platform for your brand
•Presenting yourself as a professional artist
•Distinguishing your brand identity from yourself (usually!)
•Dos and Don’ts for social networking
•Social Media tools
What we will be looking at

3. •Visibility
•Promotion
•Networking
•Cost-effective advertising (updates to Facebook re paid)
•Wide reaching
•Target potential customers
Why an online presence is important

4. • Marketing
• Promoting your brand
• Spreading the word on offers
• Facebook exclusives
• Facebook becoming ecommerce site?
• Paid advertising on Instagram

5. “Social Media is now an essential part of
doing business”
socialmediatoday.com

6. • Social media can fall by the wayside when something el
se has a definite due date
• 80:20 rule = 80% external content, topical articles etc.2
0% content re your brand
• Make it fun, don’t let it be a chore
• Social media calendar

7. 69% mobile traffic
31% desktop
StatCounter

8. “People are 18 times more likely to buy
directly in their News Feed than when
clicking off to a separate website”
Wade Gerten, chief executive of 8thBridge

9. •Harlem Shake
•Ice Bucket Challenge
•Human Rights Campaign for marriage equality
•Pray for France
•Temporary profile images

10. Choose your platform

11. • Who is your audience?
• Who is your customer?
• Target market?
• What do you want your users to do next? i.ebu
y your product, share an image etc.
Choosing a tone/platform for your brand
The answers to these questions will influence you
r choice of platform and determine your tone

12. •Use of language is important
•Keep it simple
•Ask questions
•Competitions?
•Curate content
•Consistency
•High quality images – sized correctly for each platform
(production images can sell a show/exhibition)
•Videos give value
Presenting yourself as a professional artist

24. Molloy & Sons
http://vimeo.com/98728962
Cushendale Woollen Mills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjt8keLw0M0&list=PLzGatYgX4RzHs_XiEJJ1Bx8xnb
38Cr598
Irish Craft Studio Experience
http://www.craftinireland.com/explore/studio-films
UK Crafts Council commission
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/12/pottery-meets-experimental-animation-in-this-cer
amic-phonotrope/
University of Wroclaw
http://vimeo.com/103992350

29. Informal online tone
Springwools
https://www.facebook.com/springwools?fref=ts
Chupi
https://www.facebook.com/xChupi
GMIT Letterfrack
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGMITLetterfrack?fref=nf
Snug
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snug/585506674876999?skip_nax_wiza
rd=true

30. Facebook advertising
Facebook Advertising

31. Twitter Advertising

32. Include social media details on
ALL printed materials

33. Don’t listen to Alec Baldwin…..
“Always Be Closing” – Glengarry Glen Ross
(before you were born)
Don’t be overly ‘salesy’, post content your followers will
find interesting
Don’t post content you don’t find interesting

34. v
Social Networking
Conversations with people
NOT a one-way conversation

35. •Have a social media strategy
•Friend and Follow
•Endorse – ‘like’, ‘retweet’, ‘favourite’, ‘pin’
•Post regularly
•Be consistent
•Build a relationship with your followers
•Follow people you admire - see how they structure content
•Post relevant and interesting content
•Use the 80:20 rule
DO

36. •Post inspirational content
•Update content regularly
•Create a custom URL
•Respond to online queries in a timely manner
•Ask opinions
•Double check links
•Check spellings and grammar
DO (cntd)

37. •Link your social media accounts
•Be overly ‘salesy’
•Post negative remarks
•Express extreme personal / political /
economical opinions
•Comment negatively on your contemporaries
DON’T

38. •Ignore any negative feedback
•Be afraid to ask opinions
•Share sensitive information
•Behave unprofessionally
DON’T

39. Know your audience

40. Share and share alike

41. Social Media Tools
•Hootsuite - manage multiple social media accounts
•Buffer - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+
•Tweetdeck - social media dashboard application
•Facebook Scheduling - schedule posts
•Pixlr - online image editor
•Google Analytics - statistics on click throughs etc.

42. Social Media Tools
•Bit.ly – shortens links, Engagement & Tracking
•RGBstock – free stock images
•Ghostlab – checks your website on different platforms and
browsers
•SlideShare – share presentations
•Google Alerts – for name and brand name
•IFTTT – connects different web applications
•Tweriod / Socialbro – when are your followers most active?

43. Social Media Tools
•Buzzsumo – find the most shared content
•Followerwonk – search social media profiles for influential
people
•Dasheroo.com – dashboard
•MarketingGrader.com – grades your sites performance
against key metrics
•Piktochart
•Canva

44. Social Media Monitoring - activity on your page
Trends - reports
Awareness – what is visible on your page / metrics
Review - what is being said about your brand online?

45. Websites
• Good web design
• Important to have an ‘About’ section
• Blog
• Include social media details / icons
• Encourage customers to buy?
• Mobile browsers
– is your website mobile responsive?

46. www.dccoi.ie
Updated in 2014 to link all DCCoI umbrella websites

47. •Tone
•Branding
•Offers
Consistency across social media and website

48. • Choose your social media platforms
• Decide on a tone
• Know your audience
• Be consistent
• Post regularly
• Engage with your followers
Recap