Social Media and the Custom Drapery Workroom
When I started a workroom 17 years ago I did not even have a web site. All these years and two businesses later, I now run two web sites, four Instagram accounts (2 business, 1 personal, and 1 for my dog!), a twitter account, three Facebook accounts, a Linked in account a You Tube page, and two Pinterest pages!!! There are days that I wonder when I have time to actually fabricate window treatments which is my main source of income!
Sew Unordinary, my to the trade workroom, really just needed a web site in the beginning. That was easy enough. Then Facebook became necessary and the others followed… Linked In, Instagram and Pinterest. When Rose Mary LeBlanc and I developed and launched Seamless Workroom it became evident that we needed social media in order to reach designers as well as workrooms. It has become one of the most important aspects of our business because we reach so many people and companies in the industry that would have never known about us otherwise. In fact, I would say that we would not be nearly as successful as we have been without it!
Many workrooms wonder why should they bother with social media especially if they work only with designers. And I felt that way myself for a while. So, which social media avenues are great for your business really depends on who you are trying to reach.
Facebook is excellent for gaining advice and support from those in the same area of expertise through groups. It is also a great way to share with others what you have been working on in your business and to showcase your talents. And EVERYONE needs to toot their own horn! We all love to see other people’s accomplishments!
Instagram is great for sharing photos of what we are working on and what we have just completed. It is also the platform of choice for many designers so it is a great way to connect with and develop business relationships. I actually just had a call from a designer who found me on Instagram because a friend of hers who lives in Connecticut follows me and I live in NC!!!
YouTube is a way for you to dip your toes into the instructional pool. Tape something that you do in the workroom and post it! Even something that seems so simple to you might be a new technique for another person.
Linked In is important from a business standpoint. I do post here and have noticed that the more I interact the more connections I make. And connections are important since LOTS of professionals have profiles and it is all about connecting.
Pinterest, although not a social platform, has become increasingly important to businesses who want to drive traffic to their web site and in turn develop relationships with potential customers.
The next question I always get is “How do you have time to manage all those accounts?”. To be honest, I have spent a lot of time researching and trying to figure out how to get everything posted, commented on, and followed! I have found there are several programs that are so helpful. Ripl is an app that takes your photos and makes them into videos and will post to Instagram, Facebook, You Tube and Twitter…that is 4 platforms all at once!! A few other apps that I love are Canva, Square Fit, and PicMonkey that help make your posts more exciting and different. MeetEdgar has been a life saver for me. It schedules and posts social media to Facebook, Instagram, LikedIn and Twitter with Pinterest to be added later this year. Most importantly it houses a library of all your posts and will reuse them by circulating them back through the posting schedule! Which means your content is never used just once…especially important because each social media post is on average only seen by 4% of your followers. This program alone saves me so much time that I know I could not achieve what I do on social media without it.
The bottom line is that even if you don’t love social media, you must learn to use it and make it work for your business. Photos of your work and connecting with those in your industry can mean the difference between securing a new client or designer. It also gives you a link with others in your industry that you may never have met or known otherwise. So, take the leap and jump into the social media pool and I am sure you will soon be reaping the rewards of commodity and friendship that comes with being in touch with so many others with whom you have a common interest.
Please be sure to follow me on:
Instagram-sewunordinarydrapery
Facebook-SewUnordinary
LinkedIn-Amanda Smith
Pinterest-SewUnordinarydrapery
You Tube-Seamless Workroom
Resource Links: www.meetedgar.com, www.ripl.com, www.canva.com, www.picmonkey.com