These five tips were shared with us by Holly Casto, designer, small business owner, and founder of Holly Casto Creative. In early 2013, Holly launched the online retail store Charm & Gumption. What started as a small Etsy shop that she ran out of her living room quickly turned into a successful lifestyle brand, reaching 6-figure sales numbers in only its second year of business. Today, she teaches aspiring business owners how to create and grow their online brands through her blog, YouTube, and online courses, including the newly launched Craft Biz 101.
Whether you sell handmade products on Etsy as a hobby or have turned crafting into a full time business, video can be a fun and effective way to promote your products. Here’s a list of five reasons why.
Video offers crafters an alternate route for driving traffic to their websites and product pages for a number of reasons:
Over 130,000 people have discovered Holly through a video she posted on YouTube called Pros and Cons of Selling on Etsy.
PRO TIP: Optimize your titles, descriptions, and tags for maximum discoverability. To learn more, read our blog post on Video SEO 101: How to Get Discovered on YouTube.
Video makes you more discoverable, but that’s not the only reason it works for introducing you to a new audience. Holly says, “some people prefer watching video; some people prefer reading articles.” By incorporating video into your strategy, you can reach potential customers that are drawn to this type of content.
Holly points out that video can be a nice alternative to photos and text “for products that are more complicated to explain.” A tutorial video can show how something works and a product demonstration video can show off more complicated or hidden features in action.
Here’s a fun example from leather bag and accessory designer Ryan Greer, featuring products from his company Flux Productions. In a blog post, Ryan told us that, in trying to market his bags, he was having trouble demonstrating all of the different product features, like the folding wallet or adjustable straps, with still images. Video allows him to demonstrate the small details of what he’s making. He also says that he likes the approachability of video — photography can often times feel staged. Video feels more inviting and authentic.
By showcasing yourself and your personality in your videos, you also humanize your brand. When you create a behind-the-scenes video showing how your product is created or a tutorial video, you not only offer valuable content that gives potential customers more insight into your product, but you also give them more insight into who you are. Think about it — you’d probably be more likely to buy a product from a friend than a person you know nothing about, right? Sharing a part of yourself through video will let potential buyers get to know you so you’ll stand out from the competition.
Check out this example, shared by Goldtinker Jewelers on their Facebook page, to see how easy it is to give your product a human touch by incorporating yourself into a video. So much depth is added by going behind-the-scenes, rather than only showcasing the product.
Video is great for sharing as well. On Facebook, it has been shown to see further reach and engagement than other types of posts (check out this blog post to learn more) and Holly points out that the fact that video auto-plays in the news feed also does wonders for getting your content noticed.
Are you using video to promote your craft business? We’d love to hear about it. Share your story in the comments below and visit Holly’s website to find out more about her Craft Biz 101 course.
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