Social Media

Ten Social Media Action Words To Help You Connect

May 14, 2012 By Tim Layton 28 Comments

I read a headline this morning sharing the world-changing news that Real Simple magazine holds the distinction of being the first print magazine to reach 100,000 followers on Pinterest. They say it’s kind of a big deal.

But my thought was… it’s really not that hard. Not for them. It makes sense that Real Simple would be a leader on Pinterest. Without even looking at their boards I can guess that a very high percentage of the images they pin inspire and visually teach people creative ways to actually improve their life.

Creative ways to actually improve their life.

Key words being actually and creative. Lots of people pin images that are WAY wonderful and dreamy. Wonderful mansions on ten acres of manicured gardens are great to look at, but not a real part of most people’s next week.

Visually sharing the idea that you can use earrings as pushpins, on the other hand, is just as inspiring (I assume, based on repins and comments… it does nothing for me personally, of course…). It brings about the same positive emotions and it’s also doable. Right now. That makes all the difference in the world.

Whether you’re blogging, pinning, sharing, or tweeting, the key to building a following that really pays attention is to be yourself and be real, but also be helpful and useful at the same time.

Here are ten words to keep in mind as you go about your social media day.

Inspire
Teach
Share
Entertain
Equip
Help
Motivate
Unite
Inform
Ignite

Integrate these actions into your social media strategy and you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Now just in case there is one reader reading this who says “what does he know? I follow Etsypreneur on Twitter and never see a word…” Remember that you can choose your channel. Pay attention to what comes most naturally to you. What social outlet fits best with your personal strengths? Focus on that one.

For me, it’s writing… in considerably more than 140 characters. Blogs, emails, ebooks, etc. That’s why I’ve written more than 1000 blog posts so far. But you never know tomorrow may be the day I start tweeting or pinning like a social media machine.

What social channel works best for who you are? Where do you find it easiest to inspire, teach, share, entertain, equip, help, motivate, unite, inform, or ignite?

- Tim

Filed Under: Social Media

Choose Your Channel

March 9, 2012 By Tim Layton 15 Comments

Like all world class writers, my ideas sometimes come to me in my dreams.

This morning, I woke up with a vision in my head of a title, unfortunately I could only remember half of it. But that half was pretty interesting so I decided to run with it.

Choose Your Channel.

It occurs to me when I look at where I am in life and then I look at the vast social media circus that exists, that there is a problem.

You can’t possibly have the time to do all of these things well.

And, since like building is the new link building , doing things well is more important than doing things in bulk.

In other words, pick your favorite social media channels and stick with them.

My favorite, so far, is blogging. I’m just not so great at being “a man of few words”, so your average social media ‘blurb’ gives me more trouble than a 500-600 word blog post would.

Anyone who has seen my techy how-to wordpressy videos knows that brevity isn’t my strong suit. (understatement…working on it)

And blogging is social media as long as a conversation is going. Thanks to you, there always is one.

But you may really prefer another channel. You might love YouTube (if so, you should really run with that!). You might have Facebook totally dialed-in and clicking for you. Or you might have mastered the art of Tweeting like nobody else.

My thought for the day is that, while I don’t think you can “ignore” the other channels, I do think that you can choose your favorite channel , get immersed in it, and therein find your real voice.

Your “real voice”, the one that brings your inner passion to the surface, is the one that will propel you to success online.

Choose your channel. Find your voice. Then grow from there.

It’s no hurry.

~Tim

If Twitter is your channel, you’ll probably appreciate these funny tweets
If YouTube is your channel see this post about the benefits of being on YouTube

Filed Under: Social Media

10 Reasons You Should Be Posting Videos on YouTube

February 29, 2012 By Tim Layton 1 Comment

I just finished creating a YouTube video for the new about page here at Etsypreneur.

I can tell you for certain that I have way more than ten reasons NOT to post that video. Mostly they have to do with silly insecurites like “Did I smile enough?”, “Is it a little blurry?”, “Should I wear a hat?”, etc., etc., etc.

If you’ve ever made a video for the Internet, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.

We both need to get over it and just do this! Videos, especially on YouTube, have the power to help your business in a big big way!

Here’s Ten Reasons You Want to Be on YouTube

1. Videos create a connection -

One of these days someone is going to need or want what you sell. Or they’ll need the kind of information you provide. Or they’ll be looking to support a cause that you champion every day.

When that happens, you want them to think “I know someone who does that, I saw a video on YouTube…”

Videos create a personal connection with viewers. It’s just about as close to “getting to know” someone as you can get online.

The more videos you create, the more times your followers will see you and hear your voice. The better they will know you.

This is one reason you shouldn’t work too hard or worry too much about looking and sounding perfect. People want to connect with the real you!

2. Videos are trustworthy -

Life has shown us all that it’s much easier to guage the trustworthiness of another person by looking them in the eye and hearing them speak. I want to be trusted, don’t you?

No matter what your goals are, you probably wouldn’t bother with a blog, website, Etsy shop, or YouTube video if there wasn’t something you want people to do.

Buy your items
Support your cause
Subscribe to your blog
etc.

We follow and support people we know, like, and trust. Videos help build that rapport.

3. Videos convey a ton of information -

Besides the fact that most of us can talk faster than we can write, videos convey so much more than the spoken word.

Tutorial videos showing some aspect of your craft express copius amounts of information. The way you hold the scissors, the type of thread you use, the particular way you twist a wire.

Even without you speaking a single word, videos can be very useful communication tools.

4. Videos are a B-I-G part of the future -

I keep up with most of my Internet content through email subscriptions. The other day, this headline came across my inbox:

181 Million Americans Watched 40 Billion Online Videos in January

40 Billion!? That’s such a big number that I can’t really even comprehend it.

(that’s the truth with most of the Internet, including Etsy sales…it’s big numbers and just a tiny fraction is all you need!)

The list of top sites included VEVO. Have you heard of VEVO? Check it out. It’s a music site that is clearly targeted to a younger audience. Which brings up my next point.

5. Videos reach a wider audience -

The demographics are clear. Younger people watch more videos.

So building a video library starting now is something you’ll be ultra-glad you did ten years from now. Trust me.

But videos, especially how-to videos, aren’t just for the twenty-somethings. Older demographics are quick to use tools such as video search and YouTube search when they (we) want to know how to do something.

People are realizing that they can learn ANYTHING online. You want to be the one to teach them!

6. Videos show your products -

You don’t have to “push” your products to push your products. We did a video for Kim’s felt shop that teaches simple embroidery stitches.

It really doesn’t say anything about her felt or really about her or her shop at all. It just shows a couple of stitches that may, to a veteran crafter, seem so simple as to not be worth teaching. Sort of like me making a video entitled “How to hit a nail with a hammer.”

But that video has been seen over 4000 times and we’ve never promoted it at all! (Embroidery Stitch How-To Video)

7. YouTube is ginormous -

YouTube is third in overall Internet traffic. Second only to Facebook and Google. If you publish a video elsewhere there should be a really good reason.

Since it is so large and the selection of videos is so vast, people from all over the world go directly to YouTube in search of information.

Additionally, most YouTube videos include related videos at the end. This gives your video a chance to be seen by millions of people.

Speaking of millions of people…

8. YouTube builds strong communities -

I came across a guy the other day with over 2 million subscribers to his YouTube Channel! He had over 800 million views of his videos.

YouTube has recently revamped the channel page. Check out ours here:

Everything Etsy TV on YouTube

We really haven’t done much with this yet, but you can bet we will! I hope you go subscribe. But the point is just how prominent the subscribe button is on the page.

Google (owns YouTube) knows how big video is going and they’re focusing heavily on the subscription nature of video channels to help people keep track of what they really want to watch on YouTube.

Start building a community now and you’ll be so glad you did.

9. Videos are great sources of traffic -

So I’ll admit this: I’m not always “on my game.” Sometimes I’m just going through the motions. You too? That’s ok. Just don’t quit.

When I am on my game, however, I create videos with lots of references to the website and lots of links displayed on the screen. Videos without any indication of where your website is can get you subscribers, but it won’t get you traffic.

Include links to your blog or Etsy shop to get traffic from videos.

Huge traffic opportunity: Pinterest Did you know videos can be pinned? Big traffic there.

10. Videos can be monetized -

Google AdSense is able to be integrated with your YouTube account. Don’t get too excited because it won’t pay much for most videos.

However, should you strike gold and something go viral, you could pocket a decent bit of extra income. (Like I would know…hasn’t happened to us…yet!)

Coming up soon…

I’m going to put my money where my mouth is on this video thing. I really think it’s a big part of the future of online. I think the combination of a strong blog and strong a strong YouTube channel can give an Etsy seller a major advantage. So I’m going to create some video posts based on some of the best business posts on EverythingEtsy.com and see where it leads.

How to make videos! – I know that one of the things that has really held us up on this front is the technical challenges of creating a good video. I’ll share some of the tools we use and recommend and give you some pointers from our experience so far.

What questions have I brought up in your mind? What’s keeping you from doing videos? Or, if you are doing them, how are they working and what tools are you using? I’d love to hear in the comments!

- Tim

YouTube Image Source

Filed Under: Social Media, Videos