Instagram

[Gabby]

Would someone explain this to me? 

Today I was at the local zoo, where two or three young-ish people with cameras with very large lenses were taking photos of some charismatic new cubs only recently brought to public view.

One of these photographers complained that the zoo follows her but never "likes" her photos on Instagram, while she knows they do "like" other photographers.

My question is, what is the commercial importance of whether the zoo "likes" her work? Do all of the zoo's 50,000 followers get notified if the zoo "likes" a photo? Or do the aggregate number of "likes" a person gets affect the order in which an artist's work would come up in an internet search?

Or what?

I thought it would be okay to post this question here because it relates to the use of Instagram for marketing.

[liambesaw]

Yeah, when someone with a lot of followers likes something, it shows up in their feed.  So a budding photographer might take an amazing image and tag the zoo in it, and if the zoo then likes their post it basically introduces thousands of people to that photographer.  I don't do the whole social media thing besides message boards, it seems very artificial to me.  A woodworker/welder artist friend of mine and I were talking about Instagram and how it's a necessary evil as far as marketing goes but he gets depressed from it sometimes.  He's trying to only post and not view other people's things now and says it's a bit better.

 

[Gabby]

54 minutes ago, liambesaw said:

Yeah, when someone with a lot of followers likes something, it shows up in their feed.  So a budding photographer might take an amazing image and tag the zoo in it, and if the zoo then likes their post it basically introduces thousands of people to that photographer.  I don't do the whole social media thing besides message boards, it seems very artificial to me.  A woodworker/welder artist friend of mine and I were talking about Instagram and how it's a necessary evil as far as marketing goes but he gets depressed from it sometimes.  He's trying to only post and not view other people's things now and says it's a bit better.

 

Okay, I understand.  Is it nice, though, for your friend to post his own work (as if to say, Look at my work, Everyone!") if that person is not also willing to do others the courtesy of then looking at their work?  

[liambesaw]

He responds to people, he just doesn't browse other artists.  His followers are mainly his clients as he only does commissioned work.  He participates a lot in the artist community here though, gallery openings and studio things, he just prefers seeing things in real life instead of the kind of touched up and posed photos that maybe don't really represent reality.  

I don't do it because I could see myself getting trapped into the same thing, pretending everything I do is nice when in reality I am very critical of my own work.

[lgusten]

An artist friend of mine tells me that I must do instagram.   I understand how your friend can feel a little depressed.  I get a little out of sorts when I contemplate how much time I waste trying to figure out the social media thing.  Sorry if I sound like a dinosaur....I do plan on taking up my artist friend's offer to explain it all for me. 

[LeeU]

I've been told I "must" do Instagram, and everything else, all bundled up as "fusion marketing". Nope-nada-ain't doin' it.  Rabbit holes and worm holes, all of it. My interior self is already overloaded with curlycues and tangles, thank you very much.  Besides, to do it right without hiring pricey services can become another P/T job, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!  (Unless it's someone here who has it nailed and is willing to share LOL).

[Gabby]

39 minutes ago, liambesaw said:

He responds to people, he just doesn't browse other artists.  His followers are mainly his clients as he only does commissioned work.  He participates a lot in the artist community here though, gallery openings and studio things, he just prefers seeing things in real life instead of the kind of touched up and posed photos that maybe don't really represent reality.  

I don't do it because I could see myself getting trapped into the same thing, pretending everything I do is nice when in reality I am very critical of my own work.

It is always better to see things in real life. 

It wouldn't have occurred to me that displaying only ones best pieces would be pretending everything one does is nice. 

[Gabby]

12 minutes ago, LeeU said:

I've been told I "must" do Instagram, and everything else, all bundled up as "fusion marketing". Nope-nada-ain't doin' it.  Rabbit holes and worm holes, all of it. My interior self is already overloaded with curlycues and tangles, thank you very much.  Besides, to do it right without hiring pricey services can become another P/T job, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!  (Unless it's someone here who has it nailed and is willing to share LOL).

I don't get why one has to do it. I have bought lots of pots or other crafts over time, and I have only once bought something I saw only online and then because I had seen the person's work in person first.

Who is it that is making purchasing decisions by browsing Instagram?

There is something I am not understanding here, probably because I am not on social media at all.  

I will now look up "fusion marketing."

[liambesaw]

1 hour ago, Gabby said:

I don't get why one has to do it. I have bought lots of pots or other crafts over time, and I have only once bought something I saw only online and then because I had seen the person's work in person first.

Who is it that is making purchasing decisions by browsing Instagram?

There is something I am not understanding here, probably because I am not on social media at all.  

I will now look up "fusion marketing."

Hundreds of thousands of people buy things they see directly from an Instagram post!  Also not something I'd do, but it's the way things are going.  

As far as social media and insecurity/depression/anxiety it's a very common psychological disorder.  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/making-change/201603/social-media-fosters-insecurity-how-overcome-it kind of explains it better.  It's almost like a competition of sorts, but it's one where there's no real winner.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I really do want to add some more thoughts to this thread, but the soonest I’ll be able to is probably Saturday. I’m out of town at a show, and the first two days are long ones. 

Just briefly, you should always do you. If you’re not comfortable on social media, it will show. There are loads of other ways to market yourself, both on and off line. Instagram does have some drawbacks to it, most notably the fact that you don’t own your list of followers. If someone claims you’ve violated terms and conditions of the community, they can shut down your account, and then you’re s.o.l.  Instagram can definitely be a spectacular black hole of a time suck if you let it.  If you’re working with something like an email list, you can communicate directly with people who want information about you, and unless you do something spectacularly illegal, your email list is always yours. 

That said, I personally kind of like Instagram because I love shiny pictures. It can be a fast, easy way to give yourself a quick internet presence and if you do it right, a bit of an online portfolio. It can bring opportunities. For instance, I spent a chunk of my summer helping 4 other people curate an invitational mug show of Canadian artists from across the country that will be one of the featured exhibitions at NCECA in 2019. Our choices were based in no small part on the pictures people posted on the internet somehow. I know for a fact that there were some truly deserving people we were obliged to exclude because they had no internet presence or method of contacting them online. The people we chose are some of the best working, in my opinion, and they all had one or more of: a social media presence, a website or at least a link on the Canadian Clay Directory. 

[Gabby]

I want to be clear that I am not in any way judging the use of Instagram or other social media. I just don't understand, for example, Instagram as a storefront. 

I understand Etsy as a storefront, each shop acting as an online store.

In contrast, when I look on Instagram, I don't understand how "100s of thousands of people buy things directly from an Instagram post."

I will look now at Callie's Instagram and see whether I can guess how that works.

[GEP]

@Gabby I have only been using instagram for 2 years, so I’m not the best expert. From what I have observed, the point at which instagram usage translates into sales is when you top about 30k followers. Some potters have 50k or 100k followers or more. These folks can post “online sale opens tomorrow” and sell out maybe 50 pots in a few hours. So amongst their giant insta-fan base, only a tiny percentage are actual customers. In order to build such a fan base, it requires posting “beauty shots” consistently all the time. You need to have an interesting writing voice for your captions. And you need to follow and like other people A LOT, because that helps to spread your instagram presence. It’s a lot of work. 

I have almost zero interest in selling pots online, so the reason I started using instagram is for my instructional videos business. That’s a product that I sell online, therefore I wanted to grow my online presence. I don’t often post “beauty shots” because I don’t want people to try to buy my work long distance. Instead I try to show actual scenes from a full-time pottery studio, mostly depicting the volume involved. This is an extension of my blog, where my mission is to teach and encourage others to start craft businesses too. The “I make a living with my pottery business” message is good for selling videos. I think it attracts the right type of student. So I am not chasing the largest possible following, just trying to send the right message. I never feel insecure or anxious from looking at the beauty shots, or about the size of other potters’ fan bases.

I recently participated in a cup show, where a gallery sold my mugs for me online. My five mugs sold out in less than 10 minutes. I know that two of those customers were instagram followers. I also promoted the show on facebook and by email, not sure where the other three came from. But anyways, having some amount of online presence definitely helped.  It was fun for me, but honestly the net profit was really low! If I do this show again, it will be because I have extra mugs and enough time to pack/ship them to the gallery. It’s not something I’d persue ahead of my usual art fairs and craft shows. 

In other words, if it weren’t for the instructional videos, I probably wouldn’t be on instagram at all. Because art fairs, combined with an email list, are way more effective for sales. Real life is still much better than social media. 

[PotterPutter]

Instagram is great for newer potters, but established potters might not find much value in it if they already have successful sales channels. I don't sell in person, yet, so most of my sales are online and most of my customers come through Instagram. I definitely spend a lot of time working my Instagram account, but right now I have the time to do that (a day job that can be very slow at times) and I have gotten enough benefits from it to continue. When I start to do more shows, take on wholesalers and stockists, etc. my sources of revenue will change and my time on Instagram will go down. I think that it's a bit of an either/or situation - sell in person OR online. It's difficult to do both, especially if you are a one person business. If you want to sell online though, Instagram can be priceless in terms of reaching an audience and turning them into buyers. 

One thing I didn't expect is that so many other potters would purchase my work, even though I still buy pottery and mostly online, and there is a huge community of potters on IG that are potential buyers.

Mea, I'm one of those Instagrammers that bought a pot from that show and I adore it. :)  I figured your profit was low after their commission - definitely charge more if you do that show again! Your work is amazing. 

[Mark C.]

(Real life is still much better than social media. )

Ain't that the truth

 

It like customers at your booth with 3 full racks of wares  that you drove 1,500  miles to set up asking if you can buy it online-My answer is why yes that site is buyitnow.com. 

If you are a just a web only selling person you better try all the stuff but be prepared for lots and lots of wasted time vs making or selling person to person .

 

[GEP]

36 minutes ago, PotterPutter said:

Mea, I'm one of those Instagrammers that bought a pot from that show and I adore it. I figured your profit was low after their commission - definitely charge more if you do that show again! Your work is amazing. 

THANK YOU!!!

[Gabby]

4 minutes ago, Mark C. said:

(Real life is still much better than social media. )

Ain't that the truth

 

It like customers at your booth with 3 full racks of wares  that you drove 1,500  miles to set up asking if you can buy it online-My answer is why yes that site is buyitnow.com. 

 

 

It is possible that the person at your booth who asks if it can be bought online has the same aversion to shipping items that you do.  The person may be shopping for a wedding gift, say, for a distant niece and would rather try to get you to ship to said niece than to bring the bowl home and wrap it and ship it herself for the niece.

Amazon and other online distributors probably get a lot of sales from people who hate shipping things themselves.

Another possibility is that the person hasn't quite decided on whether to buy an item, takes your business card, and wants to know if by not buying something at this event, she totally loses her chance until next year.

[Mark C.]

As to shipping a persons pot from a show-I just send them to a shipping place that most towns have. No need for me to drive that pot 2500 round trip miles (not break it ) keep it separate from all other works. and ship it. If they want it shipped they buy it and have it shipped like at a UPS store or many other choices. I ship say 50-90 boxes a year of pots going all over the world. But its hell bringing home work from a show and shipping it so I choose not to to many things to go wrong.

When existing g customers call or e-mail then I will send out the work.Thats my system it for existing customers

since a Craft fair is far from an Amazon experience (and I'm a big Amazon user myself )I expect customers to realize the difference but often is retail you will find some customers are just not to wise.(I'm being nice here)

As to customers missing their chance for a year-lets see I loaded the work drove it for days and set it up and drive it for days home-most Venues say for 30 year to 445 years now and they cannot decide-I say oh well see you next year . It really all come down to what I call how hungry are you-that is to make the sale. I am at a point where I'm not all that hungry . Yes I made the huge effort to present the work 2 states away and spent 5 nights at hotels and brought enough to never sell out and if they want it great if not its next year. Meanwhile pots are selling at galleries and in markets as well as the show.

Customers who are indecisive can drive you nuts-like a woman spending two hours looking at my 3 spoon rest displays. Seen it happen more than once on a 5$ sale.I just let that stuff fool off and try to keep my distance-like the question which one do you like? maybe heard that 100.000 times

retail can drive you nuts so one needs to know when to engage and when to stay away.

Being in the not hungry spot is a good spot for me-I have plenty of customers who know what they want and appreciate what they have or want.

When you have say 250 customers for three days at a show you really learn fast about who is looking buying or going sideways-and your time with each Person is limited as you have a line of customers so needy ones really do not fit the situation well.

Handmade goods are just a different animal all ways around especially in the marketing

[Gabby]

I totally get it, Mark.  I think it is pretty inconsiderate for a shopper to take your time if she isn't serious about a purchase. 

And I think it is okay for an indecisive person to have to wait until next year! I have a couple of times seen something very pricey, and appropriately so for the item, and not been able to do it at the time of the show. But I have taken a card and then acquired something very much like it from that vendor even years later. 

[Roberta12]

I don't believe I have ever sold something from Instagram.  But I don't use it for that purpose.  I just use it to stay in touch with potter friends.  And to make more potter friends.  It's nice to have the connection.  And I certainly do not have 30K followers.  Maybe 100 or something. No clue.  but You can get out of it what you want.  And I will use IG to promote local events.   I have not found it to be as snarky as FB.  A little kinder.  But maybe that's because I am interested in potters and pottery!