Tag: Instagram

Posted on by — 4 Comments

Social Saturday #4 – Instagram (Blogtober 28)

The fourth and final Social Saturday, at least for a while, features my current favourite social medium –  Instagram.  I was a bit of a latecomer it and if I’m totally honest I couldn’t initially see the point of it. That soon changed once I jumped in and started sharing photos and following other accounts, and believe it or not I’ve gained most of my wholesale customer through Instagram. I’ve found that there is a lot more interaction on IG than other social media – follow, like and comment on other accounts/photos and it’ll often be reciprocated.

It’s undoubtedly the best social medium for soap porn.  Follow the right accounts and you’ll get photo after photo of beautiful soap (or whatever floats your boat, lol). Using the right hashtags to search (eg #handmadesoap #coldprocesssoap #soapshare) will help you discover new accounts to follow.

If you don’t yet have an account, this article is a handy guide to getting started. If you’re already all set up, there are more advanced tips here and this page is really useful for finding craft based hashtags.

Follow me here: The Soap Mine, and if you share your account in the comments section below I’ll follow you (and others might too :-D)

Thanks for reading, back tomorrow!

Vicki

Posted on by — Leave a comment

I IG, do you?

I love Instagram. I was a bit of a late adopter, signing up in October 2014, posting once and then posting a second time in November.  I didn’t really get the point of it to be honest, and didn’t post again until February of the following year.

However, once I had devoted just a little bit of thought and time to it, I began to see the benefits:

  1. Promoting the business.  By actively seeking out potential stockists on IG, following them, interacting with them and even direct messaging them, I’ve gained five new wholesale accounts in the last 9 months.
  2. Connecting with other soapmakers.  When you’re as obsessed with soapmaking as I am, following, ‘meeting’ and chatting online with other soapmakers (many of whom are now Facebook friends too) is a joy. I once tried to reach out to a local soapmaker with the hope of soapy chats over mugs of tea (can’t stand coffee lol) but was rebuffed. I have no idea why, but I thought it was a shame – there are absolutely enough customers out there for the both of us but hey ho…   I digress – IG has helped me to meet loads of other lovely, friendly and inspirational soapmakers, even if it is only online.
  3. Which brings me to – Inspiration. Now I’m not talking about seeing someone else’s soap and copying it – that’s very much frowned upon, and rightly so. No, my inspirational browsing is purely revelling in the beauty and creativity that is other people’s soaps. Sometimes I might see something that inspires me to try a particular natural colourant, or give a particular technique a go. Sadly though, I’m usually too busy making my own restocks that I rarely get the opportunity to ‘play’ and experiment.
  4. It’s a vanity platform.  Let’s be honest, it’s a rare person who doesn’t enjoy a bit of positive feedback.  Once you have a few followers and those hearts and comments start totting up, it’s quite a confidence booster.

These days Instagram is overwhelmingly my favourite social medium. Follow me here for daily photos of soap and more.

Blogtober 2016, Day 24. Completed with 13 mins to spare… And breathe….