By Thomas E. Mills
Social marketing and community building have become more accessible than ever with growing number of social tools available for free or at a low cost. The ease of using these tools and platforms is another story all together. With so many options to choose from and no one right way of making an impact online Becca Webb and Rebecca Haas, the two Becca’s behind Making it as a Maker set out to help other small business owners and makers figure out how to best create community online.
Webb and Haas are makers in their own right. A potter and jewelry maker respectively, the two friends started Making it as a Maker to help teach others the tips and tricks they’ve learned as they built their businesses. These insights were sought after before the COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to socially distance and are even more in need today.
The Harvard Ed Portal partnered with soon-to-be neighbor Artisan’s Asylum, Lowell Makes, and Mudflat Studios to host a free workshop for their members with Webb and Haas.
The pandemic made it essential for artists and makers to have a website and online presence both to engage their communities and sell their products, but both Webb and Haas impressed upon attendees that an online presence is needed even when we can all gather. While a maker’s website or social channels can allow people can shop online, they can also drive traffic to different events they may be taking part in.
After she moving to rural Vermont and taking part in markets across New England, Webb said she was initially shocked at the number of people would come up to her booth and excitedly say "I follow you on Instagram!" It was like meeting a friend in person for the first time.
Every maker will have different needs in terms of how online channels will work for them, but the most important aspect Webb and Haas tried to impart was not to replicate someone else, but to make your website or social media work for you. For example, Webb doesn’t keep a stock list because her products sell out so quickly—she utilizes a waitlist where she can email her customers when she has new products available.
Of the audience, the makers came from all different mediums. Jewelry makers, sculptors, bath and body products, and woodworkers were all represented.
Throughout the event, attendees were asking questions about the topics in the chat. The hosts would chime in to answer, but other attendees would also offer their perspective when they could. One attendee asking advice on how to take better photos of her jewelry, which she noted was very shiny in nature because she uses sterling silver—a fellow attendee suggested putting something dark just out of frame for the silver to reflect.
The advice was technical as well as strategic. From how to best take a photo of your products to how to use an Instagram account to best broadcast what a maker is selling to the public.
Webb and Haas doled out practical suggestions, like using photos to help customers visualize the product they are considering buying. Webb shared a photo of a salad bowl she made with a collection of fresh greens—the next day she was at a market where she sold out of her stock after people came asking after the product.
Using a recognizable background when taking photos to post on Instagram is something the presenters suggested helps makers curate a brand. "When people are scrolling on social media and they see the backdrop they will stop because they already recognize the photo," Haas said.
"Instagram scrollers are like someone walking down the street," said Haas. "You [wouldn’t] run out of your store and shout ‘buy this’ to someone looking through the window, you want to use social media as a way to invite people into your world."
Above everything else, the community a maker creates with their online presence was the most important piece of advice imparted during the session. And the best way to do that, is to be yourself.
"Trust is one of the things that can help people take a leap to buy something online. People won’t follow your Instagram [or buy your products] without knowing that you’re trustworthy and offering quality [products]," said Haas.
The advice Webb and Haas imparted was rooted in the fact that what makers create mean a lot to them, their products and their brand are personal. Using the personal nature of their products and the tools available the makers who took part in the workshop will be able to grow their community and their business.