How to use Social Media for Etsy shops

If you are struggling to get any sales on Etsy, it could be that your potential buyers are hanging out on social networks you haven’t tried yet. There are many ways you can use social media to promote your Etsy shop and this post will help get you started.

Imagine if you could set up your social media marketing once and forget it. The best return on investment when it comes to social media is to learn one platform really well – then set it up in a way that still achieves what you want, but with little input from yourself.

Social media has taken the internet by storm — various platforms have given people the opportunity to connect even when miles apart. Each site has helpful features that can be used in businesses as well. Social media is a tool you can use to reach your target customers and connect with them for brand awareness.

image with text how to use social media for Etsy shop with flowers and light colors

Advertisements don’t just appear on televisions, radios, and newspapers — any smart device connected to the internet can give you an online presence. The internet has made advertisements and social media promotion possible for every business. Numerous entrepreneurs thrived in their chosen niche — even Etsy shop owners are being recognized for their uniquely designed products. Small businesses flourish through digital marketing.

In this blog post, you will see:

How to Improve Your Sales on Etsy?
Promoting Your Etsy Shop on Social Media
Types of Social Media Posts to Promote Your Etsy Shop

Other posts you might enjoy:

How to start a Website for your Etsy shop
Organize your Etsy workflow today
12 ways to increase your sales on Etsy

**This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission. It will not cost you a penny more) Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Get started on Etsy selling prints — Get the FREE Ebook

Get started using Social Media for Etsy shops

There are several ways you can promote your shop online by targeting potential customers with a social media presence is perhaps one of the simplest ways to start.

Etsy opened doors of opportunity for entrepreneurs by supplying a ready-made storefront. The platform gives a hand to people who aspire to sell their products online. However, opening an Etsy store won’t automatically get you to your goal of making a living, but improving your sales by using Social media and SEO will certainly help.

If this sounds like gibberish, don’t worry.

SEO stands for Search Engine optimization. It’s what we bloggers try to master daily and can be somewhat tricky if you are just starting out. But essentially, it’s about delivering the right content to attract the right audience.

It includes using keywords, alt text on images, tags, and more. You can use lots of this in your Etsy shop. Still, if you are a new Etsy seller, the first traction you will see in your Etsy business is when you start with Social media for Etsy combined with learning some SEO skills.

An easy way to think of this is each time you lay on some more SEO power through your social media networks, Google (aka God) will give you a little nudge in the search results. Think of it as layers and each link and post within your social media back to your shop – gives you a new layer of SEO.

Read this helpful post for our shop owners to learn more about SEO.

Using Blog Posts bring traffic to your Etsy shop

I know what you are thinking –

but geez, I don’t have a blog.

Don’t worry – I wrote a post on how to start a website for your Etsy shop for you. The good news is it’s not complicated.

Once you have all this setup, you never really have to touch it again, and since it doesn’t take a lot of time, you can get started today.

I use Big Scots for my hosting now and Mailerlite for my Email service.

Create relevant blog posts that you know your target audience wants to read.

As an example – I’m selling a Botanical print. Now, you can’t just leave this to word of mouth, of course – I might want to write a few posts on Botanical decor, Plant theme decor, or even how to find Botanical wall art.

If I link a post back to my product listings, I should see better results in the long term since my blog post is truly evergreen. I can promote that post on any social platform, my Facebook page, in a Facebook Group. Although those links don’t go directly to my Etsy shop – the important thing is I have placed a new layer of social media on my Etsy marketing.

Blog posts are a natural way to promote your products — you need to use your skills with words to market your shop. Share knowledge, tips, and tricks on various niches. Through proper SEO keywords, your content and your product can rank higher on search engines.

You can start from 500 words until you can create a long list of relevant topics. Insert images that can help your readers better understand the content — your goal is to successfully educate and market to people simultaneously.

Can you write 500 words on a helpful subject your audience will want to read? – Of course, you can. You can do this in a few minutes just by taking any of the questions you receive in your shop and turning that into a helpful blog post.

Using Etsy Customer Reviews on Social media

Etsy users new to your store will most likely visit the Storefront and the review section first. So it’s an advantage if they read how fab you are, of course. But since there is every possibility you may receive a less than perfect review – it’s essential to know how to deal with negative reviews on Etsy.

That said, every cloud has a silver lining.

While it might not feel like it when you are crying into your coffee – it is a great place to show how brilliant you are at dealing with customers and how delightful you are to deal with when there is a problem.

Platforms for Social media

Promote your Etsy shop by taking advantage of each social media platform’s features. Bring your shop to where most of your audiences spend their time — create a business account for them to like and follow.

I’m not paying for ads for my Etsy shop, although I know some love this easy kill. I honestly like the organic growth within my own Etsy shops.

How to use Facebook to promote your Etsy shop?

I have a Facebook page for Once upon Paper. To be brutally honest, I don’t really attend to it much. But if Facebook is your jam, you can use it to promote your Etsy shop in many ways.

Join a few Facebook groups and start leveraging other audiences which are organically built by others.

Promote your page in groups
Use it to live stream your videos
Create your own Facebook Group

Creating a Facebook group would definitely be the right place to start if I wanted to use Facebook to maximize my presence. Everyone – (me especially) loves to talk to others. We have a sharing nature, and a group is a perfect place to speak directly to your buyers.

How to use Instagram to promote your Etsy shop?

This has to be the easiest way forward for many of us. I also have an Instagram account where I promote some of my paintings. When I post consistently on Instagram, I see an increase in sales in my Etsy shop.

Run a free contest or giveaway
Reach out to brands who might like your product
Use your unique offering to carve out your own space on the platform.

Instagram is a great place to promote your Etsy shop. It’s relatively basic to get started, and there are many people to reach instantly. This is where you can really showcase your style and share your personal stories.

You can even grow a mailing list and sell directly. If you want to get started on Instagram, there is a FREE course from Kat (no affiliate); she is the best at Instagram. Her course is so comprehensive that you will be a pro in no time.

Many accounts are created by novices who find they love the process of sharing their story on Instagram.

Pro tip: If you want to do well on Instagram, write more extended captions. These are little mini-stories you can share each day and are received really well online. Use an app like Later.com to help you get started and post regularly.

How to use Pinterest to promote your Etsy shop?

Pinterest is another excellent platform to promote your Etsy shop. My Pinterest account is a book of my Etsy shop and business history. It’s straightforward to learn, and there are online apps such as Tailwind to help you post frequently and don’t cost the earth. You can find out more in this post about Promoting your Etsy shop using Pinterest.

There are several other social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Tiktok, and even Linkedin. Choose to focus on one platform first — one that suits your business and the platform that most of your audience uses.

Create accounts on each platform — Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Youtube, TikTok, or even Linkedin. Choose to focus on one platform first — one that suits your business and the platform that most of your audience uses.

Ways to promote your Etsy shop on Social media

Over the years, social media platforms have garnered millions of users from different parts of the world. It’s a means of communication — for personal or business purposes. Entrepreneurs are now using these platforms as marketing tools. Evidently, it can do wonders even for a small business on Etsy.

Product Images can be used on social media for Etsy shops.

Upload your products on your social media pages — Instagram is the right platform to focus on this strategy. Take eye-pleasing photos of your product. It’s not a requirement to hire a professional photographer — create a DIY studio at home with just your phone and a couple of props.

When people see visually appealing photos, they tend to get curious. This is where their interest in the product begins. Upload your newly released products on your chosen platform — ensure that you’ll meet their expectations once they purchase the product. Follow the Etsy terms for sharing.

Product descriptions

On Etsy, your product description is searchable on the Etsy algorithm, so it’s worth spending some time incorporating this into your social media strategy. Ensure you use the correct keywords in your description and write with the user in mind.

Keep your descriptions brief and concise and write like the buyer is there to buy.

For example, our brown leather planners are the best daily planners for students. (best daily Planner, Planner for student, Daily Planner, Leather planner, brown leather planner) These are keywords that Google and now Etsy will score and increase your position in search on Etsy dramatically.

70/20/10 Rule

Divide your posts into three categories — 70% for tips, facts, and inspirations from other pages, 20% for your page content, and 10% for marketing your products. You won’t get people’s attention just by posting products every day.

Entertain and educate them — give them a reason to stay as your follower. You can schedule different posts every other day to fully divide your social media posts.

Hashtags

Secure your social media visibility when you use hashtags. It is similar to keywords for search engines — your content will be searchable by non-followers once they enter the hashtag on the platform’s search bar.

Incorporating hashtags allows you to gain reach — use 11-30 hashtags on your post. Moreover, you can interact with users interested in your niche by using hashtags. It’s a great strategy to gain an audience and secure brand awareness.

Facebook Groups

Join Facebook groups where you can interact with people interested in your business niche. Subtly promote your page and business — avoid directly selling your products on Facebook groups. Administrators can create rules to maintain order — especially on posts and the comment section.

Use groups as a means of reaching out to possible customers or collaborators. You can also learn a thing or two from other entrepreneurs — share and be informed.

If you spend some time in Facebook Groups which directly relate to your product, it’s easy to find out what problems your audience is facing and this is a great resource for gathering ideas for posts and blogging.

Instagram Shop

The photo-sharing platform enables business owners to turn their personal accounts into business accounts. Once you have switched to a business account, you can access Instagram features solely for your shop — allowing you to sell directly on the platform with an Instagram shop.

You can do this by tagging the product on your post — before you can tag products, you need to add items to your Instagram product catalog.

Social Media Engagement

Build connections on social media by sharing, commenting, liking, or reacting to posts from other users. It increases your visibility on the platform — your posts can have the chance of being on the Instagram explore section.

Engage with your followers — even with non-followers. Be customer-friendly and make sure that you reply to inquiries as soon as you read the message. Allow notifications on your phone to manage your engagement even when you are just chilling at home.

Types of Social Media Posts to Promote Your Etsy Shop

Several types of social media posts can help you market your products. See what best fits your niche — creating content should be well thought out and designed well.

Keeping a social media content calendar is recommended — the calendar can give you a more manageable task of managing each post.

Informative Posts

These are long-written posts — similar to blog content. Be as informative as you can be — you can apply this on your Facebook business page. Compose content that can be shareable. The post should attract both followers and non-followers.

You can write a snippet about a blog post from your website. Ensure that what you post is information based on facts only.

An example would be how to create a DIY bird feeder, the best oil pastel brands, how to mix scents for candles, and so forth.

Engagement Posts

This is a subtle way of promoting your products — especially on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. The post should catch people’s attention — making them comment, react, send you a message, or share the post.

You can ask questions on Instagram and Facebook stories as well.

Ask simple questions that your followers can surely relate to — answer like a close friend and slowly place your product into the conversation. Engagement posts can be in the form of memes, inspirational quotes, videos, Instagram stories, or static posts with an interesting caption.

Go Live

Give your customers and followers a chance to know you — similar to an event but only online. During a live stream, your viewers can ask you questions through the comment section. Acknowledge questions that you are comfortable answering — promote your product in the most friendly way.

This is quite a tough one – for me, it’s a pretty scary thought.

Through this, you gain audience trust and brand awareness. Moreover, you can make live selling and product release announcements through a live stream — on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Infographics

Creatively share information through an infographic. This social media post is most commonly seen on Pinterest, especially since an infographic is usually vertical and similar to a Pinterest pin.

Use attractive icons, eye-pleasing color combinations, and legible fonts. An infographic can also be uploaded on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram — as long as you follow the required image size for each platform.

Alternatively, create a free account on Canva.com and search Infographic.

It’s easy to get started.

Carousel Posts

Upload more than one image in a single post — the carousel post is best when promoting a collection of newly released products. It comes in a slideshow — whether a video or a static post and Facebook and Instagram have this feature.

Carousel posts certainly made posting a lot easier for promotion. No need to upload photos one by one. However, you can only upload up to ten images in a single post.

Stories

You can opt for stories if you don’t want to crowd your feed with too many promotions and posts. This social media post can last for twenty-four hours only — great for applying that FOMO strategy. Instagram and Facebook have similar story features — such as using stickers, inserting links, etc.

Stories can be static images, text, short clips, or posts from a feed. You can even upload more than one story a day — sell your products or provide information about your business.

Compile stories in highlights on Instagram and save the content once you have uploaded images for shipping policy, payment method, price list, etc. Anyone who visits your page can view it — not just for twenty-four hours.

Videos

Capture the sense of sight and hearing of your followers through a video. Create short clips for entertainment, educational, or promotional purposes — find the suitable duration for each video type. Long but not dull or short, but helpful should be your aim when creating videos.

Helpful videos can really increase your reach on social media – start creating videos for online today

The content can be for your products as well. Show the proper usage and storage of your products. Think of a concept that can acquire views and reach — enough to make it viral.

Static Images

The most common social media posts are static images. At first, pictures uploaded are from personal accounts — sharing memories and connecting with loved ones from afar. Nowadays, it’s a form of promotion for business owners.

Products are now presented most aesthetically — in different angles and compositions. Add details to your product and showcase its packaging. Both are essential when taking a shot of your product.

Compose an engaging caption that can make the user stop scrolling. Also, use free stock images for non-promotional posts such as inspirations, memes, educational posts, and other engagement posts.

Polls

Get to know your followers and possible customers by asking them to answer a poll. Ask about their preferences, expectations, and favorite items from your store. Create polls on Instagram stories, Twitter polls, and Facebook posts.

Interact with the community — you might get ideas for your new products. Listen to your audience — give them a reason to stay as your customer or social media follower.

Reviews

Post screenshots of reviews made by customers who recently purchased an item from your store. You can upload this as a story or post it on your feed. The more positive feedback you can show to your followers — the more it can increase brand awareness, store visibility, and audience trust.

Compile the reviews in an interesting way and upload them by batch in a carousel post.

Create Contests or Giveaways

Who doesn’t love free items? People would be interested in your store if you make marketing even more fun. It can be a seasonal event, a newly released product, or even a tester that the customer can experience for free.

Your notification will be flooded for sure — you’ll need help to acknowledge every participant. The challenge can be through a post or just a story.

Follow the algorithm and your business page will thrive, and creating contests online is pretty simple. Make it a mission to provide products similar to what you have posted on your account.

Earn the trust of your audience — they will surely come back if you gain it.

Promote your products from your Etsy store — connect your shop to all of your social media accounts. Your products are meant to be showcased and acknowledged by your target audience. You can improve your Etsy shop with these 10 helpful marketing tips for more strategies.

Final thoughts on how to use Social media for Etsy – Whichever platform you decide to use or try, it is worth sticking to them. Keep posting on one platform until you have really understood and mastered it. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

I see lots of marketing suggesting you should be here, there, and everywhere. The truth is to stick to the one you can learn and improve over time. This way, you will maximize your return on investment and your efforts in the future.