Using Facebook to Find and Promote Shows

It is craft show week for us and maybe for you too so I thought I would rerun a post from back in June.  In this post we take the promote using Facebook idea a bit further and discuss how to both find shows as well as promote your own show using Facebook.  Enjoy!

Originally posted June 17, 2017:

Facebook is a powerful marketing tool that you can use to promote your craft business, network with other crafters, and find great shows.  If you are a crafter who regularly sells their craft, I highly recommend getting yourself a business facebook page.  You can see ours here Holton Handicrafts or Lathe Junkie.

A search for craft shows on Facebook, will give you information on groups in your area that support crafters.  I urge you to join one or several in areas that you sell in. We sell in Michigan where we live and in Central Ohio where my daughter lives so I belong to groups that are active in both areas.  Can’t find one in your area?  Consider starting a group.  I’m sure there are lots of other crafters that would join.  

One of the groups I belong to is Central Ohio Craft Shows.  The admin of this site encourages members to regularly participate by asking where they are going to be selling each week and then at the end of the weekend, asking how they did.  Members can see how other members are doing and gain ideas for shows they would like to exhibit at in the future.  You often see several members who have been at the same show.  The admin also encourages members to ask questions on different aspects of craft shows.  These types of questions always get lots of conversation and you can gain great new ideas.  

The majority of these types of groups allow show organizers and others to post upcoming shows.  This is a great way to find shows in your area.  Information is generally given for who to contact for show information.  We recently found a community art fair for Lathe Junkie in central Ohio that just happened to be on the same weekend that our daughter needed us to babysit.  Win, win!  We can make money at the same time we are helping her out and our granddaughter loves to help at shows.  

Be sure to participate in the groups you belong to.  These types of groups are a great way to network with other crafters and share ideas.  You probably have experiences that other crafters would love to know about so don’t just be a taker, be a sharer.  Many admins keep track of members that do not participate and boot them out.

Most of the popular shows we participate in use Facebook to promote the event. The organizer will ask for pictures of your craft and feature one or more vendors on the show's Facebook page on a regular basis.  This is FREE advertising for you so don’t pass up an opportunity to participate in this type of promotion.  

Use Facebook to let people know that you will be selling at the show.  Create an event featuring the show or talk it up in posts at the least.  I usually create an event from my business Facebook page and then share it on my personal page.  Shows that use Facebook to promote usually have an event created that can be shared on your page.  The day of the show I normally take pictures when set up is done and push those out on Facebook as a follow up promotion of the show.

Give these ideas a try and see how they can increase your sales.  Visit the Holton Handicrafts Facebook page for lots of ideas I find in my internet travels.

Need tools to help your business?  Check out my Crafter Resources page for business cards and other sales tools.