Social Media Special - Twitter

We are starting some new blog post topics here at the Dorset Team blog. The first Wednesday of each month will be a Social Media Special post - focusing on a different social media each week, and ideas on how to use them!

Our first feature is about Twitter:  https://twitter.com/

How many of you use Twitter? Do you know that we run a Dorset Team Twitter Chat each week?

For those of you who are new to Twitter...

Some Twitter Basics:

• It's a constantly updating feed of small snippets (or 'tweets') of news or chat - maximum 280 characters long (the limit used to be 140 characters and was increased in Nov 2017)
• Hashtags play a large part of tweets - helping you find new people to follow, keep up with trending topics, and join in with Twitter chats
• Twitter chats are scheduled time slots, usually an hour long, when people use the same hashtag to chat together and share each others tweets - it's a great chance to network
• Tweets can be easily re-tweeted - shared to someone else's twitter profile. So don't share anything on twitter that you wouldn't want other people to possibly share on their feeds
• You can add photos, videos, html links, and more to your tweets
• You can search twitter to find people or hashtags - if you want to try it out then go and search #DorsetTeam to see what the team has been sharing lately!

You can see a twitter starting guide here to find out more details: https://help.twitter.com/en/twitter-guide

Your tweets can be business like - sharing new products, behind the scenes, special offers etc, or they can be chatty - what you've been up to, what the weather is like, a recent purchase you are excited about. Reply to other people's tweets and it might turn into a conversation - other people can read it too while you are tweeting, so more people might join in and reply too (you can also send people private messages, as long as they follow you on Twitter).

If you are new to Twitter, or if you haven't used it as much as you should, then jump on and say something right now! Make sure you follow some people and get interacting too. Make sure you include the #DorsetTeam hashtag so we can see your tweet!

Our Twitter hour is Tuesday from 7.30pm - 8.30pm. The Dorset Team Twitter profile (https://twitter.com/DorsetTeam) will post questions to get the chat started, and you can join in as much or as little as you want. Come and say 'hi' next Tuesday!

Next month on the first Wednesday we will be talking about Instagram. If you missed our blog post last week about the March Meet The Maker Instagram challenge then check it out here: https://dorsetteam.blogspot.com/2018/02/march-meet-maker.html 

Next week we will be sharing another new blog topic, check back on Wednesday!

Be An Expert - Product Promotion - Brand Reps

Do you find it hard to take enough great photos of your products so that you can fill up the photo slots on Etsy AND share great images on social media? You might want to think about getting a Brand Representative - Brand Rep for short.

A Brand Rep is someone who you give FREE products to, in exchange for them to take stylish photos of those products for you to use on your Instagram and other social media accounts. There are also Brand Enthusiasts, who will buy products at a discount from you, again to provide you with photos - but obviously an enthusiast would have to be someone really keen on your products, as you are expecting them to part with their money as well as their time. For more information on Reps & Enthusiasts see this post here: http://cuttingforbusiness.com/2015/10/21/what-are-instagram-brand-reps-enthusiasts/

Instagram is the best place to find Brand Reps - create a 'Brand Rep Search' image with some text, making sure to include the Instagram handle for your shop (so people can find you once the image has been shared). Use the #brandrepsearch hashtag and other appropriate hashtags to get found. Ask applicants to share the image to increase your reach. Have a deadline for when to apply (keep the application open for a few weeks at least to give people time to share and apply). You can also find Brand Reps by joining Facebook Groups like 'Let's Rep Together': https://www.facebook.com/groups/letsrep/

Make sure you are clear on what country you are happy to post items to (a lot of Brand Reps are in the US), what you expect from a Brand Rep, and how long the term will be (a good initial term is 3 months). Once you've chosen a Rep or Reps make sure to have an agreement or contract in place setting out time-frames for delivery of items and how long the photos will take, what the photos will be used for, and other points. Here's an example of an artist licensing agreement: https://artlawjournal.com/download-artists-licensing-agreement-free/ or search 'Brand Rep Terms & Conditions' in google to see what terms other brands have set out for their reps. Remember these are all just for guidance, and if you want an in-depth legally-binding contract you should pay for a contract lawyer to draw one up.

Here's some more advice on working with Brand Reps: http://mumswithhustle.com/blog/lucky-7-tips-for-working-with-brand-reps/