Selling On Social Media

Whether you’ve decided to sell your products on eBay, Esty, Social media, or a website, you need to market your products. The best way to do it (for free) is social media. It is such a brilliant modern-day tool where potential customers can sit scrolling, looking for something new. So, even if you’ve created a store on platforms such as eBay and Esty, you still need to launch social media channels.

Find your niche

So, you’ve come up with an amazing brand identity, the next step is finding your brand’s individual “niche” that will help you sell online. You need to decide what makes your candles unique and separates them from the competition. Here are a few common ways candle makers find the perfect niche:

• Special Packaging

• Unusual or ‘funky’ names for your candles

• Unique scent combinations

• Vegan/cruelty-free made

• All-natural products

• Profit donations to charities to support a good cause

• Add on products such as:

✓ Aromatherapy candles

✓ Reed diffusers

✓ Car air fresheners

✓ Electric plug-in air fresheners

✓ Wax melt snap bars

Having a niche and unique selling point will help you stand out from the crowd. Shout about why you’re different and tell your customers why they should buy from you.

Selling on social media

When it comes to social media, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular options and make good choices for those who don’t want to set up their own website. Interestingly, social media is not only for promoting your store and products! Both platforms have the option to add a ‘shop section’ where you can list all your products and people can purchase them directly through the platform.

Start Posting

There’s no incentive for people to follow you with an empty page, so start sharing! You could curate a feed of beautiful images related to your brand to get you started and once you’ve made your candles, stage photos of them to show off to customers and reach a larger audience. Make sure all your photos are high quality, no-one will like a photo they can barely see!

Don’t forget to add captions and hashtags to your posts. Hashtags are one of the best ways to get your posts seen by non-followers. The most popular hashtags (#love, #happy, #tbt) range in the hundreds of millions of times used and your posts will most likely be skipped over, so if you’re targeting a particular niche, consider using a more specific hashtag, such as #candles #candlemaker #handpouredwithlove.

Be consistent. People like to see constant new content, so keep posting. Try mixing up your feed every now and again by providing a behind-the-scenes peek at how you make your candles and maybe post a video every so often. You could also use some of your products as prizes in a series of giveaways and contests. (Not only can these contests help you gain followers and build brand awareness, but you also have the opportunity to show off how well your products work).

Pro tips:

(1) add a little card in your packaging thanking people for purchasing your product and ask them to follow your branded social channels for new products, discounts, and giveaways.

(2) Don’t be afraid to follow fellow candle business makers. Following and meeting other merchants can inspire you with new ideas and help you come up with new solutions to shared problems.

Once you’ve got comfortable with your social media marketing you could consider using Facebook ads and Instagram ads to boost your following and get you in front of more potential customers, regardless of whether they are in your network or not.