Why do I need a social media account?

[richard1rst]

This is not meant to be sarcastic. I am genuinely looking for information, opinions and guidance. I do not have any social media accounts.

I have seen posts on these boards from sellers saying they get results from their social media posts. Yet I have to wonder - doesn’t a searcher, first, have to know that you HAVE a social media page? That would seem to limit the audience. Otherwise how do they find your listing?

Substantially all of my eBay listings are indexed on Google. According to eBay’s metrics (with the understanding that it varies from month to month) somewhere between 40% and 60% of my eBay page views come from Google search, not eBay search.

According to available statistics there are about 4 Billion people worldwide with internet access, and about 96% of them default to Google when they are looking for something. How many people typically access a specific social media page?

Seems to me if I am on Google I already have the question of exposure covered. Which makes social media accounts more work to reach the same people?

I realize that people use social media accounts to keep in touch with family and friends. I have no interest in that. The older you get the smaller your circle of family and friends becomes to the point that a personal phone call is much more preferable.

For me the Internet is a place to find things I am looking for and to sell things I have.

So, again I ask, in light of the above - do I gain any advantage by having a social media account?

I am open to convincing arguments.

[chapeau-noir]

I was kicked off Facebook twice for being too progressive.  "Woke" agenda, indeed. 😂  The third time I just quit and took my business elsewhere.

[house*of*paws]

Hey @richard1rst 

I don't have a social media account myself ... but I'm thinking that a value of having an account might be to be able to contact the more knowledgeable eBay CS reps.  [I'm assuming you need to open an account to do that, but I'm not sure.]

I didn't ready through the whole thread ... so apologies if this has been mentioned already.

[chapeau-noir]

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hey @richard1rst 

I don't have a social media account myself ... but I'm thinking that a value of having an account might be to be able to contact the more knowledgeable eBay CS reps.  [I'm assuming you need to open an account to do that, but I'm not sure.]

I didn't ready through the whole thread ... so apologies if this has been mentioned already.

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@house*of*paws  You can set that up on facebook just for that purpose and don't need anymore interaction than that - it will also access their eBay for Business feed which can be helpful. I do look at that even though I no longer use FB for anything else.

[house*of*paws]

Thanks for the very valuable info @chapeau-noir !  😊

[chapeau-noir · Accepted solution]

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

@nuclearomen  OK, got ya. But let me ask you this then...IF you WERE looking for a way to drive traffic to your ebay business from outside ebay, are you saying there are better , more effective ways, than social media?

And if so, what would they be?

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And therein lies the rub. I also have an independent web site on which I can offer anything I want as well as items that eBay prohibits (CSA products, for instance). And I only have to pay Paypal credit card processing fees. And my site is fully indexed on Google.

So if I am going to set up anything to drive traffic somewhere (I shouldn't really have to complete that sentence should I?)

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It's the difference between active and passive advertising channels - any site is going to be 'fully indexed' on Google unless the site admin is committing some kind of egregious offence (like eBay did with their thin content and garbage redirects back in the mid-teens) - it's how you set up your SEO and work with what is basically Google's search and new analytics platform (Google Analytics is out).  So optimising that is well and good.

However, if you want to actively drive more eyes to your site, rather than waiting passively for people to search for you, then social media can help. What attracts people is good content because it connects with their various interests, and that's where you can use social media - not just hawking items but giving value added. For instance, I do pretty well with Pinterest, but I never simply post stuff with 'this is what I have and it costs this", but I add a bit of background - the Kashmiri embroidered coat I was selling I added a few sentences of background on the type and tradition of embroidery. My Vic-Ed stuff got a bit of background about the style at that time, etc. etc. Unfortunately, almost all of my boards were lost in a huge hiccup Pinterest had some time ago (though I really needed to clean them up anyway).

I sell on Poshmark which is considered a social media selling site, and have over 120,000 followers, and have tiny store there - I struggle to keep over 120 items listed, but I've sold 35 in the last couple of weeks. I have to keep at it, sharing my items, keeping new items coming, offering content in my descriptions rather than just three words so that it hooks people in with common interests, etc. Granted, it took four+ years to get to this number of followers, but it wasn't exactly a labour of Hercules to do it, though it did take perseverance and consistency - there's no such thing as coasting, really.

So it depends upon what mix one wants, if any at all.

[richard1rst]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

However, if you want to actively drive more eyes to your site, rather than waiting passively for people to search for you, then social media can help. What attracts people is good content because it connects with their various interests, and that's where you can use social media - not just hawking items but giving value added.

Thank you for your observations (and others like it) It would seem to be an appropriate road map.

For the longest time I have been seeing eBay promote “Upload your listings to Social Media”. The unstated (and apparently misunderstood) point being that it would drive sellers to your eBay listings.

So I posted this question because I am reluctant to make decisions based on a single point of view.

I am grateful to all who responded and, through the many response, I have come to realize exactly what you are saying. So I’m glad I asked.

For example, I have already made it a point to include some Fun Trivia, obscure facts and whimsical comments on as many items as I can. I guess I just need to invert it. Instead of (as I do on eBay) ”Buy this, by the way here’s some fun trivia".  Instead, I would put the trivia at the top followed by a low key link to my store if I have something related, no link if not.. That would seem to be less In Your Face item hawking.

In addition, a couple of years ago on these boards I did an entire month of “Today is National ***** Day”. Some were serious and some were whimsical followed by some humorous or appropriate comments. But I got a ton of responses and helpfuls. Seems I now have a plan.

Thanks again to all.

[chapeau-noir]

I miss those fun posts of yours - they would get banished onto some other board, unfortunately, and I only hang out on here and the shipping boards, but I enjoyed them while they lasted here.

Since you sell numbers of 'like' items in certain markets - let's take your mugs - you can fashion a post about a certain type of mug, or theme (say Kliban cats, or company mugs, pottery or whatever) and add to that links to those examples you have. It's just a way of mixing things up a bit and drawing interest because people tend to collect mugs. I had a whole Pinterest board on "ethnic" embroidery, for example - most of the stuff I sold in my store when I was full time here, and I'm certain I drew sales from that. Another was punk and cyberwear - I called them "community posts" because I'd offer a range of items that might appeal to this or that interest.

Anyway, play around with it and good luck!

[elizabeth@ebay]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

elizabeth@ebay   I respectfully suggest that you ask the Social Media team member(s) who will be appearing at Monthly Chat to read this thread beforehand. I'm sure some of these voices will not be attending Monthly Chat, but the perspectives here provide important insights ---- if they want to increase the Social Media Tool's adoption, they need to address some of these issues.

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Thank you very much for this @my-cottage-books-and-antiques. We will share this with them ahead of the chat. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Thanks elizabeth@ebay  I appreciate it.

[collectables4114u]

Well, well, well, welcome to the club! I don't have a social media account either, except for YT where I learn some things about selling on line from other eBay Sellers. Maybe because I'm a Boomer I really didn't find it necessary to join SM. I was thinking it's more like for the younger generation.

Now that eBay is encouraging us to link to social media, I may go ahead and take a second look if it means making more sales. God knows I need it!

I'll be reading the replies to your post. I can probably learn something. 

Good luck to you!