Building a Community
Founded in 2005, Etsy.com is an e-commerce marketplace where creative individuals can sell items they make or build, ranging from art, furniture, clothes, accessories, vintage items and many other goods. The difference between this company and competitors like Amazon and Ebay are the wide range of handmade items sold on the site. Etsy’s headquarters are located in Brooklyn, New Yorwith additional offices in California and upstate New York. They have expanded to include international locations including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Australia, France and Canada. (Etsy)
Etsy has developed a global community through social media. Etsy is established on Facebook with close to two million followers, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Vimeo and Youtube. The company has utilized social media to provide some guidance, or present topics of interest for followers through their own curated boards on their brand page, but also include guest boards on Pinterest where an "expert contributor” can contribute pins. (Ray, 2013) Guests can include large companies like Whole Foods and Martha Stewart Living as well as individual artists. (Ray, 2013)There is a clear benefit for both Etsy and contributor, as they can gain more exposure and even establish relationships with each other.
The Etsy Facebook page has pictures of items for sale by various sellers with an opportunity for people to share or like the item along with a direct link to the Esty seller’s store to make a purchase. Videos on Facebook and Youtube also highlight the work of Etsy sellers that include their biography, how they actually design and make items. They have also created their own form of social networking called People Search which allows individual to connect whether buying or selling on the website. Etsy has established itself through social media and has a a large and engaged following. The have created activities like Small Business Saturday which has engaged small retail businesses to allow Etsy sellers to sell merchandise in actual store fronts known as “in store trunk shows”. (Fallon, 2014) This provides exposure for both Etsy sellers and local businesses. They have created and opportunity for Etsy designers to connect with and reach new customers, and establish relationships within their local communities. (Fallon, 2014)
Here is a great video about an Etsy seller!
The company also has a blog site where people can learn about new trends, featured stores and seller, gift ideas and learning how to make your own crafts. Users can then connect with the author and with each other to share ideas and thoughts. The bog is another example of how Etsy has grown its community.
The company has fostered a community around it’s brand by appealing to people with a creative spirit who want to share their work and for those who have a general interest in purchasing items that are handmade or local, instead of big name department stores and megastores. The have separate themselves from the competition including Ebay and Amazon through the unique items they sell at an affordable cost and at an international level. A majority of Etsy’s customers spend between $15-$20, and they charge a low fee to vendors for handling the payment transaction, and a small fee is charged per item listed in the crafter’s "store". (Marc, 2014) The challenges for the company lie within keeping true to authenticity, which has lead to the company’s success. With the increase in demand for local, handmade items, sellers may face challenges to keep up with orders. This may pose challenges for the company as people, sellers and buyers, may become frustrated if issues arise. The company should place clear protocol to avoid this issue by creating a guideline for sellers to follow which would convey to customers the amount of items available. Despite possible challenges, the company is a proven success with gross sales in 2013 around the $1.35 billion mark. (Etsy)
Check out some of their sites!
https://www.etsy.com
https://blog.etsy.com/en/
https://www.facebook.com/Etsy
https://twitter.com/etsy/
https://www.pinterest.com/etsy/
http://vimeo.com/etsy
References
Ray, M. (2013, May, 27) 3 Creative Ways Brands Are Using Pinterest.Retrieved at: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/creatively-using-pinterest/
Fallon, N. (2014, October, 17) Small Business Saturday Connects Etsy Sellers with Local Shops. Retrieved at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7309-amex-etsy-small-business-saturday.html
Marc (2014, October, 2) Stand Out from the Crowd-Examples of Differentiation.Retrieved at: http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/stand-crowd-examples-differentiation/
Etsy (NA) About Etsy. Retrieved at: https://www.etsy.com/about
Awesome choice Alina! I've been helping my mom set up an Etsy store the past couple of weeks, this is great timing.
ReplyDeleteI looked through their community page, their in-house forums, seller handbook, "teams," and scheduling of community curated events looks extremely well done at a glance. Very solid showing all around, and their forums especially look to be really active. Is there anything you would add to how they handle their members?
Do their social media pages work to integrate their community leaders into the social media content creation, or are the pages more things pushed out by Etsy? Do you think they could use their platforms in a better way to build a community, or is the current setup ideal?
I didn't know about the Small Business Saturday program, can you elaborate a little bit on it? It sounds like a great community building program, is it integrated with the rest of the site and Etsy as a whole? Is there anything that you would do differently to try to improve it, or work it into social media even more than it already is?
Do you have any suggestions for how to handle those frustrated sellers, and limit their impact or manage a them problems if they start to negatively impact the company due to negative reviews and the like?
Thanks for the post Alina, really informative. Also not trying to barrage you with too many questions, just trying to give you a few things to think about.
Harley,
ReplyDeleteWhat does your mom make? I wish I had some ability to make something to sell. I have a few friends that buy items from there regularly. They have always had good experiences and have bought some really unique items for their homes at a reasonable price.
Etsy has very clear guidelines that they update that also align with any legal regulations that may change. An example of this are the new regulations in the EU regarding sales on digital goods and services beginning January 1, 2015. The new rules state that all businesses selling digital goods and delivering them electronically to customers in European Union member countries will be required to pay VAT based on the VAT rates of the country where the customer is located, not on the rates of the country where the business is located. (Heintz, 2014) If I was running the company I would definitely prohibit the sale of certain items of consumption. I think there is potential for problems, especially if a customer has some sort of allergic reaction or becomes ill from something purchased through the website.
Etsy has actually partnered with American Express to support small local businesses. Small businesses across the country are encouraged to get involved by inviting a local Etsy designer to showcase their products at an in-store trunk show. Each participating small business will receive a Trunk Show kit that includes an Etsy gift card to assist with the cost of supplies for the event, as well as an American Express Shop Small Reward Card.(Niederhoffer, 2014) There is more detailed information on their blog, but it seems you have to know about it to search for information about participating or purchasing items. Etsy definitely needs to promote this more on their main site. I would definitely encourage Small Business Saturday’s more on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. I would highlight different sellers, including their bio and items for sale earlier during the week. I would post images and comments that would build up the anticipation for the event and encourage people to attend.
Frustrated sellers or buyers should have an easy way to connect with Etsy online. On the very bottom of their page there is a Seller Handbook option that brings you to another page that has a Contact option. Their main site should include a much easier way to have issues addressed and questions answered. They could include a live chat with an Etsy representative to to assist customers and sellers.
Below is the address for more detailed information about Small Business Saturday’s if your mom is interested:
http://etsywholesale.tumblr.com/post/97808019480/source-small-with-etsy-on-small-business-saturday
References
Heintz, N. (2014, December 22) New European Union Rules on the Sale of Digital Items. Retrieved at: https://blog.etsy.com/en/2014/new-european-union-rules-on-the-sale-of-digital-items/
Niederhoffer, R. (2014, September, 18) Etsy Supports Small Business Saturday. Retrieved at: https://blog.etsy.com/news/2014/etsy-supports-small-business-saturday/
Hi Alina! Mostly smaller dolls and hand sewn toys, she's done craft fairs on weekends for a while but their cost overhead just to get a booth is so expensive that it's just not worthwhile a lot of the time.
DeleteI would imagine that other selling facilitator websites, such as eBay, would have the same issues with shipping across borders and quality control? Does Etsy have any form of contract absolving themselves of potential harm from sellers' products?
Partnerships like the one with American Express are what I was hoping Etsy would have to jump start potential sellers. That's a program designed to ease newcomers into the system and give them that extra push, it's weird that they don't promote it as aggressively as they could. I have been poking around their site for a little while now and had never stumbled across that.
For promoting Small Business Saturdays, what do you think would be the best ways to reach potential buyers who wouldn't normally be looking on Etsy or their pages?
I love Esty. I'm so glad you highlighted them as a company with a great social media community. I personally have purchased quite a few items from Etsy from people all over the US. After I receive my items, I always leave reviews and share my purchases with friends. What a great way for artists to reach a broader audience outside of their home town!
ReplyDeleteAs for their social media activity, I wanted to focus on Pinterest in particular, because I think it’s the perfect social media site for companies like Etsy. The picture aspect is key for quickly generating interest in the different items on the site. It's no surprise they have over 550,000 followers across their 112 boards. I also really like how Etsy organizes their pins. They have "city guide boards for popular cities across the US and Canada. I think that’s a really unique approach!
Thanks for sharing your findings, I enjoyed reading your post!