Social media: Forums, Websites, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.... Things have changed.

SharpByCoop

SharpByCoop

Enjoying the discussions
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 8, 2001
Messages
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There is a substantial trend in Handmade/Customs I am learning:

Forums are invaluable for discussion, however they may be becoming 'Old School' methods of selling and creating buzz.

More and more I am hearing about auctions, sales, trends, and followers on other media.

Maker websites would appear to be essential, right? Or..... maybe not? :confused:

If you have 300+ followers on Instagram you may have all the audience you can deliver to. BIG trend now.

Facebook pages work: 'Like' my SharpByCoop Photography page (Don't personal 'Friend me', I don't share knives there, and you won't get updates.)

I am old school. I do not have a Twitter account.

What's happening out there? Where's the action? Buying, selling.... buzzing?

What are the benefits, what are the drawbacks...!?

Let's discuss.

Coop
 
now this is a pertinent discussion!

I love this forum, I have spent much time here, met many people and learned more than I can say. That being said, I split my time here with other places, such as facebook which is obvious by my signature below ( ;) )

However, the depth of conversation, the quality and focused nature of the regulars, and the all emcompassing world of Bladeforums will ensure that I will never leave.

When it comes to marketing, other venues offer a much broader reach, and also have the double benefit of exposing people who might not otherwise have an interest in custom knives to the people who make them. Sometimes connections are made simply because non knife folk have found a bird of a feather, in other ways, to a knife maker who can expose a more full view of themselves.

I happen to think that Instagram is likely the most effecient venue when it comes to marketing. I don't really use it simply because I'm old skool and still use a desktop computer, and an old one at that:D

I think it's a great idea to direct folk to Bladeforums through their social media choices. You post your knife here? Make sure you link to it from these other places, (are they 'places'? )


ps. It's nice that we don't have to worry about tolerating discussions revolving around politics and religion around here. Facebook, not so much:D
 
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I guess I'm old school too, very......still prefer hand fit & finish to machine....BUT I checked out
instagram (seems to be part of twitter)... and it seems that one needs a smart phone to use..??
 
Good thread.
Social media was fun but I'm backing out. I let it disrupt my balance. From now on, it's email or the tele.
rolf
 
There are certainly different "places".
And those places may not work for all makers.
And I have seen makers who one wouldn't think need the exposure seeming to live on Facebook! I think they're just addicted to the adulation of all the groupies.
I post some knives on Facebook and find it fun. I do this mostly for my old friends from back-in-the-day and family who like to keep up with what ol' Karl's doin'. I'm not there to sell knives.
That said, I sort of believe that if you build it - they will come.
Good, dependable products are still the best advertisement.
 
This is a really interesting conversation, because there is absolutely a shift occurring in how people are talking about (and buying, and selling) knives (and everything else, frankly). I think bladeforums and its ilk still have a vital place in the landscape because they offer a depth of knowledge that absolutely does not exist elsewhere. Mostly this is because forums like this one are archived in a really straightforward way. You want to know about X blade steel? Use the search tool and find 30 discussions between amateur and expert alike! It's a valuable record of knowledge and opinion. That said, it is not nearly as good at growing an audience. Sure, people sign up for these forums probably daily but the conversations are among a core group who are really well-versed in the culture here. I'm not saying that bladeforums is unfriendly or unwelcoming, but it IS absolutely a walled-off, niche little world here.

Instagram (and places like reddit; facebook, to a lesser extent) offer a much more fluid and LIVE experience. #hashtags are weird but they allow people to share stuff thematically on a platform where EVERYTHING is shared with EVERYBODY. Let's take as example a hypothetical person who has no knowledge of high-end knives whatsoever. His exposure to knives comes from the kitchen and next to the cashier's at truck stops. He doesn't know it yet, but this person is a potential knife enthusiast (and potential high-end knife buyer). He's got an attention for details, he cares about good design, and he's probably a little obsessive, too. Maybe he's had a passing interest in other similar things - mechanical watches, or leatherworking, or even firearms? Well, he starts using instagram, and starts following friends, then people whose interests overlap his. And soon, the crazy rich guy he follows on instagram because he's always posting pictures of beautiful unattainable mechanical watches posts a picture of some awesome custom knife with the hashtag #EDC and with one click he can see EVERY picture anyone has tagged with #EDC and BAM now he's got a healthy knife obsession. The point is that tools like instagram allow people to find out about things that appeal to them quickly and totally organically.

Because the instagram (and reddit, and facebook etc etc etc) community is so massive it allows anyone to discover anything relatively quickly, but it also means that there's very little depth and very little history. Knifemakers "blow up" on instagram but they do so often based on aesthetics alone (thinking of you, Direware and Medford Knives) and function more as a "sharable" status symbol than as a useful knife.

Anyway, I guess my point is... this all sure is interesting and if I was a knifemaker I would be focusing on my instagram presence AS WELL as here on bladeforums. Both are great tools for reaching people, and ultimately customers!
 
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anyone out there using Ello?
 
Screw a pile of all of that.....short attention spans, new breed, here today, gone tomorrow.

I have no patience for it, and no interest in it.....it's big money, but it is short term.

"I'm not saying that bladeforums is unfriendly or unwelcoming, but it IS absolutely a walled-off, niche little world here."

And a better world for the walls....without them....THEY could be here too.


Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
I like having a normal webpage not to sell from, but as a basic (and mostly static) repository of information about what my blade work is all about. It's like a slowly growing base-camp that leads the curious to more detailed info, such as links to youtube channel, photo gallery, bladeforums threads, examples of work, and contact info.
 
Ok. Let's see. I think that paying close attention to selling by developing a market is very important for newer people, and especially those that want to be full-time. These new marketing gizmos should be high on those person's lists for things to do really well.

I don't like them. I got into bladesmithing to remind myself of my past, in a barn in the woods with my father or grandfather. No large stores within many miles, and the only way to get what we wanted was to make it (unless we wanted to drive the 90 miles into Houston to buy it). Handcraft, self-reliance, and the idea of making things that will outlive you.

Kohai said it, at least for me. I am not as active as a, "regular," as many. But, I have been more-than-casually-involved for the last 7 years around here. It is a great place, and a refuge from the world of plastic. (kydex excluded, of course).

However, I like to use Facebook just as Karl said - it helps keep the folks from back home aware of my knifemaking, and that makes me feel connected to them and them feel connected to me. After all, the Texans from home understand why a guy would want to make knives when he leaves his research/teaching job in the city. Farm boy and all.

If I was earning my living with this (as I will be when I retire from teaching and research), then I would be working hard to get a grip on the evolving social media. As it is, I am following Karl's sage advice, and focusing on making the best product I can.

One last thing, when I make jewelry instead of a knife (the same skills apply to making bracelets and stuff that apply to making sword fittings, really), Facebook and Etsy are great tools to sell. It is fun, and a quick way to make an easy buck. Making a ring is such a simple task compared to making even the most basic knife. But Etsy hasn't been worth a darn for selling knives, for me.

My website, as it gets better, sells a few. Most everything, for me, is still word-of-mouth. The knives you make now sell the knives you will make later. I don't think that will ever change, and I don't want it to.

great conversation!
 
HammerHill said:
This is a really interesting conversation, because there is absolutely a shift occurring in how people are talking about (and buying, and selling) knives (and everything else, frankly).
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I don't know you yet, but THIS is exactly the information I wanted to understand. Great post. Thank you.

Bladeforums is 'niche'? You bet we are. Albeit, a LARGE niche.

I didn't even mention Youtube. What a resource.

Anyone who says "I'm doing fine right here" is preaching to the choir. I just want to remind you of how Kodak viewed digital cameras in the mid nineties, as you stay comfortable.... ;)

Just putting this out there.

Coop
 
I do know the power of social media, I see, watch & learn... We have poor cell phone service here and satellite internet, $90 a month with a bandwidth limit (oh no here comes a cloud).

Getting facebook to work on this computer here just sucks and I've never be able to get on instagram? These forums do work pretty good most of the time.

I would need to move to take advantage of the new technology & That Is Not Goin To Happen! Stay thirsty my friends! :)
 
As HammerHill correctly points out, the new media of communication is not at all specific to knives. It affects other hobbies or interests - really everything. Anyone with a teenager knows that young people now prefer to communicate in completely different ways that us "old folks" do. Websites like this which were cutting edge 15 years ago are now becoming passe. People seem to like consuming everything now via one or two big funnels - e.g., Facebook. And anything and everything is preferred to be consumed with smartphones rather than a laptop or - to go real old skool - a desktop computer. Kids have their ringers off and communicate extensively and almost exclusively by text messages. Sometimes even when in the same room as each other! Facebook is focusing more and more on smartphones and less and less on traditional computers

Just a few days ago ESPN completely revamped its website for the first time in years. In their announcement, they explained that the VAST majority of folks accessing their content were doing so via smartphones, and so they were making their website more friendly for their consumers.

I think that anyone selling or marketing a product or service does themselves a grave injustice if they neglect the 21st century media such as Instagram, FB, Linked In, Twitter, etc. where an increasing number (majority?) of their potential customers "live." And make your marketing as easily consumable on a smartphone as possible. That is just good business.

That having been said . . . I am a dinosaur. I do not Tweet. I do not have a Facebook or Linked In account. I never have. I don't want to. It is NOT that I am unable to understand or adapt to new technologies, or just "stuck in the past." I LOVE new technology. It is just that I find all of these new media to be too instrusive, too personal, and too time consuming for my tastes. I resisted texting for MANY years, but in the past year or two I finally, ultimately, surrendered because it became the only effective way to communicate with my family. I still hate it with a passion and avoid it whenever possible. What is wrong with a good ol' telephone conversation? I can speak, listen, and respond a LOT faster than I can type or read. I often wondered . . . what if e-mail and texting had been invented decades ago, and then someone came out last year with this amazing new invention where you could actually TALK to someone live and hear their voice, and they could hear yours! Would texting then become passe, with all the young folks using this amazing new invention called "a telephone?" LOL!

Anyway, I promise to turn off the lights when I am the last one left posting on Internet forums or message boards.
 
I am a semi-retired almost 50 year old new knife maker. I am in this for the long haul but, I see no reason not to take advantage of what social media can offer in boosting my growth. To make it in any business, first, people have got to know you exist. I currently have almost no name recognition and I am not a marketing genius with a bunch of fan boys and a hype man. The modern marvels of social media go a long way toward leveling the playing field. I can put my name out there every day without spending tons of cash and I can market very specifically to the people who are interested in my product.

I currently use a website, this forum, Facebook, and Instagram. I find the website to be clunky and time consuming to manage; I've sold two knives due specifically to traffic on my website. This forum is awesome for so many reasons; I can share, learn, interact, and sell right here. I've only sold one knife through this forum but, I haven't tried very hard to sell here. Facebook has probably helped me sell 20 knives. It is so far reaching; I now have a business page for my knives and it has gained over 300 followers in the four months I've had it. I think the messaging is a big part of why selling on Facebook works. If someone sees a knife they like, it's easy for them to send me a message to ask about it. I've been on Instagram for about four months; I like it a lot. It's really easy to snap progress pics and blast them out for the world to see. I have about 250 followers which is not many for Instagram. I've also not sold a single knife from Instagram but, to me that's not so important. It keeps my name out there and one day when I'm at a show and someone comes by my table, they'll make the connection.

With all that social media can do, it can't put a knife in a potential customers hand for them to examine. I may not know all the ins and outs of the custom knife world but, I believe that quality and good design go a long way toward selling knives but, knowing the maker is probably about equal. For me, going to shows will always be an important aspect of marketing.

Bob
 
Don Hanson III said:
We have recently upgraded to a wood-burning microwave oven.
Click to expand...

I did lol.

In all seriousness, have a wood/charcoal burning Big Green Egg, and the thing works amazing. Heard about it years ago on the internet.

Am selective about technology, but once I get into it, I get into it.

The many problems are when companies "upgrade", decide what you need and don't give you a choice to "revert" back to what you liked before. Resisted changes to Yahoo, Windows.....because it is geared to those who have to be accessible 24/7....I don't.....can be away from any tech for 3 days easily, and my world does not fall apart.

Take away your kid's iphone, and they are ready to call CPS.....like I said before, screw a pile of that.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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