Promoting My Stores Via Social Media

[tripledragon]

Hi Gift Cards

For me it is still early days, only sold one item on ebid but things take time and as it is not costing to list then I am happy to sit and wait. The Twitter, again early days, but is certainly increasing views and that can only be a good thing.

Luckily for me, online selling is just a side-line to our main business, so if we get no sales, then it is not the end of the world.

I feel that ebid has got the right idea, it just needs more buyers and sellers. I have read several threads on these forums with people saying that ebid needs to advertise on TV, I don't agree, and this would surely result in much higher fees.

I think as individual sellers we can all do our bit by promoting ebid, whether on Twitter, Facebook, or just day to day. The more people who know about ebid, the better, and if we all do our bit to buy on ebid wherever we can, and list more to attract different buyers then I would hope that sales will improve.

Good luck for your sales.

All the best

Anne

[HaleysComics]

eBid is different then the other site & can take awhile to get a sale. I have just started listing here again yesterday to see if things have improved here on eBid.

[deanosaur1972]

So, after five days on Twitter, I set up two accounts and have 35 followers between the accounts. I have sent out almost 250 tweets and my store views have increased exponentially. That being said...still no sales. As I mentioned in another thread, it's a bit disconcerting doing all this work for no reward when I could blink and sale an average of an item a day on the other eSite.

Some thoughts for you on social media....

Twitter and Facebook:

Good if you already have a huge customer base who will follow you and therefore get updates as to what you are currently selling via those two platforms.

Pinterest and Google+:

Here you have the opportunity to proactively go out and grab people by the ears and drag them kicking and screaming into eBid. With Pinterest you can actively follow a relevant targeted audience by using the search facility - thus tying in your products with their interests, not only does it give you chance of sales you can often find other people doing your work for you, ie: Pinning your items and therefore giving you more promotion.

On Google+ you have a similar scenario where you can move in circles - other peoples circles where their interests relate to your products, therefore giving you access to a relevant targeted audience.

----

So Twitter and Facebook are more inward looking using what custom you already have, Pinterest and Google+ enables far more ability to go out and get people who have never heard of eBid and deliver them into your shop and onto your products.

If you are using social media it is important to proactively expand your audience. Just as important to remember, only following eBid members means that you are likely to be just promoting your items to those who already know what you sell, which is going around in circles rather than expanding them.

[bringinitback4less]

So, after five days on Twitter, I set up two accounts and have 35 followers between the accounts. I have sent out almost 250 tweets and my store views have increased exponentially. That being said...still no sales. As I mentioned in another thread, it's a bit disconcerting doing all this work for no reward when I could blink and sale an average of an item a day on the other eSite.

I say all of this to ask two questions...(1) has anyone seen an uptick in sales from advertising on Twitter and (2) does anyone actually sell on a consistent basis on eBid?

May I suggest going to advanced search and looking at completed listings that will tell you how the site performs with out peoples opinions getting in the way.

[GiftCardsRUs]

Hi Gift Cards

For me it is still early days, only sold one item on ebid but things take time and as it is not costing to list then I am happy to sit and wait. The Twitter, again early days, but is certainly increasing views and that can only be a good thing.

Luckily for me, online selling is just a side-line to our main business, so if we get no sales, then it is not the end of the world.

I feel that ebid has got the right idea, it just needs more buyers and sellers. I have read several threads on these forums with people saying that ebid needs to advertise on TV, I don't agree, and this would surely result in much higher fees.

I think as individual sellers we can all do our bit by promoting ebid, whether on Twitter, Facebook, or just day to day. The more people who know about ebid, the better, and if we all do our bit to buy on ebid wherever we can, and list more to attract different buyers then I would hope that sales will improve.

Good luck for your sales.

All the best

Anne

Hi Anne. Thanks for your response. Yes, I am in the same boat as you. I started selling items on a whim. I had no intentions of developing this into a full operation. That being said, I caught the selling bug fairly quickly and saw on end in sight. I wholeheartedly agree with you. Some individuals do not understand that there is a cost to everything. Advertising costs are offset by higher prices. Higher prices with stagnant supply equate to a lower demand and thereby lower sales. Even though I am not in this to start a business, I am a businessman first.

Some thoughts for you on social media....

Twitter and Facebook:

Good if you already have a huge customer base who will follow you and therefore get updates as to what you are currently selling via those two platforms.

Pinterest and Google+:

Here you have the opportunity to proactively go out and grab people by the ears and drag them kicking and screaming into eBid. With Pinterest you can actively follow a relevant targeted audience by using the search facility - thus tying in your products with their interests, not only does it give you chance of sales you can often find other people doing your work for you, ie: Pinning your items and therefore giving you more promotion.

On Google+ you have a similar scenario where you can move in circles - other peoples circles where their interests relate to your products, therefore giving you access to a relevant targeted audience.

----

So Twitter and Facebook are more inward looking using what custom you already have, Pinterest and Google+ enables far more ability to go out and get people who have never heard of eBid and deliver them into your shop and onto your products.

If you are using social media it is important to proactively expand your audience. Just as important to remember, only following eBid members means that you are likely to be just promoting your items to those who already know what you sell, which is going around in circles rather than expanding them.

Hi Deanosaur. Thanks for this. The point I placed in bold is HUGE. I already figured that for myself but it definitely is good to know others have the same mindset. Simply tweeting to other eBid sellers will never do your bottom-line any good.

I never would have thought of the social media breakdown without your insight. As I mentioned previously, I do not use social media for my personal life. The only reason I would ever use it would be to grow a business. Your insight is valuable not just for me but for anyone who happens to come across this thread. Thank you.

May I suggest going to advanced search and looking at completed listings that will tell you how the site performs with out peoples opinions getting in the way.

Hi BIB4L. Thank you for your suggestion. This is something I already did and, to be quite honest, it scared the hell out of me. What I have noticed is most of the items that sell on eBid are of little value (not to say the items are not quality - they are just priced relatively low). If I compare closed (and sold) items with items I am selling, I notice that a small fraction of completed items actually sell.

For example, I have an Apple Mac Pro for sale (not listed). As a comparison, on eBid, eight listings closed and none sold. On the other eSite, 108 listings SOLD within the last three months - one just sold yesterday. Those kind of numbers are way too hard to overlook. I am waiting on a response back from a few executive members of the other eSite in relation to my account getting restricted. if I get the green light, I will be hard pressed to stay with eBid.