How Craft Show Shoppers can Help Promote your Product

The brands that grow the quickest are the ones that get people talking. When your shoppers and customers become raving fans, they help promote your products and your handmade business.

Everyone and their mama has a cellphone and the majority of those phones have a camera on them.

Why not encourage craft show shoppers to use their phone’s camera to help promote your handmade products?

Here are 3 ways.

 

1) Capture your Business Card Information

It’s much easier to sell to existing customers than it is to acquire new ones so this first technique is to get your customers to promote your business to themselves.

A subtle reminder of your business will keep it top of mind when they’re ready to purchase again. And a good way to subtly remind your customers of your business is to get your info onto their phone.

We talked about getting your business information onto people’s phones in this article. Check it out for the full details but the gist of it is to set up an enlarged business card on your craft fair table and encourage people to take a picture of it instead of grabbing one of your cards.

Over 80% of people toss business cards shortly after receiving them and I’m sure the other percent misplace them or place them somewhere for safekeeping and forget about it. If you can get your info onto people’s phones, they’ll always have it at their fingertips and be constantly reminded of your business every time they’re looking through their camera roll.

 

Tip:

Add some text to your enlarged business cards that reminds your existing customers the benefits of your business or products. As mentioned in the example in this article, you’re not selling “Handmade Hats”. You’re selling hats based on celebrity trends. So your “benefit text” may read “Get the looks worn by your favorite celebrities”. This will remind them, “I did love that slouchy hat Selena Gomez wore. I can have it made!”

The key to these next two is to create a really awesome prize people will be stoked to win. You can offer a discount on their (next) purchase if you want everyone to be a winner or each person who participates can be entered into a draw. If the juice isn’t worth the squeeze, they won’t bother putting in the effort of snapping a picture and posting it to social media, which helps promote your products.

 

2) Encouraging more shoppers to visit you at the event

What better way to get your business name out there, your products into people’s feeds and encourage more shoppers to head down to the show than to get the people who are there, to promote the event and your craft show booth or table.

Get shoppers who stop by your booth to enter a contest by taking a picture.

Turn your social media notifications on so your phone buzzes when someone tags you and get visitors to share a post or photo to their social media page.

Booth space may not permit all of these ideas but hopefully, they get the wheels turning on ways craft show shoppers can promote your products:

• Have shoppers hold up an empty frame (so it frames their faces) that has a speech bubble made out of foamcore reading: “I’m checking out ______ (your business) at ______craft show!” (here’s a similar idea used for a restaurant)
• Have shoppers take a photo of their favorite product at your booth.
• Have shoppers take a photo of an item they hope Santa brings them so friends and family know what to get them and where to find it.
• Get a helper to dress up as Santa at Christmas time so people can get a photo with him on one side of your booth.

 

3) Show your product in action

Once someone purchases one of your products, encourage them to share a picture of it, in action, to help promote it.

• If it’s something they wear, get them to share how they sport it.
• If it’s something that goes in their home, have them take a picture of it in its natural surroundings with other items.
• If it’s something they use, they can show before and after results.
• If it’s something they eat, they can take a photo of themselves enjoying it or a photo of the meal they made from it.
• If it’s something they give, they can photograph the recipient receiving their gift.

Once they snap that photo, get them to share it on one of their social media platforms and tag your business to enter the contest.

• Accessories – “My new favorite Spring accessory by @_______ to wear with white jeans.” (photo of their outfit)
• Art – “Lovin’ my new painting by @________. Fits perfectly in my dining room!” (photo of the painting on their wall)
• Bath & Body – “This is the most delicious smelling soap handmade by @______” (photo of your bar of soap in their soap dish) or “This face cream by @_______ is so moisturizing, my skin is glowing!” (photo of their glowing skin)
• Food – “About to enjoy some home-cooked pasta using @_______ homemade pesto sauce. Yummy!” (photo of their pasta)
• Gift – “Best baby shower! She loves her diaper cake made by @__________”

This way, people who see the photo of your product in action and want one for themselves can follow the link to your business’ page. You can also keep track of people who have participated in the promote your product contest so you can reward them with a prize.

 

Do you have any other fun ways you get your craft show shoppers to help promote your handmade products? Share in the comment section!