How to make the most of your online market stall
2020/21 has been the year of online. To keep our busy lives in motion everything from fitness to pub quizzes has moved online and shopping small is no different. Virtual Markets have really taken off gaining more traction than ever before.
As a trader you’d be forgiven for thinking the marker for a successful event is just sales. Exposure and followers is a key take-away as they’ll result in long-term relationships, sales and hopefully repeat business. Here’s our essential guide to getting the most from your online market.
AHEAD OF THE EVENT
1. Prep your audience
- Promote the event regularly before hand so people know when and how to attend. Instagram has a nifty countdown timer followers can click and add for reminders.
- Get the market branding behind you. Sharing the event logo and their posts will boost your profile with recognisable branding.
- Shout about your special offers or giveaways available.
- Don’t forget, only a small percentage of followers will see each post or story so don’t just mention it once! Pop a mention up every few days at least.
2. Prep your products
- Ensure you’re accessible to a wide audience with a range of prices. Think stocking fillers through to big gift purchases.
- Catch shoppers attentions while they browse with clear, high quality well lit photography. Adding videos on your site really help people see the best of your product.
- Snap up Christmas shoppers’ interest by tailoring your service with gift-wrap and personalisation options.
3. Prep your site
- Double check all your promo codes, dates and settings before the event.
- Consider arranging products so the deals and promotions are the first thing you see at the top of the page.
- If you’re new to online selling always get someone to test run adding to basket and navigating the site.
DURING THE EVENT
- Be present! Set time aside to be online through the day. People may contact to ask questions, you don’t want to leave them hanging and lose the sale.
- Share your products and promotions on social media and remember to engage with the market host and other stallholders’ posts. Mingle and interact like you would in person at a market.
- Tag other stallholders when you share their posts, they get a notification and you’ve done some networking! Remember they’re potential customers too.
Like a true market, community is the heart of the event. Build each other up, engage with your viewers and enjoy!
Lastly, there’s nothing like a celebratory drink or mince pie at the end of a hard days work. Treat yourself, you will have earned it!
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