If you want to sell T-shirts on Facebook and Instagram, you need to think like Facebook and Instagram (which are becoming increasingly similar). As many social marketers know, it can be tough to get your content seen by the people who like your page, let alone reach those who don’t. However, there are some things you can do to give yourself the best chance possible. In this guide, we’re going to explore some key tips to help promote your Everpress pre-order campaign on Facebook.
Optimise your profile page for selling
How your socials look will go a long way toward supporting your campaign. If they’re on point, your audience will feel more confident when it comes to investing in your aesthetic.
Make sure that you’re active on socials. If people visit your Facebook page and see you’ve not posted anything for months, they’ll move on quickly and may even wonder what’s happening with your brand. Changing your cover photo and profile photo regularly can be a good way to keep people interested, and it’s relatively easy to do.
With the above in mind, it’s important that you:
- Have a beautiful cover photo and profile photo
- Include a clear page description or bio, showing the human side of your project. Tell people who you are, what you do and why you do it
- Link to your pre-order campaign in the ‘About’ section of your Facebook page (and anywhere else it’s possible to add the pre-order link!)
One hugely important thing to do is add a Shop Now call-to-action button to your profile.
This can be done by going on your business profile page and clicking Edit button which is located underneath your cover photo. You can then click Shop with you and then choose the Shop Now button.
You can select the Shop Now option and click the Next button. Choose to add your Website Link. Paste in your Everpress campaign link and click Save.
You will now see the Shop Now button on your profile, and when the user clicks it they will be taken to your campaign on the Everpress site. Done!
If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out Jose A Roda’s profile (below) as a great example of what we’re talking about when it comes to a beautiful cover photo and profile photo. You’ll notice that Jose has got the Shop Now button installed on his Facebook page.
Keep it simple
When it comes to your Facebook aesthetic, try not to overthink.
The perfectionist in you will make you feel your post isn’t the best it can be, but you need to escape that thinking. It’s your baby, we get it, but if you spend too much time thinking about your posts you’ll never post anything. Some of the best campaigns we’ve seen use simple content and visuals to shout about what’s coming up.
A great starting point is to grab a sample of your T-shirt, and use it to make content. You could post a photo, record a quick video or even make a cheeky GIF. Why not do all three?
Your fans have feelings too, so engage with them
This one’s simple, but it might be the most important. The key to growing any social community is respecting people’s time, constantly interacting and showing love when somebody goes out of their way to show you some. If you do these things, you’ll be rewarded with a dedicated community.
When someone comments on your post saying they love it, say thanks. If someone sends you a photo of them wearing your merch, post it on your socials and credit them. Through this, you’re bound to gain loyal fans and customers.
Hype, launch and countdown
We mention this a lot, but how well you communicate key moments to your audience is crucial to any good pre-order campaign.
As a rule of thumb, make sure you do these things:
- Do posts that ‘hype’ your new campaign. Things along the lines of “New tees coming soon, pre-order yours now!” and variations of that
- Make it clear and announce when your campaign goes live, or ‘launch’ your new campaign (and direct them to your shop URL)
- Tell your community when your campaign is coming to an end. This will build urgency, and emphasise the ‘limited edition’ nature of campaigns. In turn, it will drive last minute orders as your campaign comes to a close
Experiment with your content, figure out what works best for you
When it comes to posting your content on Facebook, you have lots of options. You can do a photo post, a carousel/gallery post (good for showing different angles of the same product or if there’s colour variations), a video post and a live video post. The choice is yours.
Don’t be afraid to use video. You don’t need loads of editing experience; you can just shoot and go. We all know how popular unboxing videos are, and you can do this kind of thing with your products too.
It’s important to have fun with your campaigns, and not take them too seriously.
Take a look at this video by Lapalux (above) for some inspiration when it comes to making fun video content to promote your campaign.
Schedule or share direct from Instagram to boost your output
Instagram is owned by Facebook, and for that reason the two platforms continue to work together better as time goes on.
This means that you can boost your input on Facebook by sharing direct from Instagram. You could save yourself time by bringing across the content you’re posting from Instagram onto Facebook, whether it’s photo or video. If you’re already active on Instagram, you can incorporate it into your Facebook strategy as well and cover off two social networks rather than just one.
Test using Facebook Stories
If you have an idea that you’re unsure about posting direct to your page, Facebook Stories allows you to test your idea. Much like on Instagram, the story will only last 24 hours and isn’t permanent.
If the content gets a good reaction on Stories, you can be more confident in posting it on your page proper. Again, have fun with it and try not to think too much.
If you’re feeling adventurous, experiment with live streaming
Using live video isn’t for everyone, but it can be highly effective. Facebook is trying to assert itself as a broadcast platform, and therefore live video content is prioritised in the newsfeed.
If you do a live video you should see high levels of reach compared to other post types, and they’re easy to create using nothing but your phone. Just make sure you’re clear about what you’re trying to do before your start – plan it loosely in your head before you do it.
Live video can be the perfect way to do something a little different. Showing your product in the flesh makes it real compared to posting 2D product mock-ups. Your audience will be interested in seeing your workspace or studio, and seeing what makes you tick. When they invest in your brand, they’re also investing in you and your personality. People tend to engage with things that they can relate to and things that resonate with them.
Keep in mind that the live video content you create doesn’t always need to be directly related to your T-shirt. You could live stream an event you’re doing, such as a party where all the DJs or people involved are wearing your new tee. This is more likely to create intrigue, and is subtler than a hard sell where you’re plugging your product and nothing else.
All done! We hope this will help you with your future campaigns. If you have any questions, please get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
Also looking to promote your campaign on Instagram? Head to our Instagram campaign promo guide here.