Joanne Hillestad Archives - American Quilt Retailer

Posted on March 16, 2021March 16, 2021 by AQR Piece by Piece

Crafting Social Media Posts

Social media may be time intensive but everyday it’s becoming a more essential piece of business. Check out these tips to make the process easier (and boost your sales along the way).

Writing Social Captions

Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters, but not all text will appear when customers are scrolling. An option to “read more” will appear they can click on, so make sure your most important information is at the beginning.

Also consider adding hashtags to your caption. Hashtags make it easier for new customers to view your post. Hashtags can go at the end of the caption, or in the first comment of your post.

Instagram also allows up to 30 hashtags. You don’t have to use that much, but a combination of specific and general hashtags will optimize your post for the most views.

What to Post

There’s a variety of content you can post. We separated the topics into three categories:

Excitement: This post is perfect for promoting events. Make sure your caption stresses why they should come, and what makes the event unique.
Engagement: Think of this post as having a conversation with your audience. I’m sure you’ve heard of algorithms, but what you need to know about Instagram’s algorithm is the more engagement your post has, the more your followers will see it in their feeds. You can boost engagement by liking and responding to comments.
Selling: Have a new product? Tag the company in your post and write a call to action in your caption such as “click the link in the bio to buy this today.”

What are you waiting for? There’s no time like the present to step up your social media game. Put your best social media foot forward with these Instagram tips.

Inspiration for this post came from IG 1, 2, 3 by Kate Colleran, Joanne Hillestad, and Kris Poor published in the February 2020 issue of American Quilt Retailer.

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Posted on March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 by AQR Piece by Piece

Sharing Visual Content

Quilting is visual. Instagram is the best platform to promote those visuals. Read on to find out how to optimize your business’s Instagram account.

Back to basics

The first step to optimizing your account is to make sure your page is set to business. The good news is you can convert a personal account to a business one.

Second, make sure you keep your branding specific. For instance, your Instagram name should be the shop’s name, your username (or the words that come after the @ symbol) should be the same (or some variation of your business name), and your profile image should be your logo (for ease of recognition).

Cross promoting

Your Instagram profile can have one link, so it’s wise to use your business’s website link, and have a contact page in your website to direct customers to other pages.

You’re also going to want to connect your business Instagram account to your Facebook account so you can save time by publishing two posts with just one click.

Other Visual Tips

Be sure to include a bio at the top of your profile. What do you want your customers to know in 150 characters or less? And of course, include your business contact information so customers can contact you as well.

As for category, choose what’s best for your business. For example, “Shopping & Retail” might hit the nail on the head, but “Fabric Store” might be an even better option.

Last but not least, keep your display on public (not private) so anyone can see your amazing content if they come across your account.

That’s it for this week. Stay tuned next week for more information on photos, captions, and what type of content to share.

Inspiration for this post came from IG 1, 2, 3 by Kate Colleran, Joanne Hillestad and Kris Poor published in the February 2021 issue of American Quilt Retailer.

Posted on January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by AQR Piece by Piece

Social Media Magic

If everyday tasks get in the way of daily social media posts, check out these tips and tricks.

Plan your posts

Choosing a topic is the hardest part of social media. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be; pick a theme, and post it. This could be a new line of fabric or an interesting tool. Some people prefer to post based off the day of the week, such as “Top Tool Tuesday,” “What’s New Wednesday,” and “Show and Share Sunday.”

Don’t be hesitant to repost the same topic again; in the world of marketing a consumer has to be exposed to a topic or product seven times before they’re compelled to take action.

Take the photo

Now that you know what you want to post about, take a photo. Use your phone and remember these three rules: lighting, background, and focal point.

Make sure your product is the focal point of the photo, there’s good lighting, and the background is not distracting. Be sure to take several photos at different views and angles. The more photos you post the better.

Write a caption

Writing a caption is the second hardest part of social media. If you’re struggling to come up with copy, answer these three questions:

What is it?
Why do customers need it?
What do you want them to do? (Call to action.)

Simply answer these questions as if you were talking to a friend. If you’re posting a product, don’t forget to tag the company and add a hashtag so your image is exposed to as many customers as possible.

Keep a consistent social media schedule

Now that you’ve got content down, create a schedule so you can stay up to date. Google calendar offers an easy, color coded way to plan your social media posts. Make sure to display holidays, events, and classes, and fill in accordingly.

Inspiration for this post came from “Social Media Magic in 5 Minutes,” by Kate Colleran, Joanne Hillestad, and Kris Poor published in the October 2020 issue of American Quilt Retailer.