Using Social Media to Advertise and Market Your Products

Portions of this article are taken from How to Reach New Customers.

Social media accounts are a great way for you to advertise your product(s) for free. Whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ArtStation, or any number of other social platforms, you can draw on a network of connections to see and share your posts, expanding your products' reach in the process.

How to Be Active on Social Media

Engage with your audience. If they have questions, answer them. If they compliment you, say "thank you". You can even repost or share their posts as a way of building positive, lasting relationships.
Utilize hashtags strategically. When someone falls down the #3DArt rabbit hole, you want to be sure that you are right there with them (but only if your product is related to 3D Art). Add relevant tags to your posts so that they appear in searches and hashtag galleries. Not sure what some good hashtags would be? Look up products similar to yours and see what other creators and potential customers are using.
Include beauty renders or videos in your posts. A lot of people are on social media to be inspired or entertained. Including visuals either as the post itself (as on Instagram or ArtStation) or as additional content, may gain you some new views, followers, Blender Market shop visitors, and, ultimately, customers.
Keep your message and branding consistent. If your avatars and wording are consistent across platforms, customers will be sure that the product they saw on Instagram is the same thing they saw on Twitter. This approach helps to build customer trust and confidence in both you and your product(s).
Inform viewers about your products. A pretty picture may not get a customer to visit your Blender Market shop, but if you explain what your product is, how it might benefit them, and where they can find it, they will be more likely to click through.
Post regularly, but be sure to mix it up. Not every post should be focused on your product(s), front and center. In fact, social media followers are most likely to unfollow you if you post too many promotional messages (source). Share sites or articles that your followers might find useful, give shout-outs to creators or platforms that you appreciate or use. Provide value to your followers by giving them juicy content that doesn't just encourage them to buy-buy-buy. This approach will also help your audience get to know you a bit better, and vice versa.

General Social Media Etiquette

Be professional. Remember as you post messages or images that you are your brand. Keeping your communications professional will minimize the chance that potential customers will be put off by things like obscenities, aggressive behavior, lewd or tasteless comments, and discussion of sensitive topics like politics, religion, etc. This isn't to say, however, that you can't let your personality shine through. But if you find yourself running into problems separating the personal and professional in social media posts, consider creating a separate account for your product-related posts.
Be nice. Keep your cool, even if someone is trying to start a flame war with you. You and your brand reputation have nothing to gain from getting into it with someone on Twitter. Respond like a calm, reasonable person, and move on.
Be responsive. If people compliment you or your products, respond with gratitude. If people have questions about your products, respond with answers. The sooner you respond, the better, as the social media crowd can be an impatient one.
Be human. Avoid automating messages whenever possible and let your unique voice be heard. Treat others like you would want to be treated. Be polite. Don't drown followers in an unrelenting stream of sales posts. Listen and be engaged by what other people are posting to the social media platforms on which you are active. Give credit where credit is due.