How to Use Social Media to Sell More Gear on Reverb

Although social media seems like something you shouldn't be focusing on during the business day (how many times have you been told "stop playing on your phone"?), in the modern age, it's a vital tool for making your brand more visible, and, in turn, more profitable.

If you're selling on Reverb, or thinking that you might like to, we're here to divulge some tips to help get you on the path to success by using social media to amp up your sales.

If you're just getting started on social, it may be overwhelming to devise content for multiple platforms. So you can eliminate some unnecessary stress and just start with the one that feels the most natural for you, your product, and your target demographic.

Below, we'll look at the benefits and downsides of each major platform. Then, we'll discuss some useful techniques that can be used on any platform to find your voice, gain followers, and, ultimately, get more customers.

If you are looking for a highly interactive experience with your audience base, Facebook is a great place to begin. It's the most widely used social network and offers a number of different ways to engage with your audience beyond just posting photos, videos, and status updates. Newer features include audience polls, video premieres, and a Q&A option, which all provide opportunities to foster engagement and learn more about your audience.

It's also worth noting that in an effort to make the platform more comfortable for individual users, Facebook will tend not to prioritize business's posts that use overtly sales-oriented or engagement-pandering language like "Save a ton of money and shop our blowout sale!" or "Like this post if you think Jimi Hendrix was a great guitarist." Keep these things in mind when you're posting, use conversational language (as opposed to marketing language), and you'll find that Facebook will be more likely to surface your content to your desired audiences.

Twitter has been around since the mid-'00s and hasn't changed much since its debut. The culture of identifying trends and crafting unique hashtags is still alive and well, so it can be great if you're quick on your feet. But if you're brand-new to the platform, getting started can be tricky. Following and retweeting content from other accounts and using trending hashtags are good ways to get noticed and gain an appreciative follower base.

On the whole, Twitter works best when it's even more conversational than Facebook. Replying to tweets, being responsive to questions, and otherwise taking part in more conversations will yield better results than just posting a sales tweet. If you don't have a lot of time to devote to social media, Twitter may not be the best platform to start with.

If you have a gift for taking compelling photos and have a strong visual brand, Instagram may be ideal for you. With a fantastic image, brief copy, and thoughtful hashtags, you can garner a lot of attention in a relatively short period of time. The platform's search function also makes it easy for you to stumble upon accounts and influencers that may appeal to and inspire you, and, in turn, whose audiences may be interested in what you have to offer.

Need help taking good pictures? Check out our guide, "How to Photograph Your Gear."

The curation-based aesthetic of Pinterest is ideal for businesses, because browsing Pinterest is really about as close as a person can get to an online shopping spree experience via social media. In fact, since Reverb became more active on the platform, there has been a remarkably steady increase in traffic and sales coming from the Pinterest audience.

In part, that's due to our featuring of eye-catching images we find on Reverb listings. But it may also be due to the fact that Pinterest's core audience is primarily female and this demographic is of increasing importance across the gear industry, as can be seen in a 2018 study financed by Fender that indicated 50% of new guitar buyers identify as female.

The popularity of Snapchat among young users is massive. That said, young people are very aware of (and skeptical about) being marketed to, given that they grew up in the age of social media. If you choose to be active on Snapchat, a great route to take would be to create content that focuses more on engaging and entertaining users than on selling to them.

Let them in on your processes through behind the scenes–style videos and allow them to familiarize themselves with your brand and your culture. It's unlikely that Snapchat will lead to many sales unless you pay for ad space, but getting out there and endearing your shop to the rock stars of the future is not a bad idea.

Once you choose which platform(s) you'd like to focus on, give yourself permission to get a little experimental to find a style, an aesthetic, and a flow that fits your needs.

With more interactive platforms like Facebook or Twitter, this could mean experimenting with a number of different types of posts (videos, blog links, shared content, polls, etc.) at different times of day. On visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, this could mean posting a number of similar photos to see which one garners the best reaction or the most momentum.

Take a look at these Reverb sellers' Instagram accounts for some aesthetic inspiration:

• Retrofret Vintage Guitars' Instagram
• Tropical Fish NYC's Instagram
• Southside Guitars' Instagram

Keep track of what you're learning about your audience, because there are plenty of things to be gleaned from even a short testing time frame. Some examples: What time of day is your audience most likely to comment? Do they like concise copy, or do they like it when you're a little wordy? Do they prefer photos with people in them? Do they respond best to a specific color or filter? Use these bits of knowledge to your advantage as you continue to experiment with the content and frequency of your posts.

Once you find your footing on your platform of choice, it's time to get to business. Business profile, that is. Setting up a business page or getting your account verified is an important step in the life of a modern business. Here are details, direct from the platforms themselves, on how to get your business profile activated:

• How to Set Up a Facebook Business Page
• About the Twitter Verification Process
• How to Set Up an Instagram Business Account
• How to Set Up a Pinterest Business Account

You've already checked so many boxes: You're comfortable handling your social page(s), you found a cadence, you're fostering an aesthetic, you know your audience… So what goals can you work toward next?

All platforms we've discussed will allow you to link to your Reverb shop in one way or another.

On Facebook or Twitter: You can simply copy and paste your shop URL, or the URL link to a listing you'd like to feature. A link to a specific listing will auto-populate on Facebook and Twitter with the primary photo and title you provided on your listing.

On Instagram: You can use your Reverb Shop URL as your website in your profile. That way, when you post something that's available in your shop, you can use the phrase "link in bio" (which is a common Instagram practice) to indicate that users can find that piece by clicking through to your Reverb Shop.

On Pinterest: You can provide a website for each photo you upload, so you can easily link to your listing. All your audience has to do is click on the picture to be ushered to your shop.

Of course it's important to maintain your presence on your own page, but something that many people lose sight of is the "social" in social media. Follow brands, shops, artists, and influencers that you admire, and see what they're up to on social. They may give you inspiration for something you can try on your own page.

Remember: Any time you engage in someone else's comments section on any platform, their followers have the opportunity to read your thoughts and get curious about your brand.

Are you hosting a sale on Reverb? Giving your audiences on social media a heads up about the time/date of the launch is a great way to get your social following excited about your Reverb Shop, and (once the sale launches) to get Reverb users excited about following you on social. To reward your social audience, you could even throw in some swag or additional merchandise for the first 10 followers that use a specific hashtag or who tag a friend in your original post.

Remember to speak to the audience you have as well as the audience that you want. Feature a variety of different instruments/gear and a variety of different musicians on your page. The easiest way for a potential follower to feel at home when they visit your page is if they already see themselves and their interests represented in your posts.

Joy is infectious. The more enthusiastic you are about your product and the goings-on in your Reverb Shop, the more excited your audience will be to see what you do next. Let your social media presence be an oasis where your followers can celebrate musicianship, cool gear, and find a source of curiosity, creativity and inspiration.