News and reviews of made on Maui products and Maui-based companies and success stories. Also featuring island shopping guides

Posts tagged ‘Tips’

Top Facebook Tips from Maui Facebook Users

tell your friends you're here Facebook sign

want a cool Facebook sign like this? scroll down to my section for the link!

Last month, Facebook presented a workshop for small businesses on Maui.  There was a decent attendance, but since there were a few people who could not attend, I decided to put together a few tips that I found useful (included at the bottom) and I also interviewed a few Maui Facebook users who attended or presented at the event.  My interviewees include all levels of Facebook expertise, so there are tips below for everyone!  If you have further questions or want to share your own tips, please leave them in the comments below or on our Facebook Page.

Dean Wong – Executive Director, Imua Family Services

“I was impressed to learn that over 25 million businesses are on Facebook and that 92 percent of searches for business are happening on Facebook as well. I really agreed that cross promotion of business via Facebook promotes community good will. I always find with Facebook either personally and/or for business (in which I include nonprofit business) that authenticity and human connection are the most important factors and what make social media feel more real, personable and raw.”

Dean Wong is currently the Executive Director of Imua Family Services, but you may recognize him (besides being on the cover of Maui Times Weekly) as the Founder/Owner of Green Banana Cafe and Green Banana Frozen Yogurt Bar in Paia, former Front of House Manager at Maui Arts and Cultural Center.

 Miranda Camp – Owner, Maui Mana Adventures

“One of my favorite tips was to make sure people know what your business is all about when they land on your page, because my page does not do that.  So I am in the process of improving my page.  I know it seems obvious, but I really didn’t consider it much before.”

Miranda Camp is the owner of Maui Mana Adventures, which offers personalizes tours of Maui, involving hiking, stand-up paddling, snorkeling, or any combination of the three!

Erik Blair – Web and Social Media Consultant, The Accidental Consultant

“Here are my top tips from the Facebook Event:

1.  Remarketing:  They mentioned the ability to upload your email list and then select that list to add into your ad marketing.  I recommend making a special ad, with a special link to a unique page that presents a special offer only available via FB ad.  That way you can watch the FB insights and google analytics to see how your ads work, and who is responding from your list.

2.  The emphasis was on boosting posts and ads for website links.  I think that’s the best advice they provided.

3.  What NOT to do.  I don’t recommend “promoting your page” for “LIKES” alone.  That seems to be open to “Click Fraud” type activity.”

Since Erik is an expert on Social Media, I also asked him to provide some tips for anyone interested in learning more about Social Media on Maui:

A.  Be a part of the Maui Social Media Users Group #MauiSMUG –

http://www.MauiSMUG.com and https://www.facebook.com/groups/mauismug/

B.  Follow everybody on this list – https://twitter.com/MauiSMUG/members/members

Erik Blair is an independent web and social media consultant on Maui that helps small businesses focus on what they do best and enjoy most by providing a simple way to share their business or passion with a larger audience. Check out more on Erik at Google Me, Twitter, Blog, Website,  and you can check out his thoughts on Tiny Houses!

Amanda Robson- Owner, Maui Children’s Bookstore + Cafe

“When asked to participate as a panelist for the Facebook Small Business Boost event, we were totally excited! Since our business is only 6 months old and in it’s current form, is a traveling one, Facebook has been an extremely important way for us to start a rapport with our families. We don’t have a storefront to welcome them to on a daily basis, so our Facebook page is their “window” into our business.  As Bess Yount, the Facebook presenter mentioned at the event, beautiful, eye-catching content is really important. Because personal posts receive the bulk of space on user’s news feeds (as they should!),  I challenge myself to share content I feel is visually inspiring. After all, we’re presenting our business posts amongst precious photos of lil babes, beautiful sunsets, and other visual moments people consider to be very important to them. I think respecting that fact helps me to gauge what is worthy of a post and so far, our audience seems to respond really well to our content.

4 tips we received in our panelist packet literature from Facebook that I think are worth a share (maybe every attendee received one):

  • Be authentic: Share your passion and your customers will be excited to.
  • Be consistent: Regular posts can help people notice you and build trust.
  • Be responsive: When people comment on your posts, respond. This shows that you listen to what they say.
  • Turn successful posts into valuable ads: When your post gets lots of comments and likes, boost it to tell new potential customers about your business.”

Maui Children’s Bookstore + Cafe plans to create a beautiful space that will excite the senses of children and their loved ones through books + art + food. Until they find their permanent location, they will be teaming up with locally owned shops for one-day pop-up events this Summer.

Liz Smith – MauiMadeBlog and Dazoo Restaurant

Here are some of the tips that I found interesting and/or good reminders to check!

-Set your address on Facebook so that people can find you on their phones using the ‘Nearby’ tab on Facebook.  (helpful because of all the visitors we have on Maui!)

– Use a cover photo of the front of your business if applicable, so after they find your page, they can see you as they walk or drive by!

  • Ask questions – the more likes, shares and comments a post gets, the more Facebook will share it!
  • Post large, colorful photos (seriously, scroll through Facebook – do any of the posts NOT have images?)
    • and according to presenter Koa’s Seaside Grill, posts with people in them ei: a bartender holding a drink, get the best response.
  • how to schedule a post on Facebookschedule posts ahead of time (for when you are on vacation, or actually working when you want your post to run) – just create your post and then click on the little clock!

And because people love the personal side of Facebook – here are two great suggestions!

  • Take a photo of a customer and run as ‘Customer of the Day’
  • Encourage your fans to send in their own photos and share those!

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Facebook Tips

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Tips for enjoying Maui in the Rain – Safely

Tropical Storm Flossie is heading towards Maui tomorrow – but these tips go for anytime there is rain on Maui (which luckily, is rare).

Tips for Enjoying Maui in the Rain – Safely

Activities:

Maui Ocean Center is a great activity during the rain – most of the exhibits are indoors.  Here’s a tip: The aquarium opens at 9am.  During my many years of working there, the lines during rainy days wouldn’t extend the front gate until 10:30 or 11am.  Get there early to avoid the lines and crowds.  Or, go late.  (If you are reading this in regards to Tropical Storm Flossie) – It’s July, so it’s still open until 6pm. It takes around 2 hours, so arriving at 3 or 4 is still OK.  If you need more time, you can always upgrade that day to a week pass)

There’s also the usual malls and movies.  Lahaina Cannery Mall is completely enclosed (Maui’s only) – the other ones are open air- and I know from experience, the floors at The Shops at Wailea are slippery.

And while you are at Lahaina Cannery Mall – grab some games and toys from Maui Toy Works- which also has a brand new location at Pioneer Square on Front Street and at Whaler’s Village.  Personal fave: Spot it! the card game.

There’s also lots of great spas and salons – maybe time for a massage or facial?

Safety:

And now for the safety tips- and these go for any rain activity, not just a storm:  (now i’m starting to sound like a mother, which I am, so here goes)

maui waterfall dangers in the rain tips

Rain forecasts of 6-10 inches could make this waterfall dangerous

Stay WELL away from streams and waterfalls.  Even if its not raining where you are, if its raining up the mountain, the stream could be building up and torrents of rain could come down at any time. With rocks.  It would be bad.

Don’t cross flowing water, by foot or by car : this tip goes for anywhere, but is worth a reminder.

The storm is expected to bring big waves, so stay away from the beaches… always check with the lifeguards first.  No lifeguard?  Find a beach that has one, if you have any doubt.

maui rain tips things to do hawaii

This waterfall has a warning sign – most don’t

Even after the rains – Stay out of the ocean if its murky or there’s debris floating.   I’m just going to say it: dead animals could get washed down the stream, attracting sharks.  But, even if you don’t believe me about dead animals and sharks, there could be bacteria in the water… Just stay out of the water until its clear.

What’s your favorite activity in the rain on Maui?

maui ocean advisories

Big Waves, Runoff- not a good time to go to the beach

Any other safety tips to add?

Category:

Rain Day

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How to Sell on Etsy – Guide for Artists

Let me start by saying that I’m not an etsy seller, but writing this post as a buyer, and frequent peruser of etsy. I’ve noticed a few differences between a decent shop and a great shop, so I’ve done a bit more research to put together a few tips for anyone starting out on Etsy, or looking to increase sales.
How to Sell on Etsy

Most of the blogs that I found on this topic where no less than 10 pages long and full of technical terms, so I’ll try to keep this brief and ‘artist-friendly’. You can google anything that you may want more information on. The search for ‘etsy tips for dummies’ yielded about 50 MILLION pages. Seriously.

  1. Use GREAT photos – Each and every blog post I read about Etsy tips has this as their first tip. You can have up to five pictures for each listing. Use them. Have close ups, on models, different angles – buyers want to feel like they’ve touched and held the item. If your photo skills aren’t up to snuff, trade some of your pieces for some pictures by your neighbor with the fancy camera and hot photoshop skills. It will be worth it.
  2. Get to the point with your ITEM TITLE! You only have 140 characters, and you want the search terms at the front of the title. Also, while people are scanning items this (plus the pic) is all they see! One of the items I was looking at had the title ‘cute cute cute’ – i have no idea what she’s trying to sell! You have lots more room in the description section to talk about how cute it is! Don’t forget to proofread – typos will keep you from coming up in searches!
  3. Follow the RULES or they could shut you down without notice. Etsy’s Do’s and Don’ts are 29 pages long. With this in mind, you should probably go ahead and start your own website, even if its just a placeholder page, so your customers can still find you if you get booted off etsy.
  4. Keep in contact with your CUSTOMERS – Etsy has that personal feel, so one of the great suggestions is to let your customers know when the package is being shipped, when it should arrive, and maybe a follow up to see how they are enjoying it?
  5. Spend some time to create great PACKAGING – throw in some stickers, a nice business card, maybe even add in a coupon for their next purchase?
  6. Check out the SUCCESS Stories – you aren’t inventing the wheel here. See what the top sellers are doing, and figure out how to do carry that over to your shop.
  7. Do what you do WELL – Figure out what you do well, create a unique brand for yourself, and GO SELL! (this is the rah-rah point)
  8. NETWORK – This could be endless and overwhelming, but here’s the gist. There are two reasons to network (and this means anything online) –  
    a. Search engines will find you – Search Engines like websites that have incoming links from lots of other, quality sites. Take advantage of the fact that you can now comment on lots of people’s blogs and include your shop website! It’s so easy! I wont get into too into SEO here, except to say that another tip that all the bloggers talked about was making sure you have the right tags on your products. You can use 13 tags – use them. Describe your product physically, then use some descriptive terms. You can view your ‘Shop Stats’ to see which tags are effective.
    b. – People will find you. You don’t have to use every single social networking site, but you should use one or two. Use the Etsy forums (ask and answer questions), join some teams, start some treasuries… probably endless. Starting a blog is a great way to attract more people (and help search engines find you), start a Facebook page for your business, join Pinterest or Instagram, and use whatever you set up. Some Pinterest tips : Dont just pin your own products, your followers wont like it and neither will Pinterest. But, when you Pin your own products (from Etsy), make sure you like what it says (I think its the Item Title that comes up) – make sure it describes your product AND has your shop name. That will help people know its you when they see your product pins!

OK – so here’s a test- Please add a comment below on what tip was the most helpful (if any) and include your etsy site! First one to comment correctly wins a free blog about your shop! (everyone else has to pay me in crafts. or chocolate)

Category:

Etsy Tips

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