Engaging content for creative microbusiness online presence

When you want to present your craft microbusiness online, you should think about the strategy for creating engaging content. You can do this in a few ways: visual identity design, illustration, storytelling, copywriting, web design, advertising. These previously mentioned are examples of communication design.

Essentially, what you need to do is use a combination of text and visuals to attract your audience.

In the first step what will be useful is to rely on your brand logo and to build other visuals around it. In other words, use the colours, style and message from your logo to create a consistent visual identity. Illustrations are another interesting way to “present yourself” since with a strategic illustration you are creating “a picture” associated with your craft product, service or brand. This can be a sketch, vector or drawing. Illustrations can also take the form of infographics and make your presentation “more attractive” while also being an interesting addition to break longer descriptions. You can also take your illustration one step further and write a story. Digital storytelling on blogs will unfold new emotions by combining visuals with text to tell the story behind your work.

Did you know?

Some digital platforms used for craft such as Adobe® Illustrator and 3CooD printing, were created primarily for the design industry, whereas others such social media and online shops, were not, but often do rely on some design skills to be successful.

Newer technologies are also offering ways of presenting products, services and content.

Augmented reality (AR) might offer ways to better convey the physicality of craft objects or artistic works when they can’t be touched in person.

Source: https://cinematicvr.pl/aplikacja-ar-dla-muzeum-narodowego-w-sukiennicach/

Cad Crowd is a platform for 3D PRINTING ideas – crowdsourcing, a creative community of 3D modellers and designers who work on real creative projects from clients worldwide using all different types of CAD software.

Source: https://www.cadcrowd.com/3d-models/solid-works-glass-cup

Now let’s also consider your website.

When taking the decision of designing a web for a creative microbusiness you need to look at a bigger picture, and make sure it is responsive and adaptive, so it fits to different screen sizes on different devices. Especially for the “visual” sectors you need to “show” things in the best way.

This means your content layout should be simple and “clean”, e.g., two-column page, with user friendly navigation, and a balance of text and visuals. All the elements should be related to the visual identity you have created for your brand, product or service. Unless you do not yet have a logo or just starting to turn your craft into a microbusiness, the website is not the first place to start. You should set up a website when you have defined your craft brand strategy.

Digital marketing is also a solution for engaging content, along with the promotion of own products with electronic devices, and you can decide to use one of the following:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Search Engine Advertising
• Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing

Online advertising can be more advantageous in this respect that you can check visits to product pages, review traffic by location, and evaluate the feedback to improve your e-commerce strategy.

What is often forgotten is to provide inclusive content. The simplest way is using an accessibility widget, which will be placed at the top right corner of the site, enabling the following features:

Source: https://userway.org/widget/

However, the aspect of inclusivity and digital tools should also be analysed in a wider perspective. When we consider rural areas, Internet access occurs to be a challenge, and therefore online presence will not necessarily be a win-win situation or online networking might not be an option. With that said, it is worth engaging with the local community through joint activities. Here are some ideas you may initiate:

Friday coffees with artisans, to share experiences or “the works” with a cup of coffee!

Rural housewives circle, to together create crafts and learn from each other!

Monthly lunch break chats with “the craft makers,” when each month another crafter or artisan is interviewed on their profession!

And while you meet with your local community, you can work towards the creation of a virtual online communication showcasing your work like the Wiltshire Makers have (find out more about them in the case studies section)