One of the most effective way to gain traction on Instagram is to engage with the right accounts. And it’s an aspect that many Etsy sellers don’t do enough.

Who To Engage With

Should you engage with customers? Or should you engage with similar accounts in your niche?

Of course if you have time, doing both would get you the biggest impact. But as a busy handmade seller, my recommendation is to engage with similar accounts in your niche. It has a bigger impact for the same time and effort. Here are some types of accounts you can consider engaging with:

• Other Etsy artists that create similar craft to you. Try exploring by using your niche hashtags or on the explore page.
• DIY accounts that create crafts that are related or similar to yours
• Niche influencers, e.g. if you sell jewelry, look for accounts that regularly showcase or review jewelry pieces
• Big brand equivalent of your handmade brand
• Etsy and handmade accounts like @etsy , @etsyuk or other similar ones

Why Engage with Niche Accounts?

You might wonder why it's a good idea to engage with accounts that aren't direct customers. The biggest reason is that these accounts have similar target audience as your brand do. By building relationships with them, you indirectly tap into their follower base. These are people who already appreciate handmade crafts, and thus, are potential customers.

Also, interacting with other relevant accounts help Instagram’s algorithm determine that you are part of that niche. So, for people who are interested in that niche, they may get content pushed and suggested for them, and those suggested posts can be your ones.

Even if the advantage with the algorithm isn't substantial, interacting with similar accounts can help boost your exposure to their audience who are likely to be interested in your content as well.

How To Engage With Them Meaningfully

It’s not just about hitting the like button or giving a generic comment. It's about establishing genuine connections. Here's my recommendations:

• Ask genuine and open-ended questions: “That embroidery technique looks intricate. How long did it take you to master it?”
• Share Relevant Personal Experience: “This reminds me so much of the ceramics I saw in Greece. You've really captured the essence!”
• Compliment Specifics: “The color palette really reminds me of the summer holiday vibe. Such a beautiful work!”
• Celebrate the Achievement: “Congrats (account)! So happy to see your beautiful work get featured!”

Another way to engage would be to share other artist’s work. If you’ve bought something from another creator who’s relevant to your product but not a direct competitor? Share it on your story or feed and tag them. It's a win-win. You offer your followers handmade products content, and at the same time, promote another artist.

Post-Upload Engagement Techniques

The interactions in the first half an hour to an hour is the most important. Instagram decides whether they want to push your content to more people and the beginning of your content’s life is a good indicator for Instagram.

The rate of you getting engagement matters. The quicker you are getting those saves, shares, likes and comments, the more people Instagram will push out your content.

As mentioned in previous chapter, I recommend interacting with relevant accounts about 10 minutes before posting, and 20 minutes after posting. This can increase the chance of them reciprocating the engagement with your new content as well.

Do this consistently to build genuine relationship with other relevant people in your niche to accelerate your own growth.

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