Etsy Teams & Social Media

I posted earlier in the week that I would discuss Etsy Teams as a separate discussion so here it is. When I decided to become more "social" using social media I joined some Etsy Teams. I chose them according to several different criteria. I joined two that are for California as that's where I live, one is for the whole state, the other is for the Central Coast specifically. I joined We All Belong because their philosophy is everyone should be included and I like that. I looked at so many teams where they had such narrow margins for joining: basically you have to have professional quality photos, be able to stand on your head, rub your tummy, chew gum, and whistle at the same time (joking), but you get the idea. I don't like excluding people because they aren't as awesome as you think you are. I joined a Deviant Art team because I signed up on Deviant Art mainly to showcase my steampunk items and get some recognition from that community. This isn't a steampunk team it's an Etsy team. I also joined a cross marketing team because I'm interested in marketing. I may need to whittle down the number of teams I'm on as I'm finding it hard to have time to devote the attention I need to each one. I want to create treasuries and participate as much as possible so I will probably go down to two or three. Out of all my social media experimentation I think joining these teams has been the most successful. I've met some really nice people, I've had items featured in more treasuries than I can count, my twitter, facebook and blog followers have gone way up and I even had a sale. I also was able to find out about a local Holiday Boutique Sale that I will be participating in this weekend, my first one! The people on these teams are so supportive and helpful and willing to cross promote, it is truly awesome.

Here are the links to the teams I belong to that I feel are the most active and supportive, two awesome teams that deserve a lot of recognition:

The We All Belong Team: http://www.etsy.com/teams/6860/we-all-belong
The DeviantArt Team: http://www.etsy.com/teams/6851/deviant-art