Photo Galleries are done! Over 300 snaps!

Hey friends and neighbors, I now have the photo galleries from the Indie South Fair Holiday Hooray!  There are over 300 photos online now, give our new Gallery a look!

 

http://www.indiesouthfair.com

 

Indie South Fair's Holiday Hooray is tomorrow!

Indie South Fair's Holiday Hooray is tomorrow!  Lots of fun things going on tomorrow, strop in and check out the music, art, demos etc. 

Farm Cart will also be with us from about noon on, selling delightful lunch items made fresh from locally sourced ingredients!

http://www.facebook.com/Farm255?ref=ts&fref=ts

Ursa Minor Coffee (& much more) will be on hand serving hot drinks and sweet treats all day long, be sure to stop by and show your support for this fellow who has traveled from Asheville to be part of our event!

http://www.facebook.com/ursaminorcoffee?fref=ts

DJ Mahogany, the Shoal Creek Stranglers, Black Moon, and Tom B Television performing live tomorrow.

There will ster Booth set up for folks to get pictures made at the event!

be a Buhttp://www.facebook.cjavascript:;om/pages/The-Buster-Booth-Company/171623422943224?fref=ts

Keara Connor will be making robot ornaments with the kiddies as part of our kids activities! You may know Keara from her workshops with Treehouse and Arrow, we are so thrilled she's joining us on Saturday!

Free "Make Your Own Ornament" Event this Saturday!

Katie H and Laura C will be hosting a free "make your own ornament from an acorn" table at Indie South Fair's Holiday Hooray this Saturday. Hosted by Ben's Bikes, located at 670 West Broad

Holiday Toy Drive this Saturday!

Please join Indie South Fair and the Eclectic Bazaar in our efforts to collect toys and art/craft supplies for the holidays.

We will have a collection box at the info booth at the show this weekend. Thank you all so much for your support.

Also, we have sponsored booths for two groups of kids--AthensArt4Schools (https://www.facebook.com/AthensArt4Schools)  and the Harmony Elementary School. Plus Jeremy Kiran Fernandes will be there selling his art. it means so much to these kids to have an opportunity to showcase their works to the community, please come out and show them that they and their art matters!

 

 

Facebook Friday - What time is best for posting?

A study based on 200 fan pages by Buddy Media shows that “ engagement is highest at 4 am, 7 am, and 11 pm, but that brands post the most during business hours.”

 

A recent study of popular brands revealed that “campaigns deployed between 10 pm-12 am ET were an engagement goldmine. More eyes on your info, more LIKES, more click throughs. Based on volume, however, this timeslot was the least utilized for deployment or marketing messages. The study also found that the most popular time of day to deploy campaigns was between 11 am-1 pm ET, while paradoxically, this timeslot was in the bottom 30% in terms of engagement.

Something to  think about...

 

 

 

 

 

Free "Make Your Own Ornament" Event this Saturday!

Katie H and Laura C will be hosting a free "make your own ornament from an acorn"  table at Indie South Fair's Holiday Hooray this Saturday.  Hosted by Ben's Bikes and conveniently located at 670 West Broad, Athens, GA.

https://www.facebook.com/events/553202484706096/?fref=ts

 

Athens Art 4 Schools joining us for this Saturday's Holiday Hooray!

We are pleased to host Athens Art 4 Schools information booth at this weekend's show. 

Athens Art 4 Schools is an informal group bringing together artists, volunteers, art teachers, community groups, and business persons to support art education in the 14 elementary schools in the Athens Clarke County School District. Drop in and  check out their fine program, as well as some of their artworks on display. 

https://www.facebook.com/AthensArt4Schools

 

Athens Art 4 Schools joining us for this Saturday's Holiday Hooray!

We are pleased to host Athens Art 4 Schools information booth at this weekend's show. 

Athens Art 4 Schools is an informal group bringing together artists, volunteers, art teachers, community groups, and business persons to support art education in the 14 elementary schools in the Athens Clarke County School District. Drop in and  check out their fine program, as well as some of their artworks on display. 

https://www.facebook.com/AthensArt4Schools

 

Holiday Toy Drive this Saturday!

Please join Indie South Fair and the Eclectic Bazaar in our efforts to collect toys and art/craft supplies for the holidays.

We will have a collection box at the info booth at the show, this Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012.

Thank you all so much for your support.

 

 

 

Twitter? Yes, please!

We are on twitter again and we want to talk.  : D

We had almost 2000 followers on our previous account, and we'd love to have each and every one join us again.    

 

https://twitter.com/IndieSouthFair 

Indie South Fair's Holiday Hooray Vendor Map is now available.

I just finished it, and you cand ownload it from our website. 

http://indiesouthfair.com/vendors/12h_vendormap.pdf

 

Facebook Friday - shortcut to select all friends for invites.

If you are like me, you get very tired of click, click clicking on all your friends and contacts to invite them to your facebook events.  There is an easier way...

Go to your event/group/page, click invite people and then paste this snippet in the URL field of your browser.

javascript:var x=document.getElementsByTagName("input");for(var i=0;i<x.length;i++) {if (x[i].type == 'checkbox') {x[i].click();}}; alert('Done, all your friends have been selected');

Left-click the mouse in the URL field and hit Enter. Your invitations will not be sent yet, but all your friends will be selected. Click the “Invite” or “Send” button on the Facebook page to finally send the invites.

Indie South Fair collecting toys for the Holidays!

Indie South Fair is proud to partner with the Athens Area Christmas Kids to collect toys, art supplies or gift cards to help families make their holidays merrier. 

We'll have a donation box at the show to accept donations of new, unwrapped toys or art/craft supplies. 

For donations before or after the festival, please email me directly at cindy@indiesouthfair.com for pickup.  Collections will continue until Saturday, Dec. 15.

Facebook Friday - Marketing on Facebook

Are you ready to put your brand out in front of the 850 million people?  That's how many set of eyes you could potentially put your brand in front of on Facebook.  Incredible, isn't it?  

Here are some time-saving tips for marketing your small business on Facebook.

A. See if your personalized URL is available.

Before you launch your brand presence on Facebook, check on your personalized URL to make sure it will be available to you.  Find one that's simple and easy to remember. The shorter and simpler the better, to help people remember it. 

B. Crossposting with Ease: 

Utilize other web-based (or smartphone) services to making cross posting quicker and easier.  Logging in and out of all the  different networks these days can be time consuming and frankly, a pain.  There are several services that enable users to post once, and have their message cross posted to other networks as well.  One i like is Posterous.com  I  have our AIC network set up through Posterous; it enables any of us to send one email, and  have our message and/or photos posted to Facebook, twitter, linkedin, g+, tumblr, posterous blog, and a few more minor networks you've probably never heard of.  Quick and Easy!  Another good one that I use on my phone is HootSuite. 

C. Use social plugins:

They’re free to use and are a quick and easy way to market your brand or message through referral traffic.

D. Use Facebook Insights

Export the Facebook Insights data to an Excel spreadsheet.. Super easy to see what type of posts and media worked the best for you, which got the most response from your audience. 

E. Provide location:

Did you ever run across a Facebook page or event and find it very interesting, only to have to search and search for their location?  Do not forget that you are posting your event on the World Wide web.  World Wide.  You can go on and on about the wonderful festival you have planned, but if people have to struggle to find out the location, they probably won't.  People have super short attention spans these days, in just a few seconds you have to grab their attention and give them the bullet points they want, or they will click away. If your guest sees right away that the event is local, he'll maybe check it out for more info.  Maybe even come, spend his money, tell his friends.

F. QR Codes

Setting up a QR code for your Facebook Page is a quick, simple and effective strategy for small or large businesses to use. QR codes can be used on many marketing materials.

They are very easy to set up, simple google QR code generator, and follow the simple instructions.  

 

 

Program Ad deadline is approaching...

 

Ad deadline for the Indie South Fair program is November 23. 

To reserve your ad space please email cindy@indiesouthfair.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook Friday - Building your Fanpage

We all know by now that  having a strong visible presence in social media is critical to small business marketing.  The way people shop and compare items has changed; people do  not want to be sold to, they want to discover new and exciting things that can add value and beauty to their lives. 

There are many platforms and networks in use today, but the undisputed King of Social Networks today is Facebook.  Having a Facebook fan page for your brand enables you to make connections with people who are interested in what you have - be they existing customers or new friends just met. 

The key to successful Facebook marketing is to build relationships.  Talk to people. Seek out others who share you interests.  Exchange ideas, techniques - interact with your fans, often. People like to make connections, and will appreciate  your expertise and experience.  Once they get to know what you are about, they will be much more likely to buy from you. 

Face it, no one appreciates having BUY MY DOODAH yelled at them twenty times a day.  I've seen so many twitter users who just rebroadcast the same 'come see my shop, buy my xyz' and I got to tell you, I drop them fast as I can. It's boring and I think if they have nothing to say other than a poorly written sales pitch, well, I have better things to do with my time.  Unfollow. Goodbye. 

If you want to gain loyal, and engaged fans on your Facebook page, you have to give them something to talk about.  Post often, every day,  more than once if you have something to say.  Share tips, jokes, current events that relate to your shared interest and ask questions.  That is one of the quickest way to see who is really engaged.  The beauty of Facebook  marketing is the ability to have your message spread by your fans, then by their friends, and friends of friends. 

Building real relationships online takes time and a lot of work. You cannot just build a page and sit back and wait for them.  Go looking for fans.  Invite your current customers.  Like other pages with content similar to your own. Post there, get to know the people there and some will wander over to your page.  Put the link to your page everywhere  you can -  on  your business cards, your email signature, any printed work you do, etc.  

I've updated the Vendor listings on our website

I've started added the vendor listings to our website.  I've added all that I have rec'd so far.  Check 'em out. 

 

http://indiesouthfair.com/

Facebook Friday - 4 steps to a stronger Facebook page

Social networking is indisputably a global phenomenon. Its highly visible role in last year’s public uprisings around the world was only the latest example of a trend that has been steadily building for some time. A recent Forrester study of 95,000 Internet users in 18 countries showed that in addition to heavy social media usage in the U.S. and Europe, consumers in emerging markets are actually leading the world in social media usage and engagement. 

Find the rest here:

http://news.efrontier.com/rs/efrontier/images/Adobe_Going_Global_Social_World...

Be a part of The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market® in January 2013.

If you have ever considered selling your wares wholesale, a great place  to be seen by lots of buyers is a temporary booth at a large gift show.

The upcoming AmericasMart in Atlanta, GA  is currently accepting applications for temporary exhibitors. Atlanta's AmericasMart has more than 30 temp exhibitor categories and is the largest permanent marketplace of its kind.

Find out more and download the Exhibitor Application by visiting their website.

 

AmericasMart Atlanta - Apparel, Rug, Gift and Home Shows

www.americasmart.com

AmericasMart welcomes buyers to its International Gift and Home Furnishings Market, International Area Rug Market, and Atlanta Apparel Markets.

 

 

Advertising in the Indie South Fair Program

We are accepting limited advertising for this year's Holiday Market program.  The program is handed out to guests at the Indie South Fair and available for download from our website, facebook and blogs. 

The format is 5.5x8.5 booklet style, with ad space divided into eighth page sections. 

For information or to reserve your ad space, please email cindy@indiesouthfair.com

 

 

Application Deadline for Indie South Fair is Monday, November 5.

The application deadline for the Indie South Fair Holiday Market is tomorrow, November 5, 2012.

 

Information and applications can be found at our new website:

http://www.indiesouthfair.com

 

Also, if you are interested, we are selling advertising space in the Market program. 

Info on our blog...

 

http://indiesouth.blogspot.com/

Advertising in the Indie South Fair Program

We are accepting limited advertising for this year's Holiday Market program.  The program is handed out to guests at the Indie South Fair and available for download from our website, facebook and blogs. 

The format is 5.5x8.5 booklet style, with ad space divided into eighth page sections. 

For information or to reserve your ad space, please email cindy@indiesouthfair.com

 

 

Interested in sharing a booth for Indie South Fair?

Interested in sharing a booth for the holiday show?  a great place to find people is on our facebook page.  

https://www.facebook.com/TheIndieSouthFair

Call for Artists - Athens, GA

Indie South Fair is accepting applications for the Indie South Holiday Market, to be held Saturday, December 8th, 2012 in downtown Athens, GA. Hours are 11am until 6pm

The Indie South Fair  is a bi-annual handmade market that brings an eclectic selection of emerging artists and crafters from the South and beyond.

Visit our website for show information, photo galleries of past markets, vendor photos and profiles, show applications and more. Application deadline is November 5th

http://www.indiesouthfair.com

 

Call for Artist and Craftperson Demonstrators

Indie South Handmade Fair is a community arts and crafts market (formerly known as Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa). For our first show (Saturday, December 8, 2012, at Ben’s Bikes), we’d like to up the interaction with artists/crafters and participants by offering demos and workshops throughout the day. 

This is where you come in. If your art or craft lends itself to a demonstration, by all means let us know if you’d be interested! In exchange for the demo, you will get a booth at the market for a reduced price. 

If you have a special skill that translates well to a workshop, we’re looking for that too. Activities for both kids and adults are welcome. Get in touch with us and we will work out all the details, such as the supplies you’ll need, your availability, and if you would also like a booth at a discounted fee in order to sell your wares. 

Depending on the level of interest among our artists, we would like to have about three demos, and about two or three workshops. We will also have volunteers to assist you. This is a new idea that we want to expand upon, so even if you’re not up for it this time, please consider it for future events. 

Once we’ve got a schedule in place, we are planning to heavily promote this aspect of the fair. We will have programs listing all the artists, with a special section devoted to our demonstrators/teachers. This is your chance to reach out to the community and get to know people who may never have seen your art. We want to take the concept of an art market and evolve it into a daylong celebration of our creative community. Our goal goes beyond bringing in potential customers (though of course, that’s great too). We want to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to be creative and enjoy what art in Athens has to offer.

Please join us in this new endeavor! 

See our Facebook page for more info.   https://www.facebook.com/events/274176059361882/

Hey! We are on Twitter again!

We have over 1200 followers on our Craftstravaganzaa Twitter account, and i really enjoyed the conversation i found there.  So I'd love you guys to follow us on our NEW Twitter account - https://twitter.com/indiesouthfair

Hello there...

Indie South Fair began in 2007 as the Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa to give a forum for modern artisans to fill the increasing demand for locally-produced, handmade goods. The event quickly evolved to include musical performances, DJs, food carts, workshops, kids' crafting and a vintage market. We made some changes to the look and the name to reflect changes in our festival as we expand our scope to provide more opportunities for creative participation and inspiration.  Through these hands-on aspects we are building and growing the vibrant arts community Athens already enjoys, connecting artists, participants and patrons from around the Southeast and occasionally beyond.  We are honored to be part of the modern craft movement that continues to grow each year online and through gatherings like ours.