How do you promote your social media accounts and grow your following?

[Sergio Escudero]

I have a Facebook page with 99 followers and an Instagram account with 19. I started recently and haven't had much to post, as I only have a small wooden box made and am currently making slow progress on my workbench, acquiring and restoring tools, and posting about this, but I'm barely growing and there doesn't seem to be much interest.

I have another Facebook page where I make archaeological reproductions of Roman shields. It was easier to grow there because I could share my posts in groups of reenactors or people interested in history, however, the Facebook groups on carpentry that I am a member of are not very keen on allowing people to share posts from their personal pages.

Maybe it's because I don't have attractive content or I don't post very often, and there are people who are much more capable than me. I would like to know what you think.

[Von]

I'm not a content creator, but I do consume a fair amount and listen to the woes of those that do. What I've discerned is that you can't just share your content and hope it catches on. Content creation is a whole vocation onto itself - planning, professional lighting, good videography/photography, discerned what will be of interested, promotion, etc. And it involves many trade-offs with doing the actual work: I hear estimates of it taking 4-5x longer to do something and then share it well versus just doing it (I mean in a professional manner, as opposed to a few photos and some poorly written text such as I do).

Woodworkers are very common in the content world and you will have a hard time getting an audience with all the competition, and then even if you do, it will be small. The field is just too niche and crowded.

Your shield making seems very interesting and I could see it having broader appeal or at least less competition (I assume, I've never looked into the area). Most people watching seem to be watching not it to learn how to do something, are watching to be entertained and it seems novel.

A moderator should chime in with an authoritative opinion on you sharing links to your social media feeds, but based on what I've seen if you do it reasonably (don't spam us) and with relevancy, it doesn't seem to produce any friction here.

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

In the video below, the host apparently accessed a podcast called Making It to help build his sizeable SM business. I haven't seen it, but maybe it'll give you some ideas. 

 

[wtnhighlander]

Having made a feeble attempt at building a social media 'side hustle', I agree with the comments above. I gave it up as not feasible, and pretty much erased my 'digital existence'. One thing I can point out that is true for EVERY succesful woodworking / 'maker' content creator I follow: They ALL have (or had at first) a viable family income outside of their content business. Either a working spouse who's income could support them, or a primary business that supported them and allowed the time needed to grow the social media stuff. The social media thing is indeed a full-time job of its own. Most of the channels I follow are now multi-employee affairs (behind the scenes), not one guy in his garage.

Don't be discouraged, but do prepare to work for it!

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 9/3/2025 at 7:54 PM, wtnhighlander said:

Having made a feeble attempt at building a social media 'side hustle', I agree with the comments above. I gave it up as not feasible, and pretty much erased my 'digital existence'.

@wtnhighlander Is there anything left of your stuff on YouTube i could check out?

[Beechwood Chip]

My sense is that the successful YouTubers who do woodworking videos are not woodworkers who do videos, but video creators who make videos about woodworking.  They spend more time writing scripts and editing the videos than woodworking.  They buy professional quality cameras, tripods, microphones, and lighting equipment, and set up their shops as filming studios.  They spend as much time learning about video creation and marketing as they do learning about woodworking. 

[wtnhighlander]

9 hours ago, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

@wtnhighlander Is there anything left of your stuff on YouTube i could check out?

Sorry, no. There was never much of any value, to begin with. 

[Geanexrry]

Posting steady progress shots helped me a lot, even if it was just a small tool restore or a glue-up. I also like using find social media accounts by photo service to make sure no one’s lifting my pics or pretending to be me, which keeps my pages clean. Reels of simple steps, like planing or dovetailing, pull in way more views than finished-project photos.