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Meet the Maker: Visibility vs Invisibility on Social Media

Freelance book designer, artist and maker Arati Devasher in conversation with researcher Dr Karen Patel on how to make social media work for your business


  • Craft business
  • Resources

How can you use social media as a business tool? Listen to freelance book designer, artist and maker in conversation with researcher Dr Karen Patel

We've summarised some of Arati Devasher's key recommendations for how to make the most of social media for your business

The importance of separating business vs personal content

Arati decided from an early stage that her Instagram is for business only. This decision led her to remove all personal content. However, with the introduction of Instagram Stories, she does occasionally post something more personal as Stories are non-permanent content.

Content posted on Instagram is then shared via automatic links to other social feeds, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Arati's three rules for how to post

  1. Prepare your product
  2. Good lighting
  3. Your own personal style

If your product is to be worn it is important to present a person wearing them. When posting photographs of worn product, crop the image to focus on the work not the person.

If I don’t show my work then I am not in a position to be able to sell


Arati Devasher

When and how often to post content

Experiment on when and how often you post on Instagram. If you give it a short break, does it make a difference to the level engagement from your audience?

Make sure you are happy to share the posts you create. All posts are permanent so make each post count. Be consistent and consider framing of image, captions and carefully selected hashtags.

Only post good quality images, do not compromise and always ensure your work looks well presented.

How to manage feedback

When dealing with negative feedback, growing a thick skin is recommended. People can be critical online and not accountable for their own actions.

If this unfortunately happens to you in response to your posts, first look at their profile. If they are not a bot (meaning a fake profile), you may try responding politely and with light humour at first. If they continue negative remarks, consider blocking them.

Advice for makers thinking of going online

  • Think about the why you are using online?
  • Do you need visibility to promote your work?
  • To connect with other makers?
  • To sell?

Decide what you want to do and focus your planning and content around this

  • Be genuine and consistent in your content; make them relevant to you. People follow you will follow the consistency.
  • Film gets more engagement. Don’t post poor images.
  • Interact with people who follow you. The engagement is more important and not the quantity of followers.
  • Reaching out to influencers – look to people that you resonate with and in keeping with your own aesthetic and business values.

I moved to social from Etsy because I felt Etsy took away my identity, my brand. It started by a friend buying one of my scarves on Etsy and associated her purchase with the Etsy brand rather than my brand.


Arati Devasher

Thoughts from Dr Karen Patel

  • Try and make social media platforms work for you and your practice
  • Be consistent and open in your engagement
  • Focus on what you want out of social media platforms.
  • Be social – engage with your audience and lead by good example.
  • Reaching out to influencers seems to have a better impact than paid for advertising on social media.

  • Dr Karen Patel

About our speakers

Dr Karen Patel is a Research Fellow at Birmingham City University. She leads the Craft Expertise project, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and is in collaboration with Crafts Council UK. The project is looking at diversity and expertise development in craft, and as part of it she is producer of the Maker Stories podcast series. She is also author of the book The Politics of Expertise in Cultural Labour: Arts, Work and Inequalities. Email contact: karen.patel@bcu.ac.uk

Arati Devasher is a London-based freelance book designer, artist and maker. Combining her Indian heritage with a modern aesthetic she uses vibrant colour as a constant theme throughout her silk accessories and art prints.
Design & Illustration: aratidevasher.com / @artysubu
Silk Accessories: www.aratidevasher.co.uk / @adevasher
Email contact: info@aratidevasher.com

Karen Patel's Maker Stories Podcasts


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