I.am.over.Facebook {pages, that is}. Can I just tell you how discouraging it is to post something and then sit and watch as no one comments. No one *likes*. And Facebook is so nice that they tell you how many people your post is “reaching”. I would almost rather they keep that to themselves!! Applique Cafe has more than 38,000 fans. That is a lot, don’t get me wrong. Howevah… 240 people may actually see a post. While that is a lot too, 240 out of 38,000 is nothing to get too excited over. So….. I have been contemplating an Applique Cafe GROUP for some time, and finally took the plunge last night.
My reservations….
Who needs another group to keep up with? Does anyone even care what I am posting about? Is Applique Cafe even relevant in the world of embroidery or applique anymore? How will I monitor a page AND a group, approve people, post stuff, etc.? I don’t want to overload or overwhelm anyone with Applique Cafe *stuff*……
Lots of questions I’ve been asking myself, but finally decided last night to just DO IT. People don’t HAVE to join. They can leave the group if I bore them to death. I can do it!!
Friends of Applique Cafe is now an official group, and I’ve been approving folks all day long which is exciting! 288 people in 18 hours isn’t too bad.
Please feel free to join us too! By the way, as I was debating and contemplating this last night, I looked up several synonyms for “friend” and “group”… family, crowd, gang, bunch, posse, network. I hope the new {GROUP} is all of these things. I am still keeping the Facebook Page, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Blog, etc. but hopefully with one more avenue to share stuff, I can reach more of my people.
A lot of applique website owners have “staff”. I have no staff other than Jeff and he’s not even on Facebook. Bear with me! Or is it bare with me….
Business pages are nice for disseminating information, but I think you will be much happier with a Facebook group, where anyone can post their applique projects or ask questions. My experience is that a Facebook page is primarily for the posts of the owner of that page, but groups are more of an open forum. I think you will get a much better response with a group. Just be careful to appoint people you trust to be admins, because you will have issues that need to be addressed.
Thank you! So far I am the only admin! You are right, pages are more for ME to post on but there isn’t as much interaction which I like with the group setting.
Its so ironic how minds think alike! I was just on a FB “private embroidery group” last night & we had a discussion about to open a group page or not. I thought the same thing you did- will anyone join? will I waste my time & be alone(that was my thought) etc…
Someone did mention she left her group where friends can add so she does not have to approve each and every invite. She does go thru every-so-often & check to make sure if all legitimate. That may help save you time???
Glad you did this- I enjoy your blog post.
I certainly understand your frustration. However, nearly every embroidery site I follow is or has opened a group. It’s just so much to keep up with anymore.
I’m probably on FB more than a lot of people, yet it’s still hard for me. I don’t know the solution, but it seems like groups would be more limiting.
Most pages that get seen a lot post things that are interactive like asking for opinions, some giveaways, and anything to get people to like or comment. I can pretty much say those are seen the most in my feed.
Good luck.
Agree with you, Rosemary. Happy to join your group. I can hardly keep up with all the groups but still, it’s a way to communicate, and that’s always a good thing. Love your designs and always love receiving your e-mails with helpful tips too.
I don’t have any face-book account, but I love your blog and website. I have it on my bookmarks and check it several times a week for updates. I have enjoyed the posts with tutorials the most and your method of using heat-n-bond lite on the back of appliques has really helped me in my embroidery adventure.
So, while I may not be a presence who is reaching you through face-book, your presence here on the web is invaluable to me. Just because you are not getting as much notice as you would like on face-book, does not mean that you are not reaching people and helping them and inspiring them!
I started machine embroidery back before we had official embroidery machines. I used my wonderful Elna Lotus from 1977 to do free-motion embroidery for years. I did applique on it too as it has a very precise satin stitch, and I have to say I got pretty darn good at free-motioning text, and following regular hand embroidery transfers. I was always embellishing my kids clothes with applique and embroidery back in the 1980s and 90s when they were small, but did it free motion style, or with shapes that I’d hand cut and carefully satin stitched around onto garments.
I won a Brother 1250d four years ago discovered the world of computerized embroidery and LOVE IT!!!!! Your site has been a wonderful resource for me both in designs for purchase and in educational tutorials about all kinds of aspects of machine embroidery and applique.
So, while you won’t see me on Face-book, your site is an important part of my machine embroidery/applique journey.
Thank you for the sweet comments!!!! It’s good to be reminded that people are reading!!
Thank you for commenting! It’s nice to be reminded that people are reading!!