How Independent Businesses can use Marketplaces to reach more people

Hi, Jane. I'm pretty excited to talk about how independent businesses can make the most of their listing on any marketplace. Jane is the E Commerce manager from Nearto, which is the new marketplace for independent retailers. That buyer. Jane, great to have you with us today.

Morning, Polly, how are you doing?

I'm well. Jane, do you want to start by giving us a little bit of background on Nearto? And then we could go on to look at how independent businesses can make the most of their listings on any marketplaces?

Nearto is the new independent marketplace created by byra, who are the British Independent Retailers Association. And the idea is to give small independent businesses the same tools that the larger portals offer, but with some little tweaks and little tips and ease of use for small independent businesses.

Brilliant. So, Jane, what we've got lined up for us is a number of your independent retailers already listed on Near To. So, without further ado, should we start walking through this? But I think what's really key is that what we're talking about here is these are their listings on Near To. But the principles we're applying would apply whether it's listing on your own website or whether you're listing on other marketplaces like Amazon, like ebay. The same principles apply, correct?

Yeah. I think this is just an idea of sort of best practice and little tricks and tricks to make your listings sort of fun, approachable and also usable so that you can leverage your same content on social media as well without having to run around your shop photographing everything. Again, you can use what you already have.

Brilliant. So this is from Papyrus. Just shout out what they're doing really well and what they possibly could improve.

Papyrus is an excellent independent cook shop and giftware in Glasgow and they've got some really beautiful products, but what they do is they give a mixture of actual sort of white background item shots, but then they also upload a few lifestyle images, so. So that you can see how it's going to look in real life, how the sizes and sort of. Just that general sort of feeling of the product, rather than just a white background shot. This also means that they can use the same photograph to post on their social media for a bit more of a lifestyle, because of course, on social media it doesn't really work very well if you've just got a small product sitting on a white background, because nobody really guesses what it is, because on the social media channels the sort of image is key and then people go to read the text to find out more if something stopped them and called their Name.

That's a really good point, Jane. So here you can see the difference between this is Pathyrus Instagram versus their listing. So the listing pages really show you what the product is because that's where you're buying mode. But here, this is much more, this is how the product can make your life better, isn't it?

Yeah. How you'd use it, how, how people would use it in general, or new ideas to sort of look at it in a different way as well. Because not everybody sees the same product and has the same idea of it. I mean I never would have seen those black cups and thought Halloween, it's.

Great image, isn't it? And they've. Yeah, they've done. And they're also on Instagram doing a great job of using hashtags and bringing their products to life, aren't they?

Yeah, yeah, because you can just put in the most basic hashtags, but people will never find it. But if you think about how people are going to be using and exploring your product, the hashtags really help. If you want to get that particular look or that aesthetic, you can use those hashtags to make it findable so people can find like minded things as well.

I always think of hashtags like signposts, which is, I mean this is an interesting one, isn't it? You've got recipe books, that's the sort of top level direction. But then you've got Mexican cuisine, Mexican dishes, so you're sort of funneling it down that route. Yeah, lots of businesses really, really, really get excited and think, well, we won't get this exciting scale. But you can then go, well, can I, can I lead the conversation in Mexican dishes? And that's the value of getting down, going down to the smaller hashtags as well, because you can. Then there are 11,000 people who are posting about it. But can you be top of the pile? Because that gets you to reach a whole other audience, which is really exciting.

Yeah, I think that's a point as well because people, consumers at the end of the day do follow hashtags, but you're not going to follow a huge hashtag like cookery books because you'd just be inundated with sort of stuff all day long. But if you're really into Mexican cuisine, you're more likely to actually follow that hashtag and be served something that, that's really relevant to you. And then if you find some, a beautiful listing turning up in your hashtag, you're more likely to interact with it, aren't you?

Absolutely. It puts you in the room, doesn't it? And I think it's very easy for independent businesses to forget how valuable those details can be. So I think sort of a great shout out for Paparis. Doing a great job both with their listing and with their Instagram activity. So moving on to these guys, Jane, talk me through these guys. I'm not trying to Saba.

I think they're Saba London and they do beautiful candles, really interesting name scents and really evocative. And quite interestingly, their packaging is all biodegradable. Even though it's beautiful and fancy, it actually comes with a packet of seeds. You can use the box to compost and become seeds and grow your own flowers and herbs, which I thought was quite a cute idea.

I want to do scratch and sniff here. It feels like you should be able to smell it.

They do really well because their descriptions are so evocative. Things like their sort of Notting Hill tea party, the way they describe it, or their walk in Manhattan, you can sort of. I think it tells a pretty story. So you can hopefully imagine what the scent is like, which is quite nice. And on near to they use some very simple but beautiful product shops. But for their Instagram, they use a lot more lifestyle images with their sort of products popped into them, which is lovely. So it's a way of sort of deciding that even if you don't have the budget to do a photo shoot for each of your items in a beautiful location, you can use more lifestyle images and maybe you sort of hint at your product or pop it in there as well.

That's interesting, Jane. So what you're saying is you could take an image like this one with the oranges and the books and actually put your product into it, not have to run the photo shoot?

Yes. Yeah, you can do that quick, cleverly. Nowadays programs like Canva have free stock images that you can use. And as a small business owner, you can either join them for, I think it's something like £100 a year, or you can actually use their free stock and just have a play with it, rather than having to invest in money using a photo designer to do it or photo shoot to begin with. You can start off small.

Again, great engagement on this feed. And it looks really smart, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's a sort of. They've thought about it and they've made the most of a small niche brand. And it's really slick and really nicely done. Really lovely.

I'm gonna have a little sneak look at Their stories as well.

It does make me want all of their candles, I have to say, the second I look at the descriptions, I think I need that in my life. I want to be Coco. Coco Cabana beach at midnight, you know.

Well, it definitely makes you want to, you feel, you know how the product's gonna make you feel, doesn't it? It's a really nice. Yeah, nice vibe they've created here. And I think the, the, the, the move from the website where you've got such strong product pictures to them, them showing them how you. How what the product does for you. Nice. Really, really clever. And I think, Jane, to be fair, some of these pictures are original, but I think a large number of them, they've been quite clever with the way they've placed their image in existing photography, which is a massive cost saver if you're an independent business because, you know, photo shoots can be expensive. But don't think you can't shoot this stuff on your iPhone either, because you can. But, you know, be creative because this is really clever product placement.

Yeah, I think it's more about creativity than splashing the cash. I think for small independence, there's lots of tips and trick you can find in various places and resources like TikTok and Canva come up with some brilliant ideas that you can repurpose for yourself or a lovely way to sort of stake your own lightbox within your shop, or just beautiful ways of sort of setting up little lifestyle images. And really it only costs you time rather than finance.

And what's interesting here is they're using all their posts of stories as well. And I think stories are miss many people. People miss out the fact that a lot of people only scroll horizontally through their feed. Not horizontally. That's right, yeah. Not horizontally, not vertically. So a lot of people use stories to navigate Instagram. So when you do a post, make sure you do the story around it, which could be the before, during and after, because that will drive people to post and it's what makes you pop on the feed. As with reels. Reels, you'll get disproportionate amount of views by creating video over static posts. I can smell that, can't you, Jo?

That's so enticing, aren't they?

It's just, you know, really good. Yeah, they're good. Shout out. Well done, Saba.

Yeah.

And then Finale Shoes is another one. There's another guys that say listing really, really well and they're really clear what their product is. You understand what it looks like. Talk me through this one, Jen.

They're a lovely company. They're a mother and daughter brand with an independent shoe shop in Coorbridge in Northumberland. And they really get it. They're really fun. They have a great collection of sort of shoes and handbags and gifts in the centre of a really beautiful little town. But not only do they have a great website and list on near to, they really embrace the social media with sort of insights into how their day is going, what fun things are happening in the shop, you know, if there's sweets in the shop that day or you know who's having a great day or what even the weather's like. Just really engaging with their customers and enjoying the place that they live and working with the brands around them and creating a beautiful little community in their village, I think, is one of the key things they've done.

It's really nice. It makes me want to go visit. You kind of get what. You understand what you're going to get when you go there, don't you?

Yeah, yeah, they're fun. I mean, you think a shoe shop would be serious, but they're just cracking characters and, you know, you can tell that they love what they're doing and I think that's the important thing.

Yeah. And again, the story. Stories are doing a great job of showcase of getting people's attention.

Yeah.

Love those, love those. And worth pointing out that these actually, these stories were before Instagram lets you link to product and now you can all of these have a link straight to product, which is one of the big values of the story. You can't do that on a post, but on these stories you can add a link. So someone could go straight to that product and buy it and that could be on Neto or it could be on your website. You choose where that link goes. Right?

Yeah. Stories have become so much stronger in the last couple of months because before it was sort of an afterthought or something, you didn't really want to be evergreen content on your feed, but now with the links going straight through to the item, or a link to a shop or a link to a ticket sale or sort of anything you're doing, they instantly become a lot stronger. And, you know, there's a lot more fun things you can do with them with little animations. And I know that it started to roll out sort of story templates as well, so you can collect some and create some really sort of slick content on stories now.

Really good. Next up, Jane. So great job. Finally. Shoes. Well done. Keep up The. Great work. Love those too.

They have some beautiful stock. It's worth a trip to either the website or to Corbridge for a nice little shopping day out.

Boley and Jackson, talk me through these guys. These. These also look very Moorish. Look at those. Look at those handles.

Dangerous. Such a dangerous, dangerous shop. Because you think, I don't need any more homeware. And then suddenly you're changing all the hardware on every single door in the house and hanging beautiful hooks everywhere. Fantastic fabrics as well. Just really beautiful homeware for sort of any. Any style in particular. Actually, they do a bit of everything. And again, they've got some really simple product shots of exactly what this hardware is going to be with all the details of it. But then also on their products and on their Instagram, they have some beautiful lifestyle images. So you can imagine them in your home or a complete transformation to your home, or, you know, just, I want to live like that. So they're fantastic for those sort of bits and pieces.

I am. Funny story here, slight, slight aside, but the. The reason I started maybe was all down to doorknobs, so there you go. But, yeah, what I love here is you've got. You've given the actual dimensions of everything. You know exactly what it is. It's really clear. Really good. Really good. So if we jump here from here to their Instagram and now it's sort of sitting context. That's great, isn't it?

Yeah, you can see them in the shop. You can see the shop, see who they are, but also gives you some beautiful ideas for eclectic items you never thought you needed. Like, I really need that zebra head now by wall.

You can't be canvas without it, can you? I love those lamps.

No, I can't. And those parrot lamps. I mean, I don't have a house like that, but I want a house like that. And finding these small niche companies is. Think what near to you is sort of about. Because, I mean, I wouldn't start. I wouldn't know where to start Googling to find a zebra head near me. Or even the beehive, those beautiful beehive door handles, you're not going to find those at B and Q. So it's nice to find these places near you or that can ship to near you to actually start your journey down these sort of niche brands.

Really lovely, isn't it? Yeah, really lovely.

And again, they're another company sort of sharing their community and sharing what they're about and where they are is, I think, really nice.

And again, you know, great Use of hashtags, both on their posts but also in their description. So their description, you know, I think this isn't about hashtags, it's about giving. This is the point of sale. They're telling me what it is, how big it is, and I've trusted them because of the Instagram content. Makes me understand all of their things are beautiful. I know that what I'm going to get is quality. And they're using really good hashtags to signpost to the right places. Just. Yeah, just really, really good content. Really good.

They're lovely sellers. They're sort of really nice people as well, which helps. I found that actually working with near to. There's just so many really lovely people out there making the most of their small independent businesses and really wanted to share the things they've made and the excitement they have in curating this collection of things.

So. These guys look amazing. Tell me all about Two Ducks. I'm itching to get my credit card out.

They're another one. I'm sorry, this webinar is going to cost you a fortune, Polly, because I mean, who doesn't need some beautiful hand drawn birthday cards or the most fabulous paellier pan you're ever going to find. Again, Two Ducks are another phenomenal little brand. Their store does everything from eco conscious gifts to beautiful clothes to, I mean, you spend a fortune the second you even look on their site, it's just gorgeous. And what they do very cleverly is they use a mixture of sort of images of straight product shots and lifestyle images and then those flow over to what they're doing on Instagram. And there's a real community feeling about their store as well, both online and actually within the bricks and mortar of the store.

But again, really good descriptions here, good descriptions, good image.

Yeah.

And then if I come across to their Instagram page, I, I get a feel for who they are. I trust them. Lovely mixture of reels, carousel posts. Yeah, just great content. I know I'm gonna. I know I'm gonna buy a product that's gonna make me smile.

Yeah. Their Instagram is interesting because it's not really actually about the stock. Their Instagram is more about who they are, what they're doing, how they're participating in the community with a few products on the side because they realize that if you like them as people, you're more likely to go to their shop or go to their shop online. And you then have the inherent trust that, you know, these are nice people. They're not going to Sell you rubbish. They're going to send you something that you're really going to enjoy or a special gift for somebody you love, which is really nice. There's the love and care, I think, implicit in their Instagram and in their shop, which is great.

And this is show. And this is painting a bigger picture, isn't it? Which is how it's, you know, this is about even getting darker. So they've put the product in context and showing you what to do with it. Really, really nice, isn't it?

Yeah, it just gives you that little bit of inspiration because you think, well, one dome was nice, but actually, no, I quite like a collection of them. All those beautiful little Christmas tree lights and it just gives you the little inspiration how it could look in your own home. And just that lovely feeling, you know, it does give you that sort of feeling of higgy of wanting to sort of light up all your candles. Or this next image of maybe do a bit of a spring clean and then reward yourself with a nice bit of tea and cake is quite a nice idea too.

So they're serving their listing on the marketplace means their content's available to lots of people. But the way that they're actually serving the customer through Instagram, aren't they? When you go and check them out, you go, I like these people, I want to buy from them. Because you feel safe.

Instagram really represents who they are as bricks and mortar, whereas their marketplace listing shows what they have as stock. So it's almost two things, but connected in a really nice way. It gives you that sort of trust flow as well, that what you're getting from Instagram is going to be what arrives in the post.

Really nice, isn't it? So, James, all of these brands, huge shout out. I think you're doing a great job. If I want to list my products on near two, do I? Can I. If I've got an existing Shopify shop, can I just import them and make my life really simple? And if I haven't started, what do I do?

Jane, it's really easy to get started on near two. You can, as Polly said, sort of just connect your Shopify Account or your WooCommerce account. And all the time we're building all sorts of new feeds as well to accept different data platforms. You can even do something as simple as adding an Excel spreadsheet with your stock on it and just pop it all up onto the site today. If you're more of a hardware person and you're using things like stacks or any of the buyer, direct sellers, you can actually use our image library and just pop your things up there and use all the imagery that's already been created for you. So it's really simple to get going. And even if you did nothing else, I would say to your sellers to create a profile on Nearto and so people can find you in the local area, you'll get a near to pin, so they'll be able to get directions to walk to your shop or even just to find you and pop down and see you. So, you know, even if you do nothing else, just join up, get your pin and be found in your local area.

Really great, really great initiative, Jane, to be able to provide a way to shop independent in any town across the uk. Hats off to you. Delighted to be working with you and thank you. Thank you for that. I think it's really, really good. Sort of, you know, shout out to the fact that it's. It's about being able to show people your product on a marketplace and then make sure that if somebody then goes and checks you out, we shouldn't do that. If they go and look at your social feeds. And we have focused on Instagram because actually that is the shop window. I think more and more and more that you need to make sure that as a retailer, your Instagram shows a customer how to use your product. It puts it in context and makes you want more. Let me smell the candle. Let me understand how I can use your product, so to speak, because that's what brings it to life and that's what adds value, isn't it?

Yeah. It also gives a lovely glow as well. After purchase, if somebody sees something they've bought already being used in a fun way or being part of that club and that they got it right and they've made the right choice and bought the fun item. You know, it. It does give a little bit of extra glow as well for that. So I think it's important to keep utilizing stock that maybe you've had before or you've sold out, but just say how popular it was as well. Is also a fun way using it too.

Absolutely. Actually, funny enough, we had. We had. We were filming a restaurant the other day who said that they sometimes get caught out because they put food that's sold out and people come in and it's sold out and people cross. They said, actually it's really good because it means when you put it up, people come straight in. And I think, you know, that fear of missing out is something that's so valuable.

Yeah.

To Put something up, even if it was non stop and people come in and it's not there because actually next time you put it up there, they're double time. Yeah, amazing. Thank you so much. Love what Lyota are doing and thank you for the tips for independent businesses wanting to sell via marketplace places. If you're not yet list on near two, please go and check it out. And Jane, without wishing to be too tacky and commercial, am I right in saying is near to charges less commission than any other marketplace in the UK today?

Yes, we do, Polly, it's great. The feeling behind near two is that Biro really wanted to just give something back. We found that our members were sort of struggling a bit with all the fees of all the other places and the fear of starting sell online. So near two was born out of an idea of not just helping people sell online, but people also to leverage their brand and so they can put that toe in the foot water for social media and it's not going to cost them a fortune.

Brilliant. And we're working with Byra and Near2 to ensure that everybody that signs up to near to as fully supported social media tools. So we're here to help you as well. If you're watching this in the maybe platform, there's a blue button down bottom right, so you've got any questions right now, please do ask them. And if you want any tips and tricks on how to do your social media, you'll get served by another video. The media. The media, you ask it immediately. As you ask it, there's a team of people ready to answer your questions. Jane, thank you very much and we'll see you very soon.

Thank you very much, Polly.