You may ask yourself does Social Networking in the jewelry industry work? To answer the question quickly, yes it does. If it didn't, why is everyone doing it? My advertising budget at Diamondscape.com isn't huge, but I would rather spend my ad dollars in this media than put it in newspapers or television by a long shot. As for newspaper, I would have better results throwing those ad dollars off my roof into the street than putting them in the paper better made for a doggy pad, duck cage or packing material for a moving company.
Now to the expanded answer...I have been trying to read a "Facebook", Twitter this and Tweet that, feel up MySpace with constructive things rather than junk, and on top of that, not Digg myself into a mental hole in the computer world that goes nowhere, or Wordpress my head into my rear end so far I can't get it out. Social Networking and Social Media is the way of what 10 years ago was called the future. Folks, we are here and you better get on board the fast train if you are not there yet.
I have spent countless hours listening and watching YouTube videos to help me figure this all out. I read industry magazines with a hope to get my site one page rank higher or one page better in the search engine results. With new algorithyms every week from search engines like Google and Yahoo, and the addition of the new sites like Bing, you may ask yourself how do I keep up. The answer can be simple or can be very complex.
For some, continue exactly what you have been doing! For others it means hire an SEO expert to lead your way. For me it means educate myself and get Socially Networked.
The jewelry industry is extremely competitive and you have to think outside the box to get your business to the next level. I am impressed by the work Samuelson's Diamonds is doing with the Social Media Marketing. If I were to guess, it has relaunched there age old business into something exciting and new. I think I have to learn from what a select few Mom and Pop shops around are doing and try to get ahead of the curve. I have to StumbleUpon some new ideas and fresh ways to lead our dying breed into the years to come. Read the news people, brick and mortar stores of every shape and size are closing there doors every day and I don't want to become that statistic.
I will give you a few ideas that may help you get your jewelry store to the next level.
1. Go to a search engine and type in Top Social Networking Sites
2. Join at least 3 of the top 5 (suggest Facebook, Twitter, MySpace)
3. Create a blog on your site. (I suggest Wordpress if you are experienced. You can also use Blogger or another online service for an easier to use template based program, but you won't get as much direct "link juice" to your main site.)
4. Link number 2 and 3 together and link them to your site.
5. Create unique content to post on them.
6. Take the RSS feed from your blog and use it to tie into your social network accounts. Use Ping.FM or FriendFeed to make it easier. You can also just do a quick google search for each network to see how to cross link them.
7. Create blog postings on a regular basis. No more than 1 out of 5 posts should be "commercial" in nature... the rest should be interesting, personal or fun.
Social Networking is NOT about selling yourself or your products... Its about building rapport, staying visible and entertaining people. By writing blog posts about things that you like and find interesting, you will start to grow a network of "friends" that will feel some connection to you. Then, when you do post something related to your business (like a sale, new product, or reminder of a holiday), its seen and read as one of many interesting posts... and NOT another in a long line of commercials.
You are your greatest strength when it comes to social networking. Share your interests and your personality, and remember that people online give their attention to things that are interesting. |
