How jewelers can use social media safely

With careful consideration about the information shared in posts, jewelers can utilize social media channels effectively without making their store a target for criminals.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

New York--On Monday, Jewelers Mutual’s loss prevention team hosted “Social Media: Opportunities and Perils for Jewelers,” a webinar designed to teach jewelers how to use social media to their advantage without making their store a target for criminals.

The company invited two leading social media experts to offer lessons in promoting jewelry businesses online--Shane O’Neill, vice president of Fruchtman Marketing, and Daniel Gordon, a fourth-generation jeweler and the social media planner for the Diamond Cellar in Ohio.

Since it can’t be expected that jewelers have a presence in all social media outlets, O’Neill said that jewelers should consider a few factors when deciding which to use, keeping the store’s security top of mind.

These factors include: how much time the company will need to dedicate to maintain the networks; what the business hopes to get out of their usage and the strategy to achieve that; and if the user base is both big enough and a valid consumer group for the store.

When it comes to posting, “security shouldn’t be an afterthought,” O’Neill said. It’s important for the business to know who’s posting and what they are posting to ensure content is not only in line with the brand’s messaging but also that nothing is putting the store at risk.

It should never be mentioned when employees are out of town.

When considering posting special events at the store, think of it in terms of traditional advertising--if you’d put it in a newspaper ad, it’s probably safe to post online, especially a public event for which the store wants to drive traffic. For private events, however, do not release details to the general public on social media to protect both the store and clients.

It’s also a good idea to keep track of who has access to the networks to ensure past employees or others who might not need to be involved any longer still don’t have the ability to post. Only trustworthy people should be in charge of social media channels.

When complaints are made about the business via social media, O’Neill said it’s important to address them, and to do so in a “non-combative way,” offering insights into what the problem was and how the business will work to make it right.

The following is what the two experts had to say in more detail about four of the top social media channels, Facebook,

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Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, and how to use them safely.

Facebook
Facebook should be one of the top networks for jewelers, O’Neill said, as it provides some of the largest opportunities out there for retailers to reach customers.

Content and posts can target the masses accordingly, with messages posted around important sales times, like the holiday season, targeting sales directly and those posted other times instead focusing on establishing relationships with clients and followers so that the business remains top-of-mind.

Gordon added that he uses the network to brand himself, and showcases his positive reviews as a “non-sales-y way to show trust.”

When it comes to deciding what to post and what not to post, Gordon advised thinking about it as if it was a networking event or an interaction with a customer in the store--if it’s something that could be said in public then it’s probably safe for social media.

Additionally, steer clear of politics, religion, and anything else controversial. As Gordon recalled these wise words from a friend, “The only mind you’re going to change of someone online is their opinion of you, only you won’t know it.”

Instagram
As one of the most widely used social networks today and a major opportunity to share photos, Instagram presents a lot of opportunity for retail jewelers.

“It bodes well for our industry because it’s so visual,” Gordon said.

As an inherently young platform, with most users between the ages of 18 and 29, Instagram can be a great place to target the bridal customer. Instagram posts can be used to start conversations that will engage existing customers as well as bring in new customers and clients.

Hashtags, in which keywords are followed by the pound sign--as in #bridaljewelry--can make categories searchable to users who want to find certain products or categories.

When it comes to posting pictures of product, Gordon stressed providing enough information to pique the interest of followers without giving anything away that could put the store or employees in danger from criminals, such as location.

Additionally, if products are posted and consumers or followers show interest in them and begin asking questions, provide them the privacy of taking the conversation offline to mitigate risk for them as well. Give them an email address or other way to reach someone at the store to continue the discussion. It might also be a good idea to remove a post once an item is sold.

Pinterest
O’Neill said that Pinterest is one of the top social media networks that Fruchtman uses with its clients. Since most of a brand’s growth from Pinterest comes organically because of actions such as re-pins, likes and comments, it provides an opportunity for businesses to get involved in photo and product sharing without having to spend too much time on building up the brand’s presence.

And since 70 percent of the network’s users are females who are pinning products that they like, it provides a great opportunity to target the female self-purchaser.

One of the benefits of Pinterest, Gordon said, is the segmentation--a user can make multiple boards to cover separate categories, and followers can pick and choose which boards they would like to follow. This is an advantage that Pinterest has over many of the major networks. Additionally, the link-back feature can drive sales and consumers straight back to a jeweler’s website.

Twitter
Twitter really provides the opportunity to build relationships with clients with its direct interactions and short, to-the-point messages. Used correctly, it provides a great way to build a following and give clients direct access to a business or brand.

And with hashtags and keywords also extremely important on Twitter, categories and trends also provide the opportunity for users to search exactly what they’re looking for and for businesses to have a way to put themselves in front of the right audience.

Users easily can be blocked and accounts made private if a store worries about attracting the wrong type of follower, and direct messaging provides for the opportunity for a more private (albeit still 140 characters short) conversation between the retailer and customer.

Jewelers Mutual will host its social media safety webinar again on Friday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. Central Time. The company also will post a taping of one of the sessions on its website following the conclusion of the second webinar.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.