Columns

Six Social Media Tips From the Centurion Show

When you’re at a jewelry show, take pictures of jewelry you think particular customers will like and text the picture to them.

Published

12 years ago

February 13, 2012

Trace Shelton

EACH YEAR, the Centurion Show does a great job of bringing in the very best experts and retailers to speak.

This year was no different, and the highlight for me was Randi Zuckerberg of R to Z Media (formerly of Facebook) as moderator of a panel of social media savvy retailers, Daniel Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers (Oklahoma City, OK), Colleen Rafferty of Christensen & Rafferty Fine Jewelry (San Francisco, CA), and Kimberly Adams Russell of Frank Adams Jewelers (Albany, NY).

Here were a few social media-related tips I picked up during the session:

Designate someone on your staff to be your “community manager” and manage your social media presence full-time, says Zuckerberg. It’s too important to it to be a hit-and-miss effort that you attend to “when you have the time.”
Consider how tech savvy potential employees are before you hire them, advises Daniel Gordon. A tech or social media savvy employee is more likely to connect with customers more often (through texting or social media) than someone who isn’t.
Use “Hangout” on Google+ to invite customers to watch/comment on red carpet events together, says Zuckerberg. It’s more personal and more exciting (since it’s “real time”) than just writing a blog after the fact, and it’s also more interactive.
Post red carpet photos and information daily on Facebook, always calling attention to brands and trends in the photos that are carried in your store, says Rafferty.
When you’re at a jewelry show, take pictures of jewelry you think particular customers will like and text the picture to them, says Gordon. They may very well agree to buy it on the spot, and they’ll be impressed a) that you’re at an industry show looking at the newest jewelry, and b) that you were thinking of them.
Run your Facebook promotions through third-party apps like Wildfire or North Social to be sure you’re in legal compliance, says Gordon. There are laws against running certain types of contests or giveaways on Facebook, but these third-party apps will walk you through how to do it legally.

Related Topics: social media Trace Shelton

Trace Shelton

Trace Shelton is the editor-in-chief of INSTORE magazine. He can be reached at trace@smartworkmedia.com.

click to Comment(Comment)

Up Next

Guest Blog: Business, Personal Views Don’t Mix

Don't Miss

A Facebook Promo For Jewelers

She Wanted to Spend More Time with Her Kids. She Called Wilkerson.

Your children are precious. More precious than gold? Absolutely! Just ask Lesley Ann Davis, owner of Lesley Ann Jewels, an independent jewelry store that — until the end of 2023 — had quite a following in Houston, Texas. To spend more time with her four sons, all in high school, she decided to close her store. Luckily, she was familiar with Wilkerson and called them as soon as she knew she wanted to move on to bigger, better and more family-focused things. Was she happy with her decision? Yes, she was. Says Davis, “Any owner looking to make that life change, looking to retire, looking to close, looking for a pause in their career, I would recommend Wilkerson. Hands down!”