ABOUT PAGES ARE more important than ever in helping potential clients and customers trust that you are real, learn what you are about, and get a sense of your durability, trustworthiness and desirability as a supplier or partner.
Shane O’Neill, vice-president of Fruchtman Marketing, says an effective About page can also ease the intimidation factor that jewelry stores have been known to trigger. “If people can start to get an idea of the staff in the store in terms of their experience as well as other ‘personalized’ info, it enables the store to build relationships with its customers,” he says.
The ideal About page includes information about why you exist (your mission), your history, your team, and perhaps most importantly, your values and ethics. Links to employment opportunities should also be on the About page, as job-seekers and the merely job-curious generally go to the About page to learn more about the company. The important thing is to create a page that helps make an emotional connection between the company and the visitor, says consultant Andrea Hill.
Whether or not showing team pictures is a privacy issue is somewhat unique to the jewelry industry, Hill says. “In general, sharing who your employees are, or at least who the customer-facing employees are, is not a big concern,” she says. “As long as the employees consent, it’s a great way to show the face of the company through its actual faces. In the jewelry industry, there is reasonable concern that someone could use that information as one element in building a dossier on potential targets.”
If a business owner is uncomfortable showing pictures and full names of employees, Hill suggests having illustrations drawn representing each customer-facing employee and sharing just first names. Another option would be to include a fun group photo at the business or at a group outing but not attach names to the picture.
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L. Priori Jewelry
L. Priori’s Our Story page explains the founding of the business, as well as a Meet the Team page. In addition to a team photo, individual photos and bios of the team are displayed as well. Owner Lauren Priori says the website is constantly updated to keep pace with ecommerce trends. She recently added the Unbridaled app to sell diamonds directly from the website and has been pleasantly surprised by how well it’s going so far. The appointment-only retailer is based in Philadelphia.
Water Street Jewelers
The goal of Water Street Jewelers’ latest website is to elevate the company’s online presence and create an easy-tonavigate shopping site complete with a blog and interactive features. “We feel that the site reflects the energy of our store and branding,” says owner Daniela Balzano, “and I especially love the Our Story page because it shares pictures of our loved staff members and allows the viewer to get to know them. It was important that we maintain the same level of connection that we have in-store on our new site.” Water Street Jewelers is based in Guilford, CT.
Greenwich St. Jewelers
Greenwich St. in New York City launched its first website in 2006. Today, its About Us page includes the history of the family business, a timeline and photos of their new store in Tribeca. Throughout the pandemic, they focused on enhancing virtual offerings to serve clients through Live Chat conversations. As a result, they received more than 100 five-star Google reviews while at the same time experiencing an increase in clients designing custom engagement rings and source diamonds on the virtual Create Your Ring web tool without ever stepping in the store.
Marcilla Bailey Jewelry
Marcilla Bailey created the Marcilla Bailey Jewelry brand, an o shoot of North-Carolina-based Bailey’s Fine Jewelry, developing both a shoppable website and a Los Angeles-based showroom to launch it. The Marcilla Bailey Story page outlines her background and credentials while also linking to jewelry collections she has curated for the site, making the transition from information to shopping seamless. She has focused on fashionable pieces that she not only would wear, but that she is wearing herself, to help clients build their own jewelry wardrobes. “It’s jewelry that I truly love and want to share,” she says, “whatever I wake up in the morning and feel excited about.”
Von Bargen’s Jewelry
The management team at Von Bargen’s Jewelry in Burlington, VT, wanted a visual representation of the team’s personalities and interests, says manager Ali Dumont. Each sta member has space to include a photo collage of themselves, family members and their interests. “We’ve loved the use of photography on our team page,” Dumont says. “This page gives our team an opportunity to express their unique individual qualities and share special moments in their lives through photographs.” There’s also a mission statement: “Von Bargen’s Jewelry enhances, through the thoughtful and reflective practice of our business, the lives of our employees and clients, and the communities and world in which we live.”
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Moonrise Jewelry
Twelve years ago, Moonrise Jewelry’s owner Meredith Lusk read a bit of advice in a business book that resonated with her: “Good things happen when you focus your brand.” She began to focus on the most unique aspect of her business: her signature line of exotic fish leather jewelry. Now her website is the top Google search result for “fish leather jewelry.” “It is the hook that draws visitors to our store and our website, where they can see more of what we have to o er,” she says. Her “Our Story” page includes a video explaining the experience of visiting Moonrise Jewelry in Cape Charles, VA.
Tapper’s Jewelry
Tapper’s Jewelry, which has four locations in Michigan, launched a new website in 2022 to align the company’s digital and in-store experiences. The Our Story page focuses on its family ownership, history and identity as a company, with examples of how they’ve made a di erence in the community, referencing a food drive, a coat drive and support for Ukrainian relief e orts. The website was built with the goal of facilitating communication while being user friendly, and includes features such as chat, appointment setting, repair tracking, and more.
Occasions Fine Jewelry
For Occasions Fine Jewelry owner Mike Fleck, the website is an opportunity to let the team’s fun, unique personalities shine through, which means everyone’s welcome to express themselves. “My sta are hands down the coolest people in Midland, Texas,” says Fleck. “There isn’t an age, nationality or demographic that isn’t represented here. We allow tattoos, piercings and a relaxed dress code so they are comfortable where they work.” This freedom of self-expression means customers are comfortable, too. “Because no matter how you are dressed or what you spend, you deserve to express yourself and let your personality shine through your jewelry.”