Social networking is more than just fun, it’s a business tool that jewelers can use to increase sales, participants at a social networking panel said Friday morning.
Ron Samuelson, of Samuelson Diamonds in Baltimore, said he’s seen a big spike in traffic as a result of his presence on social networks. “The other day I had two customers come in that I knew from Twitter and nowhere else,” he said. “I believe it’s helped me very much.”
It certainly has been useful for getting publicity. Samuelson notes that he’s been written up in the Wall Street Journal and Baltimore magazine.
“Every single reporter is on Twitter,” he said. “Before, you needed a PR agency to get press. Now all you need to do is hit an ‘at reply’ and you can get the attention of a New York Times reporter.”
But jewelers shouldn’t look at the networks as simply a vehicle for increasing business. “It’s about fun, it’s about enjoying it,” said Daniel Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers in Oklahoma City. “It’s not about pushing out sales pitches. I don’t go to a cocktail party and talk about business 90 percent. You need to put hobbies and things that you do on there.”
Like at a cocktail party, he uses it as a way to meet new contacts. “My theory is to be as many places as I can, as often as I can, and to engage with as many people as I can,” he said.
Jacques Voorhees, founder of the Polygon trading network, agreed with the cocktail party analogy. “What’s your ROI on a cocktail party?” he asked. “Today a lot of companies are seeing these networks as a marketing opportunity. That’s a misunderstanding of what these sites are about. What part of social do you not understand?”
Jeff Corey, of Days Jewelers in Maine, said his company’s been using social media sites to attract a young demographic. “There are many people out there that will not set foot in a jewelry store,” he said. “They think we’re overpriced, they are worried that some pushy salespeople will force them to buy something. This communicates that we are real people, we are nice people, and we are professionals.”
He eventually hired a college intern to sign the company up for social networking sites and leave it with a strategic plan. The intern came up with a plan that would let people find an icon on the Days Jewelers’ Web site.
Voorhees said he found that the most successful companies on his trading network are the ones that find an employee who likes using the tool. “My idea is to look in your company and find someone who is passionate about it, who doesn’t look at it as a chore,” he said.
He also cautioned that there has to be some oversight to avoid potential embarrassments.
Moderator Michael Schechter agreed. “I often hear, just hire a teenager,” he said. “You want somebody who can competently answer customer service questions.”
He suggested that people who want to get into social networking should begin by starting a Facebook page. “Go see all the jewelers you know, and all the brands, and just see what they do, and how they are using it,” he said.
There was also talk about the site Yelp, where Samuelson had a customer give him a negative review that could not be removed. “You are on their site, and you can’t take down your profile,” he said.
Voorhees said, “The world of online reviews is a genie out of the bottle. I don’t know how we are going to put it back in.”