Blue Helm

Posted by Chad Mustard on September 14th, 2009

What comes to mind when you think of a jeweler? A snobby rich man laden with gold and diamonds? A savvy business woman whose sole purpose is to take your money? Or that Saved by the Bell episode where Zack is swindled into buying fake class rings that turn everyone’s finger green?

Maybe you think of an impersonal company that doesn’t care about developing relationships with its customers. If you live in the New England area and know of Day’s Jewelers, you’d be wrong. “Jewelers are a misunderstood commodity,” says Jeff Corey, owner and president of Day’s Jewelers. “We’re real people.”

So how does a business that’s been around for nearly a century dispel misconceptions about itself and increase its business in hard economic times?

The answer: social media. Social media has opened new doors for companies like Day’s Jewelers. Jeff maintains that social media “presents us as real people” and gives jewelers an opportunity to “build a community.”

For this Brain Storm post I want to focus on content ideas for a jeweler. If you want additional ideas look at Day’s Jewelers blog, Facebook page, Twitter page and MySpace page. Remember, the main purpose of this series is to get your creative juices flowing by recognizing the many ways social media can positively impact your business.

So if I were the owner of a jewelry store, I might implement the following content ideas:

1. Run a contest: Ask customers to share their wedding proposal stories or the worst story involving a lost engagement ring. You can choose the best stories and give the winners a discount on their next purchase at your store.
2. Ask customers to post pictures: They can post pictures of their favorite ring, of their wedding or a photo of the beautiful piece of jewelry they recently purchased for their significant other.
3. Ask “real people” questions: This is something Day’s Jewelers does really well. They ask questions like What are you doing for the long 4-day weekend? or What fun things did you do this summer? These questions encourage communication with customers. As they respond to your questions, be sure to respond back. They’ll appreciate knowing that you care.
4. Share employee stories: Get your employees to share great experiences they’ve had working with customers. Did one of your employees recently help a young couple pick out the perfect wedding ring? Or perhaps someone has a funny story about helping a repentant guy find the perfect necklace for his offended wife. These stories will help customers see that your employees really do care about their jobs and the people they work with.
5. Write ‘how-to’ articles or posts: How do you properly polish a ring? What do you do when your ring accidentally goes down the drain? ‘How-to’ articles can be really useful for your customers. People love (and share) content that is valuable!
6. Educate with history: Post content that explains the unique history or geology of a certain metal, gem or rock. Maybe you could post a feature about a famous piece of jewelry like the Hope Diamond.
7. Create a video: Post a how-to video. Or make a video tour of your store. Create a ‘getting to know you and your employees’ video. Videos are a good way to show your personality on camera. Customers will be more comfortable coming into your store when they see an interesting video of you and your employees.

So what are your content ideas for a jeweler? Any requests for the next Brain Strom?

Related Posts: The Brain Storm: Ten social media content ideas for an Auto Repair Shop

Tags: Chad, Content, Jewerler, The Brain Storm

This entry was posted on Monday, September 14th, 2009 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Branding, Creating Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.