If you’re like most jewelers, you’re running the whole ball of wax. Marketing, selling, goldsmithing, accounts payable, buying…. You get the idea. So if you’ve decided to do your own advertising, I’m going to give you a few hints.
Make your message relevant – You’ve got to ask yourself “Why does anyone care about what I’m saying?” If your message isn’t interesting enough for you, then it’s probably going to be useless to everyone else.
Make your opening statement POP – You’ve only got about 3 to 5 seconds (visually about 1 second). Make that statement something that makes them go “Huh?”
Keep it clean – Whether it’s an audio or visual ad, stick to ONE idea and go with it. Too much clutter is… well… too much clutter. The same goes for your cases, walls and jewelry stores.
Vendor ads – I’m not a fan of vendor ads. If you’re not advertising in Vogue or Towne and Country, people don’t know who Gabriel or Ashi is. Definitely use their images though but brand YOU. They spend a bundle on getting good images. Use them.
Cheap production – This can be scary especially in television. If you’re getting your ad for free because you bought a television schedule, I guarantee you’re getting what you pay for. A camera on a tripod with a pan of an empty jewelry store, horrible audio and an ad talking about my favorite….. quality, service, value. If that’s how you’re going to do it, you’ll need a whole lot more frequency to make your ad effective. Remember, even crappy advertising works, just not nearly as well as the good stuff. Spend some money and make your investment work better. This goes for radio and print too.
Website – Most websites are crappy. You know yours is crappy if you can’t find a picture of you or your staff on their or your browsers can’t shop for a ring on it. Many vendors now have fantastic plug-ins that allow you to see their inventory within your site. Ask around.
Social Media – Be real. Talk real. Have fun. Don’t just post a picture of your new jewelry. You have to use it for what made it great, and that’s creating friendships with real talk. Also check out our birthstone jewelry videos (shameless plug). When you’re posting, as yourself if this is how you would talk with your best friend.
Which medium is best? That all depends on your budget and what you want to accomplish. I’ve you’ve dominated TV for years, then it’s working. Stick with it. You may just need to spice up your delivery. Whatever you do, DO NOT hop around mediums looking for the panacea. OWN what your doing. Now if it’s a complete bust and you’ve been doing it for years, then call me. We’ll get it figured out.
Finally (for this post) – Make sure that your customers experience what you’re talking about in your advertising. If you fail at this, you’ll spend tons of money with decreasing ROI. If you say you have the best deals around then back it up with proof. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver with clichés and common jewelry ad statements.
TTFN See you in Vegas!