Mark AdamsJewelry has been part of our history since prehistoric times. In fact, a set of beads made from Nassarius shells is one of the oldest known artifacts from modern humans, dating at somewhere between 90,000 and 100,000 years old.
When you sell jewelry, you’re not selling a piece of metal or a polished gemstone. You’re selling a piece of history, a small fragment of an artistic lineage that dates back to prehistoric times and expresses our innate need to find our personal and cultural identity.
When you sell jewelry, you are selling self-confidence and belonging. You are selling a feeling, a representation of a covenant between loving partners, or a pendant that will perhaps be passed down through the generations and become a family heirloom.
Jewelry is all about stories, and successful jewelry marketing means finding and communicating each piece’s story through email, social media, paid advertising, organic content, and in-person marketing.
If you sell jewelry, this guide will give you insight into how to use these diverse marketing channels to further your business’s reach and generate more revenue. We’ll go over emerging trends, how to market jewelry online, and how you can capitalize on these exciting changes in this ever gold industry.
Understand Your Audience
There’s no such thing as “one size fits all” when it comes to marketing, and it’s important to remember that your market might be larger than you think. According to Ken Tan, CEO of Diamonds America, “Jewelry is coveted by women worldwide, and the industry has continued to double in size every 12 years.”
All of the departments within your company should be working with an understanding of what the demographics of the jewelry market are as well as basic personal information. For example, it’s good practice to have a solid understanding of your buyers’ age, their buying preferences, and what they’re looking for in a piece of jewelry. Men as an example typically buy a wedding band in their mid 30’s when getting married, from a reputable store like MensWeddingBands. Targeting demographics of females aged 60+ wouldn’t make sense in this particular market so it’s key to understanding your target audience.
Leverage Your Physical business
This includes your retail storefront, your website, and your social media. It’s crucial to be able to physically perceive and create a personal connection with your customers.
According to Tan, “Jewelry enables the owners of brick-and-mortar retail jewelry businesses with the opportunity to open virtual stores, where customers can buy and sell the same products and services offered at the physical storefront.”
Don’t forget to leverage your physical location to grow. For example, it’s much easier to create a special event if you’re able to offer attendees the full-fledged experience of being there.
Partner with other Stores
According to the Marketing Jewelers Association, “87% of jewelry owners operate their own store. 66% of them have a physical store, while 21% report that they have both physical stores and a website.”
Many brick-and-mortar stores offer these same services as independently owned online retailers, so help to leverage these relationships and find ways to successfully work together.
Consider online marketing
There are many advantages to selling your jewelry online, from being able to track a customer’s purchase history to the ability to create a physical presence online. Jewelry sold online costs less than jewelry sold in a shop, and the margins you earn are typically higher as well.
According to Tan, “The profit margin in selling jewelry is between 20 – 30% or more than the moneyed’s physical store.”
Of course, you’re still going to need the physical store in order to host in-person pop-up shops or promotional events. The key to success is to understand how to utilize your physical storefront while still relying on online sales through social media advertising and updated catalogs to leverage your dollars.
Track your metrics
It’s crucial to track actual sales, returning customers, and email traffic. In fact, the more information that you’re able to track, the more effectively you’ll be able to market your jewelry.
While it’s impossible to experience in-depth statistical data, it’s important to recognize what information you can track and to understand which platforms you should utilize for marketing.
Use Social Media
Social media increases visibility, garners interest by providing engagement with customers, and encourages repeat customers.
While social media in jewelry is not as developed as in other industries, it’s important to target your audience. According to Tan, “the jewelry market directly impacts up to 10% of the female population between the ages of 15 and 44, at least three times per week despite the fact that the majority of the industry is run by men.”
It’s important to utilize social media channels that have the most relevant audience to your business and to carefully craft different marketing campaigns that cater to different demographics. Studies have shown that when you use video-sharing sites, consumers tend to be more interested in the jewelry.
It’s also important to use social media to further the conversation rather than simply to share information. This means being able to respond to any email inquiries in a timely manner, creating a dialogue with customers, and asking questions to help them find the product that’s right for them.
In fact, social media is an excellent way to answer any question that you don’t have in-house knowledge of, is consistent across platforms, and encourages interaction.
Use paid advertising
Although social media is one of the best ways to market a jewelry company, there are times when you’ll need to advertise the product through more traditional channels.
According to the Greater Diamond Quality Services, “It’s very important to have an on-site presence and a physical store. This allows an online company and other physical jewelry businesses to co-exist.”
The United States Department of Commerce provides an example of how to advertise your jewelry on television:
“In addition to social media, you’ll want to look to television. Channel-distributed jewelry videos conducted by Josh Baer and Rebecca Minkoff are optimal. Giving buyers a taste of what they’re getting, a visual montage will entice them to come in and find out more. A well-crafted, edited ad also helps to get more customers to shop on your site.”
Don’t forget to make sure that you’re on the government’s approved websites. According to the Federal Trade Commission Study, these websites include:
Advertising is also a key part of your digital marketing strategy. Be sure to saturate your website with pay-per-click campaigns. According to the Jewelers of America, “the average jewelry consumer clicks on 74 different sales websites and then visits the jewelry shop that’s showcased on the homepage.”
Check out what other jewelers are doing with social media and see if they’re trying to engage with their target audience and getting more retweets, shares, and likes. Use these tactics to help get your jewelry out in front of your customers and create a personal connection.
Be Patient
The beauty of jewelry marketing is that it takes a lot of time to achieve results.
According to Tan, “Carefully consider the resources required to properly conduct the advertising and acquiring of the new customers. Building the right strategy requires meticulous thought and time management.”
Tan suggests that you spend 10% of your advertising budget on SEO and 10% on blogging, then 20% on social media and 30% on websites. Set up a budget for online advertising as well, and don’t forget that you’ll need to invest in print advertising as well.
Be sure to keep track of your budget, statistics, and performance. Be patient with your progress and recognize that it takes time to grow your business.
Be Discreet
Although a large amount of jewelry is marketed to children and young adults, it’s important to be discreet. This means not selling jewelry at retail locations where children are present, using age-appropriate images on social media, and talking to potential customers about the age they’ll need to reach in order to purchase from you.
According to Tan, “I’ve always recommended to business owners that they start with a social media presence and marketing platform that appeals to the average consumer.”
However, they should expand their circles as they grow their brand. Discover what industry events you can attend, what bloggers and influencers to follow, and increase your geographical reach with an online store with live chat. Start small, grow in a measured fashion, and be careful about what types of accounts you like to follow.
According to Tan, “Jewelry is the fourth most popular industry in the United States after retail, computers, and financial services.”
Different industries are known for different marketing techniques, but all of these steps (especially being patient) are important regardless of whether you’re in a bricks-and-mortar shop or a more digital-based business.
Grow your business
Jewelry is big business, but it’s also a sustainable business. Known for offering the smartest advice and the best information out there, the Jewelry Marketing Association is extremely thorough when it comes to helping you grow your business.
Learn how to tweet effectively. Learn how to Instagram effectively. Learn how to manage your social media. Learn more about the “Magic of Social Proof” and how to use testimonials to increase sales.
Contact the membership team at the Jewelry Marketing Association and ask questions.
Barry Tan is the marketing manager of the Jewelry Marketing Association. He has over 20 years of experience in the jewelry industry and marketing, and is considered to be one of the most important sources in the field of jewelry marketing.
To increase the sales or wanted to make your startup as a Brand. The important thing you need is a Marketing Plan for your Jewellery Business. In this Digital Era, people are introducing different types of strategy for marketing the products online. The Marketing arrangements is playing a vital role in brand recognition to the customers. Different marketing designs help the jewelry business to grow their engagement with people.
We at Quality Home and Heart Co. are one of the talented professionals working in the digital marketing industry and working on this market for years now. Our aim is to help you to increase your brand awareness through the use of digital marketing campaigns.
Our team consists of an experienced marketing team which comprises market research, product launching and branding, SEO and marketing automation techniques. In addition to these, we ensure to assist our clients in the acquisition of new customers as well.
The clients of our marketing services can benefit in many ways through our marketing plans, among others, are:
Website Content Writing
Pricing Pricing – making your pricing strategy to gain the users
Search Engine Optimization SEO – making your website to hit the top pages
Social Media Marketing – We optimize & manage all the social media accounts
Ads Ads – we generate the Ads, and route them to generate leads
To know more about our marketing plans, you can email us.
Or you can leave us a message and we would make sure to get back to you as soon as possible.
Conclusion
“Jewelry, like wine, is an expensive personal statement.” -John Paul Dejoria
“There is a reason that jewelry is one of the most expensive pieces people can buy. The mark of luxury; the status symbol; the piece of crystal that differentiates the woman from the woman; the barter pieces were all a precious commodity.” – Jonnyo Dulay, Owner, S1ck Jewelry
And the way the jewelry is marketed doesn’t change that. Yes, it’s become so that marketing jewelry looks a lot different now than it did in the past, but the purpose remains the same.
Most of the time, a necklace or bracelet isn’t just a piece of jewelry that you’re going to wear, it’s a piece of jewelry that you’re going to wear to the nice church, it’s a piece that you’ve saved up and it’s a piece that you’ve bought for yourself, and it’s a piece that is going to say a lot about you and your character.
And why is that? It’s because you’re marketing it. When you put it on, you’re wearing it in front of someone else. You’re putting yourself out there, and when you’re marketing something, you’re letting the world know what you want the world to know about you.
