RapNet Blog
Getting Yourself Out There: Content Marketing for Jewelry Retailers
When I’m shopping online for products that I regularly buy, like electronics, home supplies, or food, I rarely visit more than one or two websites. I’ve already decided which vendors I trust and who offers the best prices.
People may argue that I arrived at this point after a complex series of decisions, but I think that the majority of our decision making process is simple and predictable. The challenge for retailers is to figure out how to influence this decision making process.
The average customer doesn’t know much about jewelry or diamonds, so we can consider it as an irregular purchase. So, if I’m interested in purchasing a ring for example, I would go through the same preliminary process I did with previous regular purchases. Which means that I’d need to do research and read more online.
Satisfied customers produce your best content
Word of mouth is the most convincing factor in purchasing decisions. Consumers tend to seek out authentic endorsements of products or companies before they buy something. So, making sure that your customers get the best value and service, will give you the best form of advertising, through their recommendations. When I’m researching by asking my friends, either through personal chat or on social media, the companies or products that have impressed my friends will reap the rewards.
The power of your website
Making sure your website encourages customers to share their experience is your first step in content marketing. Having simple share buttons after a purchase is not always enough. Offering a reason for customers to share – such as motivating them with discounts on future purchases, will more likely get them to take that step.
Get your content out there
After I’ve received recommendations from my friends through chats or social media, I still do online reading. Let’s be honest, I don’t always trust my friends to have the same taste as me, or perhaps they weren’t looking for the exact same features. So, I search for “best places to buy…” or “top products for…” and rely on the fact that someone trustworthy has done the research for me already, and has a list of online stores or products that my friends might not have known about.
This is an opportunity for you, to appear in that search and draw attention to your own products by creating content such as lists, product comparison blogs, ‘how to’ articles or other useful content. It shouldn’t necessarily be self-promotional, as that detracts from its authenticity. Rather think about the customer’s journey and how they choose your product.
For example, “How do you know you found a good jewelry deal online” or “top 10 things to look for when shopping online for diamonds”. Capitalizing on upcoming celebrations and holidays to produce great pieces of content is also a great way to do this.
To make sure your content appears in people’s searches you will need to ensure you are using the right keywords and that your content and website uses best SEO practices.
Leverage the influence of others
Movies like ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ have taught us that people are influenced by their neighbors and peers more than we would like to think. This applies to the global market too. Which is why finding leaders that are willing to write and post something for you is effective.
Influencers can be social media personalities, online bloggers, or even professional writers for magazines, and if you’re lucky you can even get a celebrity. This is a two way street to benefit you and the influencer. You can interview them about trends or they can interview you and see what innovations you offer.
The added benefit is that by creating content on a third party channel, you have them linking back to your website. This improves your SEO for your website. As more outlets link back to your website, your search position will rise.
Testimonials
The last piece of content that often puts me over the edge in the decision process is a feel good story about a customer’s experience. This can have more impact than paying the cheapest price. Collecting testimonials of positive experiences from customers and showcasing them online via social media, blog or jewelry forums, will give the impression that you’re more than just a product provider, you offer a special service.
One way to increase this type of feedback is to offer rewards for your customers to share their positive experiences, via a contest or special offer.
Of course there are many other types of content you can create in order to engage your audience online. Case studies, e-books, cheat sheets and articles are just a few examples. Just remember, that before you start writing your content, consider where your audience is going to read it, how are they going to find it and where should they go after they have read the content.
Read the other blogs in this series:
The Jewelry Retailer's Ultimate Marketing Guide: Part 1/5
The Jewelry Retailer's Ultimate Marketing Guide: Part 2/5
The Jewelry Retailer's Ultimate Marketing Guide: Part 3/5
The Jewelry Retailer's Ultimate Marketing Guide: Part 5/5