"Marketing Online" is the umbrella term that includes all possible sales tactics that occur through your computer or your cell phone. It's not just email and banner ads, but rather it includes anything with a sales message or a story that will eventually entice you to make a purchase.
Common online marketing tactics include:
1. Email
2. Search Ads (the ads you see on Google, Bing and Yahoo)
3. Banner Advertising
4. Press Releases
5. Facebook Business Pages
6. Google+ Pages
7. YouTube Videos
8. Squeeze Pages
9. QR Codes
10. Online Contests
11. Google Places
Every one of these marketing methods could be handled in-house, or you could hire someone to do it for you. The level of skill and proven success rate will determine the price you pay for the hired professional, and it can get expensive.
Since you are reading this Nugget you probably put forth some effort in advertising your website. You either do it yourself, by a member of your staff, or you hire someone. You are ahead of the curve!
Let's try to figure out who's behind you on that curve. Here's a few questions to help you identify those people:
Q. How many of your friends within the jewelry industry do not have a website?
Q. How many of your friends do not use email marketing or even maintain a list of customer emails?
Q. How many other jewelers do you know that don't have a Facebook account, or have one and do not use it?
Since you're ahead of the curve you should review everything and everywhere online that your jewelry store is represented. You might not realize it, but it's all online marketing. Whether you are successful or not online, how many of your friends or business associates have not yet even started to try?
We're all going to share holiday stories this month with friends, family, employees, and a few of your peers in the jewelry industry. If you're in an especially giving mood you could call one of your peers and tell them about your latest email campaign, AdWords, Facebook contest, etc. Share if it was successful or not and how you did it. We're assuming you won't be sharing with any of your direct competitors.
There's a lot of hype when it comes to online marketing. There are many hyped articles about doing email and AdWords right, and there's especially a lot of hype about SEO (ours included). Many ad agencies that will promise high marketing results for low costs; but we're suggesting you could lend a hand to one of your friends and tell them what online marketing is working for you and what hasn't.
Explain how you do it if you only spend $50 per month and a lot of your own time, or perhaps why you are paying $5000 per month for someone else to do it for you.
The bottom line of today's Daily Golden Nugget is not necessarily to teach you something, but rather to ask you to offer some lessons or guidance to other jewelers you know that are in need. So many jewelers out there are lagging behind in the industry, and you probably know a few. Again, we're not suggesting you to share ideas with a local competitor; rather with someone you met at a trade show whose jewelry store is several hundred miles away.
It's still early enough in the holiday season for you to give the gift of knowledge, ideas, or at least point another jeweler in the right direction to help them have a brighter, more prosperous season.
Spread some holiday cheer.
