Did you know? – 20 typical households generate more Internet traffic today, than the entire Internet in 2003.
The Internet is constantly changing and is changing faster than ever before! Businesses that stay current with technological changes will be the ones that succeed in the future. If you are still trying to market your jewelry store on the Internet using the same techniques as you did a few years ago, you will not be successful and will fall behind your competition.
In this article we will look at what has been changing in the three main components to Internet Marketing for local retail businesses, Local Search Marketing, Social Network Marketing, and Mobile Marketing.
Local Search Marketing
In spite of all the changes to the Internet, Search Engines remain the number one source for consumers to find product information and to find local stores to make their purchases. Getting ranked on Page One of Google search results for jewelry related searches in your geographical area should still be the first priority of every jewelry store. And the more listings you have on Page One the better.
While the goal has not changed, the means to get there has dramatically changed and is continuing to change almost monthly.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s Alta Vista was the top search engine and the key to getting ranked was Relevancy. Keywords were king and optimizing your keywords to be relevant to the search was all that mattered.
In the early 2000s, Google came onto the scene and soon dominated the search industry. Google added Authority Status to the Relevancy equation. With this shift Links to your website became just as important as Keywords. It was reasoned that if your website had more links pointing to it (especially quality links), then your website carried more authority and was ranked higher.
In 2010 Google changed the rules of ranking in search engines once again. With their Mayday Update they added Quality Website to Links and Keywords as a means of determining which websites to rank.
During 2011 and 2012 they have added to their definition of a Quality Website with their Farmer, Panda, and Penguin Updates. Some of the main targets of these updates that affect jewelry store websites include:
- Duplicate Content (including excessive use of manufacturer descriptions)
- Poor On-Page Optimization
- Over Optimized Websites
- Various Linking Schemes
Social Media Marketing
In March 2012 Facebook made major changes to their Business Pages. During 2011 and 2012 we saw the start-up and rise of new Social Media websites such as Google Plus and Pinterest as well as changes to Linked-In, Twitter, and YouTube. Yet for Internet Marketers the changes in Social Media has been more about methodology than technology.
The greatest mystery of Social Media to most small business owners is “Social Media is SOCIAL!” Social Media is about building relationships, NOT pushing your marketing message.
It’s the difference between multiplication vs. addition and is best described by the old question, “Would you rather have $1,000 a day for a month or a penny doubled each day for one month?”
If you choose the former you will have accumulated $31,000 by the end of the month. However, if you choose the later you will start out much slower, but by the 31st day you will earn 10.7 million dollars on that one day alone. That is the power of multiplication.
With Social Media, when you build Friends, Fans or Followers, you are Marketing by Addition. However, when you build Engagement you are Marketing by Multiplication. The average business can reach their entire geographical area simply by reaching the Friends of Friends of all their Fans.
Businesses that fail with their Social Media Marketing generally fall into one of two extremes. Either they have no social activity, or the have the wrong social activity. If all you do on your Social Network pages is announce you are having a sale, it does not entice your fans to share it with their friends. The opposite extreme is just as useless. If you share interesting trivia and thought provoking questions that stimulate lots of discussion and sharing, but that content has nothing to do with your products, services, or business, then the sharing of information does not help your marketing efforts.
The best content for Social Media meets three criteria:
- Interesting
- Engaging
- Related to Your Jewelry
When your posts meet all three of these you will get your fans and followers to comment on and share your information, and the shared content all relates back to your business. It’s word of mouth advertising on steroids!
Mobile Marketing
Do you want to reach younger tech savvy customers? There’s an app for that!
The New York Times stated that, “Mobile Marketing is the most powerful media ever invented.” That is quite an endorsement for the icon of the most dominate media of past generations to make, but then check out the following facts:
- Mobile Search returns Local Results 33% more often than computers.
- Text Messages have a 94% open rate.
- 51% of consumers are more likely to purchase from retailers that have mobile specific websites.
- 74% of SmartPhone users have used their phone to help make a purchase and 76% of them purchased in a local brick-n-mortar store.
- Mobile alerts drive 33% of recipients in-store, and 27% of them make a purchase.
- Research has shown that retailers could increase consumer engagement by 85% with a mobile specific website.
Mobile Marketing went from its infancy to a dominant player faster than any media in history. Five times faster than the Internet. By 2013 more Internet connections will be from mobile devices than computers.
Mobile Marketing is not the wave of the future – It’s RIGHT NOW! Your customers are using mobile devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have not already done so – now is the time to integrate Mobile Media into your Jewelry Store Marketing mix.
Your Jewelry Store’s Mobile Marketing Strategy should include:
- Text Messaging
- Mobile Friendly Website
- In-Store QR Codes
- Mobile App with Push Notifications
You cannot go anywhere today without seeing people texting on their phone. It has become the preferred communication method of countless people, and to reach them effectively you need to develop a plan to market your store’s information through mobile messages.
You need a website designed for mobile use that is not a miniature versions of your website. On mobile, people want just the information they were looking for right then, formatted so it is easy to find and easy to read.
Creating one program that serves both as your Mobile Website and a downloadable Mobile App is now easy to do – and affordable. Your app needs to be compatible with iPhone, iPad, Android, and HTML5 devices. In addition you should have the capability to send Push Notifications directly to your customers’ phones through the app. Check out Apps4Jewelers.com for a program that provides all of these features.
56% of people believe mobile can make the shopping experience more enjoyable. Having QR Codes displayed in your store linked to different pages on your mobile friendly website with fun facts or other product information is an easy way to make shopping in your store interactive. Both the younger shoppers and the affluent tech savvy consumers will find the shopping experience more enjoyable. Changing the content weekly or monthly is easy to do and keeps the experience fresh on return visits.
Conclusion
Internet Marketing is no longer just about having a website. To be effective you need to stay current with changes to the Internet and the new trends in marketing, as well as incorporate all that the Internet offers to help you market your jewelry store.
Want to learn more about Internet Marketing? The following websites provide resources on training materials, webinars, newsletters, and marketing services for retail jewelry stores: www.Internet4Jewelers.com, www.FBforJewelers.com, www.FeetThruTheDoor.com and www.Apps4Jewelers.com.
Brad Simon is co-owner and founder of Internet 4 Jewelers providing retail jewelers the information and training to market their stores effectively on the Internet. In addition, they provide affordable Internet Marketing services and an innovative new program for you to create your own Mobile Websites and Apps. For more information contact Brad at Brad@Internet4Jewelers.com.
