For most of you who were in Vegas, it was hard to miss the huge, flat screen television JCK had set up outside one of the entrances to the show floor. The screen was set up to display all of the Tweets about the show that were using the hashtag #JCKEvents, and rotated them out depending on which Tweets were most current.
JCK did a wonderful job of pulling all of this together, but the true Twitter Celebrity of the JCK Vegas Show was @PeggyJoDonahue, whose fabulous tweets about the action both on the show floor and inside the seminars, really highlighted exactly what communicating via Twitter and Social Media is all about. Her insightful tweeting brought a combination of information, entertainment and plain old fun to the show, and I know a few people who weren’t able to attend, but really appreciated being able to “experience” JCK 2010 through Peggy Jo’s tweets.
Vegas was a hectic time for us, and for the past several months I have given many seminars and speeches about incorporating Social Media into business models. You may not realize it, but each month when I write these articles, my goal is to help you position your business to take advantage of the next big thing in e-tailing, “Social Commerce” – which is selling products and interacting with consumers online through the use of social media sites.
In order make it even easier for you to do so, GJB Partners has created JewelryIndustryTweets.com. This is a project we’ve been working on for some time now, and we’re finally ready to take it public. The JewelryIndustryTweets.com website has been designed to simplify the search for Twitter related Jewelry Industry news, events, people, companies, products and more! In the upcoming months we’ll be unveiling even more products and services on JewelryIndustryTweets.com to make all your “Tweetest” dreams come true.
Mark Fleischner, whose family has owned and operated Lauray’s the Diamond Center, a third generation jewelry store located in the heart of downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, was one of the first jewelers to take advantage of the JewelryIndustryTweets.com website.
Fleischner, a member of the Continental Buying Group, Inc. (CBG) and Preferred Jewelers International, expressed his appreciation of CBG’s Andie and Joe Murphy by saying: “I’m grateful to Andie and Joe for searching out and bringing cutting-edge companies like GJB Partners to our CBG members. After researching information on these types of applications, I believe adopting a Social Media strategy early on will have a solid, measurable, long term benefit for Lauray’s bottom line.”
Still aren’t interested in Social Media? Think about this …
Generation Z is the most tech savvy, socially networked generation we’ve ever seen, and the future of your business. Do you want to expand your customer base to include this generation as your clients? Do you want their engagement ring business? Wedding ring business?
When they start spending their money they will prefer to do it online, which is set to change the game in retailing forever. They were born with the Internet and have grown up totally intertwined with it. They have essentially never known life without the World Wide Web, e-mail, mobile phones, instant messaging, text messaging, MP3 players, iTunes, YouTube, and Facebook. In fact, they walk around every day with all this stuff in their pockets. So for the “Net Generation” – the children of the digital age – it’s almost second nature to reach out and click an onscreen button whenever they want to order or buy something. Viewed from the perspective of their own lifespan, e-commerce has always existed, and to them it simply represents the easiest and most practical way of buying anything.
**Twitter Fact**
By March 2010, Twitter recorded a 1,500% increase in the number of registered users and its staff had grown fivefold. Over 70,000 registered applications have been created for Twitter, according to the company!
So how exactly does JewelryIndustryTweets.com work and how can it benefit you?
First of all, relax. If you are already on Twitter, chances are we’ve got you added to our database. The database listing is free and anyone who comes to our site and searches for you under your company name, your city, state, zip code or Twitter user name will find you. If you aren’t in our database yet, there is a contact form on the website JewelryIndustryTweets.com. Click on the form, fill it out, and we’ll get you added right away!
Beyond the free listing there are a multitude of other paid listing options you’re welcome to take advantage of on the site. Just send an e-mail to inquiries@jewelryindustrytweets.com and we’ll contact you to discuss all of your listing options.
The hectic summer show schedule has slowed down, and now I’ve got some time to respond more in-depth to all of your e-mails again. If you have questions about making Social Media work for you, e-mail me at Ann@GJBPartners.com with any questions, comments or concerns you might have about using Twitter, or about our new JewelryIndustryTweets.com.
Ann Glynn is a managing partner of GJB Partners, LLC, a company that provides technology, experience and information to assist members of the jewelry industry. GJB Partners works with its clients to improve their business and profitability through a combination of Internet-based opportunities, including the Twitter Social Networking Service. If you’d like more information on using Twitter to enhance your business, contact Ann at 504-615-1191 or e-mail info@gjbpartners.com.
