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SMILE FOR THE CAMERA! THE POWER OF VIDEO TO PROMOTE LUXURY JEWELRY | May 08, 2013 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—When so much digital marketing focus is centered on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, it’s easy to forget that video also is considered social media. Video offers a much richer brand experience than a 150-character tweet, or even a Facebook post—but best of all, you don’t have to choose between them because your video can be embedded in Twitter, Facebook, and other social channels. Why not do both?
What could your jewelry company do with video? You might have your own YouTube channel, like RF Moeller Jeweler. Offer customers a walk-through of your store on the second floor, like Christensen & Rafferty Fine Jewelry. Showcase some of your employees with new stock in a fun, appealing Facebook video, like Windsor Fine Jewelry (full story here). Show your customers how a piece of jewelry is created, like Reis Nichols. Showcasing a watch or bracelet on Twitter like Samuel Gordon Jewelers using the Vine app. Or promote a charity event, like MJ Christensen. And of course, you can always find videos on The Centurion news website as well. Maybe the better question is 'What can't video do?'
Actually, videos from these jewelers do double or triple duty, allowing them to better communicate with their customers and potential customers. None of the jewelers interview below use the videos in only one venue, making the concept of video all the more powerful -- and useful.
Reis Nichols Jewelers. Why bother with video at all? For marketing director Lori Roberts of Reis Nichols Jewelers, Indianapolis and Greenwood, Indiana, it's simple. "Video is interesting to the viewer who is browsing our website. It also greatly aids in search engine optimization, so those were our two driving factors toward featuring videos," says Roberts.
The jeweler manages a good group of videos. Some are grouped under 'service videos' on one page on the Reis Nichols website. And those along with more are on their YouTube channel. According to Roberts, the company keeps the videos in good rotation, only removing them if they are related to a event date or timely subject. While Reis Nichols does not have a particular budget for videos, she does 'try to shoot lots of footage so we can make multiple videos in post-editing, using the same footage.'
Roberts conceptualizes the videos, then hires a local video to shoot and edit. She handles the copywriting for the audio and that component is recorded. The audio and video are provided to the company and are edited together, creating the videos that extend the Reis Nichols brand.
Samuel Gordon Jewelers. Tech-savvy jeweler Daniel Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, sees the value in videos as well. "We do have a YouTube channel and we include our brand there," he says. Gordon features lots of jewelry and watch product videos there, citing the high quality videos that are available from the various brands. He says that offering the videos "whets one's appetite," referring to his customers. "Seeing how some products are made really helps. You can see pictures and text all day, and now you can see video as well."
Gordon's newest video app is Vine. "It runs video for six seconds. You can tap [your phone's] screen to start and stop the video. It's easy to showcase five, six or seven pieces of jewelry. The video loops, so you can see creative things. It integrates with Twitter," he said, referring to it as the Twitter of video.
"You can't see the sparkles in a picture," says Gordon. "Video really helps with that. The movement really does it. You can see the light reflect. It's not the same as in person, but it shows the personality of the jewelry. It showcases jewelry quickly and easily, which is especially useful since attention spans are so short today."
Gordon finds that the combination of video with product works best on the Samuel Gordon website. He runs one video followed by product photos. Click here to see Samuel Gordon's watch page.
Samuel Gordon's website offers product videos. Here, a Tacori page. Click on the image to watch Tacori videos.
RF Moeller Jeweler. If you visit RF Moeller's YouTube page, you might think he doesn't have any recent videos. However, that's not the case. "We haven't been posting videos to the web until we're done using them locally," says Mark Moeller, RF Moeller Jeweler, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Today, Moeller sends out his 15 or 20 second videos in pre rolls with his advertising. He's been working with the same video guy for twenty years and keeps him on retainer to keep the creative videos coming. Their YouTube channel has a number of tongue-in-cheek type videos, including this one titled, "Married."
"He's part of our ad budget," says Moeller. "It probably cost me $15,000 per year to produce 20-30 vignettes." Moeller says the videos will be on the new website he's building, once it's up and running.
And they work. "They are very successful for us. They are more about building our brand, keeping our brand top of mind, breaking down threshold resistance and getting people through the door."
Top image: tvdsb.ca