So You Wanna be a Trusted Advisor?

In social media, you can join groups and become an “active participant”, or you can lead a group and try to become a “trusted advisor.”  Over this past year, at 281 posts into my goal of 300, I’ve enjoyed positive feedback, negative feedback, and I’ve gotten a few people’s backs up.  If you want to establish yourself as a thought leader, you will need to challenge others’ assumptions.  If you don’t, you’re boring.  How can you be engaging if you only ever rehash commonly held truths and avoid controversy?

If you are running or contemplating a social media campaign for your clients, my humble suggestion is this: make humble suggestions.  Do your research, present good consumer jewellery information.  Make your readers better informed consumers.  Once they know more about gems, quality, current trends and industry news they’ll gravitate to the source of that information.  If they stray to another retailer and ask them a few questions about issues you’ve addressed; and the retailer answers poorly or differently from you, they will only come to trust you more.  After all, everything they read on the computer holds more weight than what a retail sales clerk at the shopping mall says.

Look at your social media campaign in terms of your position on the football field.  An effectively advertised promotion is like a passing-play that can gain you a lot of yardage.  Your social media campaign is a running play that has a lower risk, but on average moves the ball only a few yards at a time.  Social media is about moving the ball a few yards at a time and constantly improving your field position; taking you from “someone I might do some business with” towards the goal of “I’d be a fool not to buy all of my jewellery from you.”

For those of you helping out with “Haitian Heroes Go for Gold”, check-out the latest video, and repost to your friends and followers.