Look Book

Consumers are active on social media now more than ever, making it crucial for your store to maintain an active online presence. While your business may be (or have been) disrupted, it might seem like a difficult time to develop a strong content strategy. However, there are simple ways to strengthen your brand image through content creation and by understanding your audience's behavior. Platinum Guild International, a thought-leader for marketing and communications best practices, shares content creation recommendations and introductory information on leveraging analytics on Instagram. Best Practices for Creating Content Avoid Plain Product Shots. Simple product photography on a white background is great for your eComm site, but can be easily overlooked on social. Consider combining multiple pieces in one shot and playing with the layouts and angles. Keep in mind that odd numbered group shots are typically most appealing, and you should experiment with non-centered shots while keeping the main product the image's focus. Props can also be very useful in creating an interesting composition and adding a story to your product/image. Try laying jewelry on different fabrics and surfaces that can easily be found around the home or store (ex: shoes, champagne cork, tea cup, platter or plate). No Camera? No Problem! If you don't have a high quality digital camera on hand, that doesn't mean you can't take beautiful product images! Today's smartphones are capable of taking excellent photos- especially for social media. Once you find a look that aligns with your brand, try to emulate these settings for all future photos to create a cohesive-looking social feed. Follow these recommendations: • Utilize natural light: head to your closest window on either a sunny or overcast day. • All hands on deck: if safe to do so, try and recruit the help of another person to show off jewelry on a person. Find a pose that feels natural and try out some light movement in a video. Don't forget to lotion hands and tidy up nails first! • Check camera settings: Portrait mode is highly recommended, but if you do not have that capability then try several test shots to see which gives the best focus and clarity. Sizing Recommendations Instagram and Facebook feed post (photo or video) 1080 x 1080 for a 1:1 ration or 1080 x 1350 for a 4:5 ratio Instagram story (photo or video) 1080 x 1920 for 9:16 ratio (do not exceed as Instagram may compress the file which affects quality) How to Leverage Your Digital Analytics on Instagram Access your insights by clicking on the menu bar on the top right of your business profile, and then choose the 'Insights' tab. On that page, you will be able to view the following information. Content Tab: See all of your posts (up to the past 2 years) and stories (up to 14 days) and how they performed. The best measurement of your posts' successes is interactions (likes, comments, saves and shares). Even better, look at the engagement rate (calculated by dividing interactions by post impressions) to analyze which posts perform best, and to compare the effects of your different efforts over time to inform your future strategy. Activity Tab: View your account's recent reach, impressions, profile visits and website clicks from the last 7 days compared to the previous 7 days. This is great to monitor if/when you have an external promotional effort. For example, if you were featured in a blogger's post then you would want to evaluate if that mention resulted in a peak in activity compared to the week prior without any external influence. Audience Tab: Track the growth of your follower base and learn about your audience's demographics (location, age gender). With this knowledge, you can (A) tailor your content to better resonate with your audience, or (B) the results will alert you to the need to refine your strategy if you are attracting an audience that does not align with your business objectives. For additional support in platinum education and marketing resources, visit www.platinumlearning.com Social Media Content Creation & Analytics Best Practices 68 www.thejewelrybook.com By: Platinum Guild International USA

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