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JSM: How effective is social media, or more specifically Facebook, for example, in creating brand awareness?
DS: It can be effective if used in the right way. It is important to keep in mind, however, that nothing that works in the
physical world works here, not promotion nor incentives nor discounts.With social media, you engage your audience. You
speak around your brand and not to it or about it. An example can be seen on the Hershey Kiss Facebook page, which
has 200,000 fans. One of the most popular posts was an adorable baby sleeping in a bed of Hershey Kiss chocolates. No
jewelry.Thousands of people shared the post and the result sold more Kiss pendants than expected. Yet, when a hero image
was placed with the popular kisses, it flat-lined.The baby picture spoke around the product and touched a cord with the
audience, without mentioning the product itself.
JSM: How do you determine which social platforms are best at reaching your target audience?
DS: Studies indicate that Facebook is skewing 30+ with higher household income. Instagram and Twitter are more
tweens, teens, and twenties. Pinterest is varied, but attracts mostly women, aged 25 to 45. Pinterest is also the best platform
for click through to buy. Facebook is not—F-commerce tanked—and Instagram won’t allow you to click to buy, at least
not yet. Once you identify your brand’s psychographics, you are half way to finding the right platform to get your message
out to your target audience.
does “psychographics” mean and why is it so important?
DS: Rule Number One is that you must know your customer. Psychographics is a marketing term used to identify people’s
personalities, aspirations, and desires. To understand psychographics is to understand the “why” of people’s purchases. It is
a multi-layered evaluation of “why” someone “needs” a Rolex over a Swatch. Yesterday’s marketers used only household
income, age, and geography to target their customers. Today, one must get inside consumers’ minds and follow their lead.
It’s their voice, their likes and dislikes that control how well a product performs. If you force feed your brand in social
media, people will be turned off. You must allow the conversation to grow organically, while carefully guiding it, and then
your brand will thrive.
JSM: More specifically, how can you help guide your “conversation” to grow organically?
DS: One important way is to get “influencers” involved in the conversation. I don’t mean film celebrities or stars in the
traditional sense of the word. Today’s influencers, or we might call them informal “brand ambassadors,” are the fash-
ionistas and trendsetters you never hear of, but who have millions of active followers. They are people such as Michelle
Phan, a hair-and-makeup guru who, with more than seven million subscribers and one billion page views, is a certified
YouTube superstar. Look around. You can cultivate your own influencer.They are out there. You just need to find them and
make them a star for your brand promise.
JSM: Can you tell us about some of your current marketing projects?
DS: At the moment, we are in the process of rebranding a bridal company called Just Perfect, NYC. Specializing in
platinum bands, it offers an online system to price any ring instantly ( JustPerfectNYC.com). Although they produce
for the largest and most renowned bridal jewelry brands, they are unknown to most in our sector. One example of this
rebranding is speaking to the empowered woman of today.The
visual campaign features ethereal images of modern-day god-
desses and embraces the emotional importance behind bridal
jewelry, evoking aspiration and desire. I am also working within
a celebrated medical industry specialist, Dr. Daniel DePrince in
another total rebranding effort. He is about to make headlines
in The Wall Street Journal and NBC in the next two months.
I have learned that one gains a new perspective when expand-
ing branding and marketing techniques across new sectors.
>> Opinions <<
For more on branding and marketing in today’s digital
environment, Dan Scott can be reached at DanScott.com,
or 201.294.3697.
In rebranding efforts for the bridal brand, Just Perfect, NYC,
the visual campaign speaks to the empowered woman of
today using ethereal images of modern-day goddesses.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND
BRAND BUILDING
>> Opinions <<
Jewelry Showcase: How would you describe a brand?
Dan Scott: The definition of a brand, in simple terms, is that it is a promise. We too
often call a company a “brand” because it has a name, logo, or tagline. But, this does not
make it a brand. To create a jewelry brand, for example, you must carefully nurture its
designs or collections. And then, through the proper channels, you must stand by your brand
promise and deliver on it each and every day to the right audience.
JSM: How can you build a brand with the help of social media?
DS: Social media can be compared to a continuous party with conversations that take
place using text, images, videos, or audio, or any combination of these. The most popu-
lar conversations are those occurring on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter,
YouTube, and LinkedIn. You may invite your brand to the party, but don’t think for a minute that, because a social
platform bears your brand name, you are in control. The consumer has the ultimate say. Before you type, tweet, post
or pin, you should visit your competition and just observe. Remember, once you hit Enter, it will be online forever.
A strong brand promise never dies and, while there might be magic in instantaneous action and reaction, what can spread
like wildfire to promote your brand can also harm it with as little as one bad post.
JSM: In social media, how would you compare “hits,”“unique visitors,”“likes,”“fans,” and “shares?”
DS: It used to be that people jumped for joy when their website had a million hits, but since then,we have understood that a
“hit”is rather meaningless.You don’t know who “hit”the page.“Fans”or “likes”are, in a way, similar.You don’t know who they
are, where they came from, or what, exactly, they are “liking.”But, having said that, high numbers are still important for the
sheer attention of it all. People are drawn to crowds, and thousands of Facebook “fans” make your brand or product look
successful. As for “unique visitors” (UVs) to your site, they tell us that one specific visitor, on one day, from one IP address
came from a completely traceable online location. You can see the visitation time, duration, action taken, and much more.
UVs can produce email addresses, home addresses, and phone numbers, as well as other opt-in information.This is useful
once it is put into action to help create brand awareness. “Shares” are the digital version of word-of-mouth. When people
share, it’s a peer-to-peer endorsement, but shares can also be negative. If people have a bad experience, they tell the world.
When you see those—and you may well get them—do not hit delete or block them (unless it is profane and modern filters
take care of most of those). Resist the temptation to be defensive.
JSM: So what can you do if you receive negative “shares?”
DS: You should try to communicate with the person, just as any good customer service person would do.Though, in this
case, the world is watching. It is important to try and right the wrong, even if you are right. Don’t forget that people who
express their discontent are still people who care. But, if the conversation continues to be negative, try and take it offline.
There are ways to do this, and they are specific to each circumstance. >>
When it comes to building brands and brand awareness, Daniel Scott is a master. Often called a
“Brand Architect,” his vast experience includes marketing positions with QVC, Chanel, and Veri-
sign, followed by more than a decade as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Scott Kay. Two years ago, he
became CMO of World Trade Jewelers, where he was responsible for the global growth of billion-
dollar iconic brands translated into jewelry. Ranked #15 out of 5,000 CMOs in the United States and elect-
ed for the third year to the very prestigious and respected CMO North American Advisory Board, Dan
creates brands using social media, but not always in the ways you might think. Jewelry Showcase
Magazine caught up with Dan recently to learn more about this constantly changing phenomenon.
Interview conducted by Cynthia Unninayar
Dan Scott, Brand Architect