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Success With Jewelry
114 - Laryssa and Liz Share Tips For Navigating Instagram as a Jewelry Brand in 2025
00:23:45
Welcome to the Success With Jewelry podcast, hosted by Laryssa Wirstiuk and Liz Kantner, two experts passionate about helping independent jewelry artists thrive. Welcome to episode #114! Laryssa and Liz are chatting about how to navigate Instagram as...
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to the Success with Jewelry podcast, where we invite you inside our conversations about business success and marketing for jewelry designers and entrepreneurs.
- [00:09]
B
We're Larissa and Liz, jewelry marketing experts with a combined 16 years of experience in jewelry marketing and proven track records and helping jewelry brands meet their goals. When you listen to or watch this podcast, you get an intimate and exclusive peek behind the curtain of all the things you wish you could know about earning success in this industry.
- [00:29]
A
Welcome to episode 114. This week, we'll be chatting about Instagram in 2025. While we don't think it should be your full focus, it's an important piece of the marketing strategy. We'll share what's working on Instagram right now and how you can use it to grow your business and connect with your customers. In our bonus segment, we'll discuss which brands are doing it right and why. Hey, Larissa, let's get into it.
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B
It's always the hottest topic. Everyone always wants to know.
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A
It's such a hot topic. Like, even I was on a Zoom earlier today and we were talking about trade shows, and it still, like, came down to Instagram. That still was a topic that was a part of it. So it's something that's top of mind for a lot of people.
- [01:13]
B
Yeah. And I have thoughts. I'm sure you have thoughts. We're excited to share them today.
- [01:17]
A
I'm excited to hear your thoughts because I think that when last week when we were talking about doing this outline, you were kind of like, you know, I don't know what's going on with Instagram. So I'm excited to hear what you think.
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B
Yeah. In one week, I suddenly have a lot of thoughts.
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A
Everyone was so checked out, though. Like, talking to designers, you know, people took breaks. People weren't here. I don't know. People checked out. And that's okay for sure.
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B
But we're back.
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A
We're back. We're in it. We're here. Anyway. Okay, so why Instagram is still relevant. And I've been saying this forever, but it's still like. And I think it just operates so differently. And I think that where people get stuck with things that change, change in general. And, like, Instagram's been around for what, like, 15 years? It's changed a lot in those 15 years. And even in the past five years or even in the past two years or even in the past year, it's a lot different the way you want to use it and think about it. And I think that that's hard for people to understand. It's like, well, what I was doing isn't working anymore.
- [02:23]
B
And it's hard to forget about whether you like or don't like change. I think even if you're open to change, it's hard to kind of keep evolving and keep rethinking what you're doing, because that requires you to like, sit down and rethink your whole, whole social media strategy.
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A
And then also the mindset of it all, because I think it used to be like, how many likes did each post get? And now it's just not. It's like more of a holistic. It's part of the holistic marketing strategy. It's not like, you know, we're looking post to post and looking at analytics. We are really looking at our marketing as a whole and we're reporting on Instagram monthly and looking at that big picture of results. Not like, did this post do well?
- [03:04]
B
Yeah, because what I see, I mean, I've probably talked about this before, like, looking at the numbers, if you micro focus on it, you are going to be frustrated because, like, one post will do really well, but the next day you get like five likes, you know, and so it's really hard to like, micro manage those analytics.
- [03:23]
A
It is really hard. And I think that it's so. It's always been hard in marketing to like, pinpoint where sales are coming from or like, draw that line. And I think it's even harder and you don't know where things are happening. So, for example, today I sent out an email that was like, very focused on Staple Collective and like promoting that. But then somebody signed up for a consulting call, which is also great. Um, you know, and I was like, okay, well, is that because I sent an email today or had they been thinking about it before? Like, did they find me through Instagram? Like, I don't know where that came from. But showing up is important and it leads to things happening.
- [03:59]
B
Yes, it's hard. I. I was literally just having this question before. I'm like, what is the path that this, like, sale came from? You know, because there's often many touch points on many platforms.
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A
Definitely. So. And you know, to my point that I made earlier about how I was in a zoom meeting talking about a trade show, Instagram came up, because it's like, well, you're doing outreach to retailers and the first thing the retailer is going to do is go to either your website or your Instagram page. And if you haven't posted for three weeks, even if you were taking a nice break and enjoying your holiday, like, we gotta get back online. And like, even if it's like more boilerplate, maybe it's a reintroduction to yourself, maybe it's bestsellers, maybe it's something that's like, not like, you know, super like, this is the newest thing ever that's on my bench right now. It's still important to be there and have a consistent presence. Yeah.
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B
Show that you're an active, engaged business. Yes.
- [04:54]
A
It's so important. And it's something that retailers look at. It's something that end consumers look at. Okay, so what's working on Instagram right now? So in terms of, like, and what we're not going to do on this podcast is talk about, like, all of the new features, because I don't keep track of them and I've been doing this for a very long time. And, you know, the jewelry industry is a little behind everything else. Also, when Instagram, like rolls out these new things, in my opinion, you don't need to necessarily hop to them because our customer, a jewelry customer, a fine jewelry purchaser, a jewelry purchaser in general, unless you're like, selling like, lower price point or super trendy jewelry is not going to be on, like the newest thing. Do you?
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B
Yeah, yeah. Or I think if you feel really compelled and excited to use it and you think you can do something really fun with it, then maybe that's an opportunity for you to create a cool piece of content.
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A
Definitely. Like, if you're excited about it, if you have an idea for it, totally go ahead. But a lot of the chat about, like, what's happening on Instagram now has to do with AI, and I'm not quite sure how that's going to shake out yet or how people are going to use it. So if we do form an opinion, we'll definitely share it here. But for now, I think it, like, really, like a healthy mix of content. Like reels. Stories are super important always. They're the gateway to your direct messages. And then carousel posts are proving to be really successful for people in terms of, like, engagement on, you know, content. So if you're feeling like, oh, my reels aren't performing the way they used to, try a carousel post, because that could get you a little bit more engagement.
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B
I have definitely seen with most of my clients that I report on that carousels are doing the best for them and take that with a grain of salt. Like Liz said, if your reels perform really well, like, keep doing what you're doing. But if you've seen a decline in that engagement carousels are great because Instagram will actually keep showing the content. Like, it'll show a different slide to people and the same carousel could get additional reach. Basically.
- [07:07]
A
Yes. And like a nice mix of content on a carousel, like, behind the scenes is really something too, that's working in terms. I think I jumped ahead of myself in this, this outline. But behind the scenes content is what seems to be performing really, really well. And I experiment it with that on my own page. And I never have behind the scenes content to post, really. And I shared some from designers and those posts performed really well. So I think that that's something to think about mixing into your content because it really does drive engagement. It builds trust. It kind of helps, you know, when you're thinking about, like a customer feeling great about buying something at a price. Seeing all the work that goes into something can really, like, build that, you know, feeling of like, I am getting a great value. Like, look at all this work that went into this thing. So it helps from a lot of different angles and it's just something that people really engage with.
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B
Yeah. A lot of people aren't going to love this, but I find the posts that do really well are when your face is shown.
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A
It's so true. I mean, they always do the best. Yep. If I put. And a lot of times I'm working with designers who will not put their face on camera unless I really push them. And it's just sometimes you just get to a point where it's like, okay, well, we're not going to do this. But like, their hands at the bench always does well. Like, if I can get them to do a voiceover that's really helpful or even just an old headshot. Like an old one. It doesn't even have to be a fresh headshot. But that always performs really well too.
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B
Yeah. If you've had like a period of low performing post and you want to get like a boost of good feelings, put a picture of yourself on Instagram.
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A
Totally, totally. I think that. So, you know, a lot of times I'm talking to designers about, like, what they have the capacity for. Like, what they can actually, like, make work in their schedule. Like, how, how can they make this work? Showing up consistently and it is planning, but the consistency is what's going to pay off. Even if it feels like, okay, well, all the posts I'm doing are getting low engagement. Like, if you stick with it and you're consistent in your feed and then you start aligning your stories and then you start mixing up Your content and doing some, like, reels and some. Maybe a live video and then maybe some cool carousel posts with behind the scenes. Like, if you start mixing that stuff in and you're super consistent with all of this, you will see an increase in your engagement.
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B
I love that. And I believe it, too.
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A
Yeah. And, you know, I think that we've had this conversation before where it's like, we're sick of talking about the algorithm, but to, like, the algorithm appreciates consistency. They also appreciate user interaction. That's not necessarily likes. That's definitely comments. I think that. I think I said this last year many times before, but the DMs are a really important piece of the puzzle. You want to make sure people feel like you're talking to them direct, even if that means, like, you're doing the outreaching and you're, like, saying, like, hey, like, you know, I just made this thing I wanted to show you. Or even, like, outside of sales, like, hey, Happy New Year, or responding to their stories and saying, like, oh, I have a dog, too. Here's my dog. Or whatever it is.
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B
Yeah. And that they feel comfortable to engage back with you. I think people can be intimidated sometimes.
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A
Mm. I love hearing from brands, businesses, designers. Like, anytime I'm glad to hear from, like, truly, anytime I get a dm, I'm excited.
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B
You kind of said the word AI, and I don't want to get, like, super into it because I feel like it could be a whole other episode. But with the rise of, like, AI content, I think all of these things that we're talking about are more important than ever before because it distinguishes you as, like, a real person behind a brand.
- [11:08]
A
And that's actually kind of a benefit in a sense, because you don't need, like, overly produced content. You don't need things that look too polished. You actually want it to feel real so you don't have to, like, have the perfect lighting or have the perfect setup. You just want to be telling a story authentically.
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B
Yeah. So that people aren't like, is this AI? No. They should see it and know it's genuine, authentic, real, and that it represents you.
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A
And that doesn't mean you need to, like, bear your soul. It's like, I keep using this term recently of, like, boilerplate posts, and I don't know why I started saying that. But, like, I want people to get out of the their own way of, like, I have to be posting something super new or some super meaningful. And it's like, for some of the brands I work with, like, I'm using images, like I don't have new content. You know, I'm using like images and I'm like digging for stuff and I'm using just like a product shot, but I'm telling a different story about that piece. Or I'm adding in like a swipe to see it in motion, or I'm adding in like, you know, historical context, like this is what inspired it. Or like swipe for a bench shot or like adding just more to it or telling more about it. So like it's okay to be like telling a story that doesn't feel like super fresh, but because it could be discovered by someone who hasn't ever seen your work before.
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B
Yes. And to add on that, that's why reporting is really important too. Because if you find an older post that like performed really well, think of a way to like reshare that. Like Liz said, maybe it's like with a slight tweak or a different caption and a lot of times it will perform well again for whatever reason. The algorithm is a mystery, but you know, go in the direction that is.
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A
Working and even if someone has seen it before, it might reinforce it. So I always like to think about planning content, especially if you're doing like very high end, one of a kind pieces. It's like if I'm talking about this piece of jewelry, I'm going to show it at least like three times in a row to tell like a different piece of the story. And that's how like somebody seeing something several times is what's going to lead to them inquiring about it. It's not always going to be the first time they see something.
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B
Very true.
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A
And so I think that like community engagement is super important. Talking to the audience you already have is going to help you grow your community. Responding to comments, being proactive with direct messages, utilizing user generated content. Like I was talking to a designer recently and I was like scrolling her Etsy page and I was reading all of these amazing testimonials and like reviews, like, like five to 10 in the past, like few weeks, like so many great reviews and testimonials. And I was like, this is user generated content. Like essentially like people are posting images of the piece too. And I'm like, you have to use this on Instagram. And she had never thought of doing that before even though she was getting like these endless reviews.
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B
Yes, that's such a good point. I mean, sometimes we just forget about what we have available. So the new year's a good time to Also audit all of these things that you have available.
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A
Definitely. And then there's. I mean, this is a little bit off topic, but this is a question I got today that was like, how do I manage all my photos and stuff? Because I know so many designers listening, have a bunch of, like, process photos or have a bunch of photos of their work, but they're not using them because they, like, they're on their phone now and they disappear forever. And it's like if you're putting these all into a Dropbox or a Drive and labeling it, like, you know, Signet Ring, like, maybe that's the name of one of your products and you have, like, this great Signet ring. So all of the different photos you have, even if it's on the bench in process or, like, you know, maybe it's somebody wearing it or maybe it's the product shot. Like, when you search Signet Ring in Dropbox or Drive, like, all of those come up. So if you're doing an email about your Signet Ring, you can search for it and find all of the great content, and then you can take that content and plan it out on social media.
- [15:07]
B
I love that you brought this up because this is a good thing to add as, like, a recurring weekly task, especially if you don't think to do it in the moment. Maybe like every Friday, you go through all the pictures you took that week, and you have either the Google Drive or the Dropbox app on your phone, and you basically organize them. And not only will that help you, but once you get to work with someone like me or Liz, we will be so grateful and happy that you organized your pictures and we can actually do better marketing for you because all the assets are easy to find.
- [15:46]
A
That's so true. The other thing I want to say about Instagram is a lot of people feel like they're stuck where they're at or they feel like they're not growing, especially for brands who are just kind of starting off, or like, maybe you launched your Instagram account in the past couple of years. It is hard to grow. It is not easy. But the one thing that will help you grow is collaborations and cross promotion. And I was doing my report for my social media, and there's like, this huge jump in my engagement, my follows, like, all of my numbers for the month of November. And in November, I was doing a collaboration with the State World Collective, where everyone made a charm and everybody was posting it and tagging me. And your City Jewelry Week was tagging me. And so, like, all of that led to this, like huge jump in follow. Not huge, but like a decent jump in followers and growth and engagement and all of that. And people clicking to my website too. And also I saw stable membership up that month too. So, like, thinking outside of the box of how you can collaborate or cross promote or get people tagging you or talking about you is the number one best way to grow an Instagram platform in 2020.
- [17:00]
B
We could just end the episode right there.
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A
Yeah, I know. There's nothing else to say. That's actually was my reasoning for this topic is because I wanted to get that point across. Like, if you're struggling to grow your page, you need to cross promote, you need to collaborate.
- [17:13]
B
I think we've done an episode about this before, but maybe it's worth revisiting it because I think that people really get stuck for thinking of creative ways to collaborate that like, aren't super elaborate, that don't cost a lot of money, blah, blah, blah. So maybe we need to come up with some, like, innovative, low budget ways to do it.
- [17:37]
A
Yeah, that's a good idea. Okay, we'll do that.
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B
I think live brainstorming.
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A
Brainstorming. That's going to be a big collaboration in general. It's going to be a big thing. I think it has been a big thing, but I think it's going to be an even bigger thing. Yeah, I think that's a good topic. The last thing I wanted to talk about. And by the way, Larissa, I just dropped our success with Jewelry report in the chat or in our.
- [18:05]
B
Oh, in our document.
- [18:08]
A
I did not do December yet. I'm so sorry.
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B
Is this for November?
- [18:13]
A
Yeah, it's all. It's all of last. Or it's March through November.
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B
Oh, okay. As we're talking, I'm looking at it live.
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A
Yeah. Wow.
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B
We gained followers.
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A
December will look really good. I'm actually. Maybe we should talk about this after I do December because November was not as good. But anyway, still huge growth. I think in general. You can see the months that we had like a guest and they were sharing out the content. Our impressions were up.
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B
Yeah, they do much better. There you go. Collaborations, Collaborations.
- [18:52]
A
That's where we got. I would say most of our followers came from Kylie, from. Okay, fine. And A Thousand Facets and them sharing out our posts, which we appreciate. We love when people discover us.
- [19:05]
B
Yeah, that's awesome. I can't wait to see December.
- [19:10]
A
Yeah, I'll put December in and if anybody needs a reporting template, let me know. It's pretty straightforward, but looking at it as a whole. And I haven't even done, like, graphs or charts or anything like that yet, which could be helpful, too. But you can really see which content worked best. And I think it was March when we started getting consistent with Instagram, which is why I started the report then. But the consistency for us has really paid off, I think, in a big way, in terms of gaining new listeners, gaining awareness, connecting with listeners, and just sharing more information in a concise and consistent way.
- [19:50]
B
Yeah. And, Liz, you've done a good job of, like, diversifying the content. I think we talked about this before, but at first, like you said, you weren't sure even about the type of content to share about the podcast, and I think you've, like, found a stride with that.
- [20:07]
A
Thank you. I. I have been. I learned a lot from trying to figure that out. And I've also really been able to think more creatively about some of the other accounts I manage or people I consult. Because if you put yourself into, like, this position where you have a system, you have your clear goals, which we had goals of, like, wanting to diversify the content we're putting out there and to also, like, bring more jewelry into the mix of how you're presenting it and also, like, really shout out testimonials or, like, listener reviews or, like, comments from, you know, build community with it. It really helped me build this. Like, this is our formula and this is what we stick with. And before, it felt like, oh, my gosh, I have to do this content. I don't want to do it, like, last minute or, like, just skipping it, to be honest. But now I'm like, okay, I know what I'm doing. I do it on Mondays, and it's ready for the week.
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B
And it's such a holistic process, too, I think. You know, at the beginning of our podcast, we were still trying to figure out, like, everything, like, what the goal for the podcast was, who we're talking to, like, what we're sharing and figuring out. The social media is just a piece of that whole thing, too, so.
- [21:20]
A
And we work really together on this, too, because Larissa sends out the emails or she writes the email, and I, as soon as the email's done, I pull from the email for, like, the, hey, this is our post this week post for social media. And then from there, I, like, take the episode and I transcribe it and I get a great quote and then I clip the audio. And, like, it's just this whole, like, streamlined process that, like, every time it's the same and having that, like, system in place just makes it so much easier.
- [21:51]
B
Yeah. And I'm sure people listening are like, well, okay, I don't have a podcast. Like, how do I have a recurring thing that I'm doing every week? We love to do that with blog posts with clients. Like, even if they're not publishing every week, a monthly blog post can be, like, repurposed. And you could do basically the same thing with pulling out content from it. So that's something we encourage, too. And it's a similar approach.
- [22:18]
A
Yes, definitely. You don't want to be doing anything in, like, a silo. It all needs to be working together, and it'll save you time in the long run anyway. Last thing I'll say is that connecting with customers is something super important to be thinking about in terms of, like, creating content this year. Like, you know, making sure you're using stories, because that's an easy way for people to reach out. Like, polls and, like, doing Q&As. I love Q&As. I've only done one in my time on Instagram that felt like people actually sent me questions, and it was really fun. But I'm always scared to post a question box because I'm like, I'm going to get no questions. But once, you know, and you can put your own questions in or you can have an idea of what you want to say or what you want to answer. But I love reading them when I see other people doing them. And then, you know, just make sure that you have a game plan for, like, replying to people. And that doesn't mean you have to be on the platform all day, every day. But, like, maybe it's twice a day you check in where you reply and you engage in the DMs and, like, set a timer for, like, 10, 15 minutes to do that and have saved responses. And just think about how you can be engaging and replying.
- [23:30]
B
Great tips.
- [23:32]
A
All right, so how do you feel about Instagram? Let us know. Visit successwithjori.com and if you love the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a message or leave us a review. Thanks for being a part of the Success with Jewelry community.