Events & AwardsNov 18, 2025
NYC Jewelry Week 2025: 12 Must-See EventsWith more than 140 activations taking place in New York City now through Nov. 23, these 12 events are can’t-miss moments.
TechnologyJul 30, 2019
The PR Adviser: Turning Staff into Influencers, Part II
Lilian Raji gives a lesson on hashtags in her latest column on influencer marketing. #Readit.
Lilian Raji is a strategic communications and PR adviser who helps companies understand their marketing problems, then designs and executes strategies to solve them.
Hello dear readers! It’s been weeks since Vegas. I hope you’re well-tanned from doing absolutely nothing in the sun. Or, at the very least, have bodies made supple by daily massages and nightly mojitos as you recuperate from the shows.
It’s time to pick up where we last left off in our influencer marketing focus.
We were in the process of creating an elite, super-engineered, influencer warrior named Anastasia who influences exclusively for you. Let’s continue!
Q. Dear Lilian,
Rather than paying influencers to help promote our business, how can I turn my staff into influencers?
Signed,
Keeping the Bacon at Home
A. When we last rendezvous-ed here on National Jeweler, your homework assignment was to grab a free copy of my Influencer Marketing Toolkit, and use the workbook “The Creative Brief” to help brainstorm Anastasia’s content strategy.
In your strategy development, did you include how you can involve your customers? If not, tsk, tsk, tsk.
The most important rule in sales, marketing or PR is that it’s never about you.
Buying is about the customer.
Whenever a customer buys from your Anastasia, she’ll ask the happy customer to do a joint selfie showing off the latest purchase. This gets posted and tagged on Instagram, where yours and the customer’s followers can see.
For gift purchases, encourage the customer to share pictures or video of the recipient receiving that gift, especially if it’s an engagement ring like this Royal Asscher-cut stone set in a twisted split shank.
When the picture or video arrives, onto Instagram it goes with a humble-brag post about Anastasia’s involvement.
Including real, live, happy customers on your Anastasia’s Instagram is the most authentic thing you can do. And never forget—authenticity is the gateway to influence.
Now, say several weeks have passed with Anastasia diligently posting alluring content, yet she’s barely cracking 2,000 followers. What gives?
With all the hours she’s putting in, surely she should have 100,000 followers by now, right?
Wrong. And don’t call me Shirley.
Herein lies the challenge of becoming an influencer.
How long have you known the name Kim Kardashian? A year? Four years? A decade?
Would you be surprised to know “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” first aired in 2007?
Yeah, it’s been that long. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge just how hard Kris Jenner has worked to keep her family relevant all these years.
“Don’t buy followers because those followers are often bots that don’t have
credit cards, or limbs to wear your jewelry.”
But back to Anastasia and her slow-growing follower count. Above everything else, it takes time to grow a significant following. Be neither impatient nor ashamed at the slow growth.
Instead, be ecstatic about every single follower Anastasia earns. Those followers are there because they want to know what Anastasia will post next.
That kind of desire is what carries you from the doorstep of authenticity to the bright lights of influence.
You’ll be tempted to try and take shortcuts. Don’t.
Don’t buy followers because those followers are often bots that don’t have credit cards, or limbs to wear your jewelry. Bought followers also hamper your authenticity when people question why none of your 1 million followers ever offer thoughtful comments on your posts.
Don’t engage software that tricks thousands of real people into following you by first following them. Those new followers, however human, aren’t interested in your recommendations. They’re following you out of a social media etiquette to follow back those who follow them.
To increase genuine followers, always include hashtags in your posts. This is a hashtag: #.
Hashtags tell Instagram how to categorize your post and make it easier for those following that category to see your post in their feed. Just make sure the hashtags you use are those people would search for.
I have a client who took to hashtags like Elizabeth Taylor took to jewels. He was so enamored with hash-tagging that he would hashtag his wife’s unique name and random things like #pots and #table.
Please don’t do that. Hashtags have a very specific marketing purpose. Use them wisely.
Nonetheless, don’t be afraid to apply conceptual thinking in selecting your hashtags.
Take a look at this Phillip Gavriel post. I love the lifestyle shot showing off those rings. They’ve used the perfect applicable hashtags (#jewelryaddict, #jewelrygram, #bling, etc.), but let’s think abstractly.
How about #fridaynightout? Having been used 184K times, a post with this hashtag is likely to show up in more feeds.
Also, #datenight! With 15.5 million previous uses, this one’s a no-brainer, especially with the lifestyle angle Phillip Gavriel has chosen for the picture.
I’m pretty sure Instagram users looking for style inspiration on #datenight or a #fridaynightout would love to know about these Phillip Gavriel rings. They’ll also want to see more jewelry recommendations from Phillip Gavriel by following the account.
Having a strong hashtag strategy is just one of many ways to increase followers. There are so many more things you can do. But, alas, we’re out of time!
Get your free copy of my Influencer Marketing Toolkit, and return to your content strategy drawing board. Use the worksheets in “The Creative Brief” to come up with additional abstract hashtags.
When we meet again next month, we’ll conclude Anastasia’s journey of becoming an elite influencer as we delve deeper into strategies to increase her/your followers.
In the meantime, my calendar is open to you should you need tips before then.
Lilian Raji is a strategic communications and PR adviser who helps companies understand their marketing problems, then designs and executes strategies to solve them. Learn more at LilianRaji.com. Submit questions for Lilian to answer here and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Instead, be ecstatic about every single follower Anastasia earns. Those followers are there because they want to know what Anastasia will post next.
That kind of desire is what carries you from the doorstep of authenticity to the bright lights of influence.
You’ll be tempted to try and take shortcuts. Don’t.
Don’t buy followers because those followers are often bots that don’t have credit cards, or limbs to wear your jewelry. Bought followers also hamper your authenticity when people question why none of your 1 million followers ever offer thoughtful comments on your posts.
Don’t engage software that tricks thousands of real people into following you by first following them. Those new followers, however human, aren’t interested in your recommendations. They’re following you out of a social media etiquette to follow back those who follow them.
To increase genuine followers, always include hashtags in your posts. This is a hashtag: #.
Hashtags tell Instagram how to categorize your post and make it easier for those following that category to see your post in their feed. Just make sure the hashtags you use are those people would search for.
I have a client who took to hashtags like Elizabeth Taylor took to jewels. He was so enamored with hash-tagging that he would hashtag his wife’s unique name and random things like #pots and #table.
Please don’t do that. Hashtags have a very specific marketing purpose. Use them wisely.
Nonetheless, don’t be afraid to apply conceptual thinking in selecting your hashtags.
Take a look at this Phillip Gavriel post. I love the lifestyle shot showing off those rings. They’ve used the perfect applicable hashtags (#jewelryaddict, #jewelrygram, #bling, etc.), but let’s think abstractly.
How about #fridaynightout? Having been used 184K times, a post with this hashtag is likely to show up in more feeds.
Also, #datenight! With 15.5 million previous uses, this one’s a no-brainer, especially with the lifestyle angle Phillip Gavriel has chosen for the picture.
I’m pretty sure Instagram users looking for style inspiration on #datenight or a #fridaynightout would love to know about these Phillip Gavriel rings. They’ll also want to see more jewelry recommendations from Phillip Gavriel by following the account.
Having a strong hashtag strategy is just one of many ways to increase followers. There are so many more things you can do. But, alas, we’re out of time!
Get your free copy of my Influencer Marketing Toolkit, and return to your content strategy drawing board. Use the worksheets in “The Creative Brief” to come up with additional abstract hashtags.
When we meet again next month, we’ll conclude Anastasia’s journey of becoming an elite influencer as we delve deeper into strategies to increase her/your followers.
In the meantime, my calendar is open to you should you need tips before then.
Lilian Raji is a strategic communications and PR adviser who helps companies understand their marketing problems, then designs and executes strategies to solve them. Learn more at LilianRaji.com. Submit questions for Lilian to answer here and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
More on Technology
The Latest
MajorsNov 18, 2025
Lugano Diamonds Files for Bankruptcy, Looking for BuyerThe Chapter 11 filing follows the resignation of CEO Moti Ferder, who stepped down after an investigation into the company’s finances.
Events & AwardsNov 18, 2025
A Giant, Bejeweled Moldy Berry Is on Display in LAThe artwork is part of an exhibition featuring works by Kathleen Ryan, an artist known for her gemstone-studded rotting fruit sculptures.
Brought to you by
Impacting Tomorrow TodayHow Jewelers of America’s 20 Under 40 are leading to ensure a brighter future for the jewelry industry.
SourcingNov 18, 2025
Another Diamond Company CEO Steps DownMark Wall, president and CEO of Canadian mining company Mountain Province Diamonds, will vacate his position next month.
Weekly QuizNov 13, 2025
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
CrimeNov 17, 2025
Police Searching for 2 Suspects in Murder of Father, Son Jewelers Faustino Alamo Dominguez and his son, 25-year-old Luis Angel Alamo, were gunned down following an armed robbery at their jewelry store.
GradingNov 17, 2025
IGI Announces New President of North AmericaTiffany & Co. veteran Jeffrey Bennett has stepped into the role.
Brought to you by
Roseco Releases New Full-Line CatalogRoseco’s 704-page catalog showcases new lab-grown diamonds, findings, tools & more—available in print or interactive digital editions.
MajorsNov 17, 2025
Look Inside Robbins Brothers Fine Jewelers’ New Pasadena FlagshipThe showroom is located in a historic 1920s building in the Playhouse District.
Policies & IssuesNov 14, 2025
U.S., Switzerland Reach Deal That Drops Tariff to 15%The Swiss government announced the deal, which cuts the tax on Swiss imports by more than half, on social media Friday morning.
AuctionsNov 14, 2025
Napoleon’s Diamond Brooch Blows Away Auction Estimates A buyer paid $4.4 million for the piece, which Napoleon wore on his hat for special occasions and left behind when he fled Waterloo.
FinancialsNov 14, 2025
Richemont’s Q2 Jewelry Sales Up 12%Plus, how tariffs and the rising price of gold are affecting its watch and jewelry brands.
CollectionsNov 14, 2025
Piece of the Week: Silvia Furmanovich’s ‘Butterflies in Flight’ Jewelry BoxFurmanovich designed the box to hold Mellerio’s “Color Queen,” a high jewelry collection consisting of 10 rings.
Events & AwardsNov 14, 2025
JCK Names New Event DirectorJennifer Hopf, who has been with JCK since 2022, will lead the execution of the long-running jewelry trade show.
IndependentsNov 13, 2025
127-Year-Old New Orleans Jeweler to CloseAdler’s Jewelry is set to close its two stores as 82-year-old owner Coleman E. Adler II retires.
IndependentsNov 13, 2025
Green Lake Jewelry Works to Move to New Seattle StudioFounder Jim Tuttle shared how a dedication to craftsmanship and meaningful custom jewelry fueled the retailer’s double-digit growth.
MajorsNov 13, 2025
Vahan Jewelry Founder Leon ‘Sacha’ Der Calousdian Dies at 85The third-generation jeweler is remembered as a passionate creative with a love of art, traveling and sailboat racing.
CrimeNov 12, 2025
Father, Son Jewelers in Chicago Victims in Double Homicide JSA and Cook County Crime Stoppers are both offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects involved.
AuctionsNov 12, 2025
‘Mellon Blue’ Diamond Sells for $7M Less Than It Did a Decade AgoA buyer paid $25.6 million for the diamond at Christie’s on Tuesday. In 2014, Sotheby’s sold the same stone for $32.6 million.
AuctionsNov 12, 2025
Historic Rolex Oyster Fetches $1.7M at Sotheby’sMercedes Gleitze famously wore the watch in her 1927 swim across the English Channel, a pivotal credibility moment for the watchmaker.
GradingNov 12, 2025
It’s Time: GIA’s Express Holiday Service Is Back GIA is offering next-day services for natural, colorless diamonds submitted to its labs in New York and Carlsbad.
MajorsNov 10, 2025
Jewelers Focus on Love, Joy In 2025 Holiday Campaigns Tiffany & Co., David Yurman, and Pandora have launched holiday campaigns depicting their jewelry as symbols of affection and happiness.
SurveysNov 10, 2025
5 Things Retailers Should Know About Holiday Shoppers This YearThe National Retail Federation is bullish on the holidays, forecasting retail sales to exceed $1 trillion this year.
AuctionsNov 10, 2025
300+ Colored Diamonds Up for Auction at Christie’sLate collector Eddy Elzas assembled “The Rainbow Collection,” which is offered as a single lot and estimated to fetch up to $3 million.
EditorsNov 07, 2025
Piece of the Week: An MVP’s Sapphire Tennis Necklace At the 2025 World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto sported a custom necklace made by California retailer Happy Jewelers.
IndependentsNov 07, 2025
Foundrae’s New Palm Beach Location Is a ‘Golden Solarium’The brand’s seventh location combines Foundrae’s symbolic vocabulary with motifs from Florida’s natural surroundings.
FinancialsNov 07, 2025
Watches of Switzerland’s H1 Sales Up 8%The retailer also shared an update on the impact of tariffs on watch customers.
