Thank You from Your Santa Barbara Jeweler – Social Media Jeweler

I was recently featured in an MJSA (a leading resource in jewelry making and design) article called Custom Collections- Marketing Custom Jewelry Online.  And I have all of you to thank...so thank you!

Peggy Jo Donahue's beautiful article, (thank you too Peggy Jo!) talks about my use of social media as a way to serve, support and sell to my clients in my niche business as a Santa Barbara Jewelry designer.

Computer Dinosaur - True Confessions

Let me start this post by saying that I didn't use email until I had my first website (seven years ago). I had to be shown how to email multiple times. I was pathetic. But when you are having a website made you just have to use email. Since it was so hard for me to learn emailing I was afraid of learning other computer skills.

My Teenager-Induced Journey into Social Media

My social media journey started in the weirdest way. About two years ago I was pretty much freaking out at how much time my son Dan was spending on his computer. He maintained that it wasn't a bad thing and I feared a full brain-mush meltdown.

A Book Changed our Family Dynamics and My Business

My motto is, "when in doubt, read about it." So I chose Don Tapscott's book, "Grown up Digital." Tapscott is a world renowned researcher who had stats about my son's generation and their growing up digital ways and the results of it. (Actually the results were quite good! I was shocked.)

In reading Tapscott's book, my fear turned to fascination. My son challenged me to try on his world, so I'd quit fearing it. He set me up on Facebook. Unlike learning email, I took to Facebook like a duck to water. My son soon made a business page for this Santa Barbara Jeweler and sold me on it's benefits. Our relationship smoothed out. Thank you Don Tapscott!

Diving into the Deep End of Social Media and Loving it

At that point I decided I needed to be on LinkedIn, which I really liked. Having a business page on Facebook has opened up a new way to keep my clients and future clients current on my newest designs, It's also created a place where my son's online generation can reach out to me for custom jewelry design, jewelry repair and revitalizing of inherited family jewelry.

Thank You Dan for Freakishly Multitasking!

If I hadn't had a teenager multi-tasking freakishly at home, I doubt I'd be in social media right now. By multi-tasking freakishly, I mean listening to his ipod, doing homework, commenting on his constantly open Facebook page, having an IM conversation and occasionally texting. So thank you Dan!

Thank You Peggy Jo for Shining a Light on My Social Media Journey

Speaking in Peggy Jo Donahue's Educational Presentation in Tucson.

Peggy Jo Donahue put all the pieces together of how I've used social media to grow my Calla Gold Jewelry business. It just made me reflect on how much I appreciate this new way of connecting and communicating. Peggy Jo made me look back and see the vast gulf between the dinosaur I was and recognize the comfort level I now feel with computers and social media!

Also, a little side note on MJSA - here is a video of my talk at their 2011 New York Expo that I participated in this Winter.