b'THE STATE OF THE THE JEWELRY THE COLOREDMAJORS DIAMOND DESIGN STONE MARKETINDUSTRYalways tell people is, you have to play to your strengths. If you dont have the budget for good photography or dont haveJEWELRY BRANDS confidence in your own iPhone shooting skills, why not come up with one great creative text template and just put your favorite quotes, orDOING IT RIG HTmake up your own? Wise also notes Instagram is moving away from the algorithm thatLarkspur & Hawkrewarded frequent or specifically timed posting. People start to get a little fatigued when someone is posting wayJW: The brand is not posting every day but when it does, it posts too much, trying to hit five posts a day. You have to find the rightthe message in a very articulate, interesting and on-brand way. I also balance for your brand and realize social media is not a megaphonethink it does a great job with editorial content, featuring a woman the through which youre just shouting stuff out. brand admires, or things that [designer Emily Satloff] loves, which is One of the mistakes Wise sees brands make on Instagram is post- one of the sections of its website. It understands how to take long-form ing without purpose, trying to follow the latest tips theyve heard oncontent and distill it into short-form content on Instagram.when or how much to post.More important than anything, Wise and Mortimer agree, is that an Instagram feed has to feel authentic. Companies must connect with the audience they have in a real and meaningful way.The minute people sense youre trying too hard or that youre presenting something youre not, thats the minute you lose all rele-vance and respect, Wise says. The companies that do the best set out to connect and engage. They dont set out to just rack up a ton of likes and comments. I think the biggest mistake people make is that they amplify with-out meaning to connect. They only try to drive sales when they need to connect with people and educate them on what theyre creating.Mortimer agrees, advising brands to foster community through comments, and actually start up conversations.[Instagram] just wants you to create beautiful things that are mean-ingful for your brand and to connect with your community. This can really be the deal breaker for a lot of brands to succeed, says Wise.POST IT LIKE A PROWise suggests brands treat their Instagram feed like the pages of a magazine, using it to create a narra- Foundraetive around their products.SM: When you look Theres room tothrough Foundraes really romanticizesocial media you see a your product andvery cohesive feed and share new discov- even the evolution of her eries and I dontjewelry over time. You think theres a lotcan see shes been honing of people who ap- her craft, building her proach it like that.story and its nice to see The ones who dothe evolution of product are really smart andbecause everything still successful. feels cohesive.And just as a jewelry company aims to deliver a personal experience in a store, it should approach social me-dia with the same attitude, making 56 STATE OF THE MAJORS 2019'