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Trish Fehon: Welcome again, everybody, to our series on social media success. Today I’m here with Suzi Tassios from Suzi’s Jewellery & Accessories. Welcome, Suzi, and thanks for joining us today.

Suzi Tassios: Thank you for having me, Trish.

Trish: You’re welcome. Tell us a little bit about your business, Suzi.

Suzi: Okay. I started my business last year, the 20th of June. We had a big launch, and that was very successful. We had over 200 people. We had 25 free sponsors. We had models, red carpet, food, video. Very successful.

Trish: Sounds great.

Suzi: And we’re still doing well.

Trish:  Now, you’ve had really good success on Facebook. I know this because I’m a big fan of Suzi’s page and her business. Tell us a little bit about how you orchestrated all that.

Suzi: Facebook is the way  to go, and that’s why I’m very successful. What I find is I started off with family and friends, even mums from school, and got them to like my Facebook page. And then I find with Facebook, it’s a lot easier to post my pictures. People can get to see it; it’s just a good way of interacting with friends, customers, clients, you name it.

Trish: In terms of that getting your friends and family to like it, I’m hearing that as a common thread, that that’s a really good way to start because obviously, Suzi sells accessories that women like, so getting all your friends and family to spread the word is a good way to start.

But we were talking earlier about other ways that people recommend that you get started off to build your fan base. Do you want to tell everyone about that?

Suzi: Yes. I was told to actually buy my likes for Facebook, but I found that didn’t work very well for me. I had people that were just liking the page; they weren’t the right customers for me. It looked great that I had a lot of likes, but they weren’t being converted into sales.

Trish: Sometimes the people that like the page are not the people that you really want as ideal customers.

Suzi: Exactly, yeah.

Trish: I see that a lot in this industry, and lots of companies, or a few big companies, have done actual studies into this, and they’ve proven that that’s not a great strategy. But I fully get the whole – when you start, you want to look like you’re really popular. That’s not a bad thing; it’s just that you have to, as Suzi said, look at the conversions and decide if that’s an ideal ongoing strategy.

Tell us a little bit about how you use Facebook. What sort of things do you do?

Suzi: Facebook is a way of building trust. People get to know you, they get to know you as a person. They get to follow you. They have an interest in you. With Suzi’s Jewellery & Accessories, it’s not always about buying. The way that I have it is everyone is welcome to come into the shop. It’s about the shopping experience; it’s pretty laid-back. We have a lot of fun, we take photos. So for me, it’s about building that relationship, and you’re welcome to come in, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t buy.

Trish: Yeah, and I think that’s what really shines on your page. Because Suzi will take a photo of just customers that come into the shop.

Suzi: And they love it. They sit there, they love posing, they come in next time like “What about the photo?”

Trish: And often you’ll tag them in that, which is a great way to help it go viral.

Suzi: It basically is. For example, I know you, Trish; I tag you in the photo, your friends get to see the photo, and then their friends get to see it as well. That is probably the best way of doing it.

Trish: Yeah, and I think what you’re saying here is it’s not about hit and miss, is it?

Suzi: No.

Trish: It’s about working out “Who’s my client and what’s the best way to interact with them?” So what about in terms of other social media? You mentioned that you use LinkedIn a bit?

Suzi: Yes, LinkedIn works really well with wholesale. I have companies from all over the world contacting me, trying to supply me with their products. I think that works quite well. I do have over 1,000 people liking that LinkedIn, but Facebook works a lot better for me.

Trish: What I’ve seen you do too, Suzi, is you’ll take a photo of an actual product, maybe one of the customers have put it on, and that generates a lot of interest.

Suzi: Yes, it does. Because I think it’s quite important that everyone gets to wear the product to see what it – like it might look different on me than it does on you, Trish. I’ll be very honest; I’ll say it as it is. But I think that’s the way to go. And then their friends get to see – their friends come in, and they want to be part of that, too.

Trish: And I know when I’ve been in here and you’ve taken a photo and tagged me in it, lots of my friends will say to me, “Who’s that Suzi’s Jewellery & Accessories? Where is it?” So it is a really good strategy.

Suzi: I’ve actually met people through you, haven’t I, Trish? That you’ve referred to me just by being on Facebook. So yeah, very good. Thank you.

Trish: And as you can see, Suzi has some amazing products. You obviously have an eye for picking things, and you know what your client wants, which is ideal.

Suzi: I think it’s important to ask your customers what they actually like, what to bring in. Everyone’s different. They’re all individual, and you obviously have to cater for their needs.

Trish: That’s great. So, is there any tips you’d like to give anyone just starting out, maybe in retail in general?

Suzi: I think it’s really important that you do set up a Facebook page. I spent a lot of money on a website. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It doesn’t cost you anything to set up a Facebook page. You start telling your story about who you are, what you’re selling. Start with your family, your friends. Or go even do a course if you have to.

But I really strongly believe that this is why I’m very successful. It’s nearly a year now, and I’m in the process of doing franchises. If you have a passion for what you do, you go for it. That’s all I can say. I love it.

Trish: Just to end it off, Suzi, do you want to tell us how people can get in touch with you, either Facebook, your website, and your address?

Suzi: Yes. Suzi’s Jewellery & Accessories https://www.facebook.com/suzijewellery. I’m at F111B 32 Lexington Drive in Bella Vista.

Trish: And your website is…

Suzi: My website is www.suzijewellery.com.au, and we’re in the process of fixing that as well, as you can actually purchase online as well.

Trish: Great. Bella Vista is in the northwest suburbs of Sydney, in the Hills District. But if you see something of Suzi’s that you like on her Facebook or her website, you can ring up or email and certainly purchase anything. I highly recommend her products. They are wonderful.

Suzi: Thank you, Trish.

Trish: Thanks again, Suzi.

Suzi: Pleasure.

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