Genie Unleashed. The launch of Lightbox was akin to unsealing a mystical bottle, releasing a genie of profit-seeking fervor into an industry that had long grappled with razor-thin margins. Suddenly, producers, retailers, and even distant cousins found themselves awash in financial gains. Yet, amidst this newfound prosperity, a fundamental truth had been obscured: profits are the lifeblood of any business

The Changing Landscape. Historically, the allure of diamonds was measured by their intrinsic beauty. Then came the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) which codified this beauty, creating clinical parameters. Rapaport then introduced a diamond Price List, tethering prices to these parameters. Yet, the industry’s landscape shifted—from De Beers’ monopolistic grip to an oligopoly—making profit akin to sipping soup with a fork.

De Beers’ Dilemma. De Beers faced a conundrum: maintaining high prices invited criticism, while lowering them eroded profits. A strategic review by Bain led to De Beers allocating rough diamond supply to Sight holders adding value especially venturing into the jewelry vertical, yielding modest gains but demanding substantial investment. Simultaneously, e-commerce platforms selling diamonds disrupted the status quo, squeezing profits of brick-and-mortar stores to anemic levels. In hushed tones, insiders joked about “profits by mistakes.”

Prodigal Son. Lightbox’s introduction by De Beers not only legitimized LGDs but also injected much-needed margins. The same skills that shaped natural diamonds now fueled a frenzy of prosperity. LGDs, polished and certified, followed the Rapaport list, riding the coattails of their natural counterparts. Prices plummeted, and demand surged, yet the deluge of lab diamonds threatened to drown the market. Growers and traders now grapple with consequences. De Beers, acknowledging this sea change, halted Lightbox’s gem diamond production, albeit continuing sales to clear inventory.

Margins Mirage. Ironically, some bemoan retailers’ hefty margins on lab diamonds. However, growers and wholesalers of LGDs are facing low margins or no margins. On the other hand, the natural diamond industry now grapples with its own identity while facing its own reckoning due to continuous inventory losses on certified goods.

Need for a Refresh. In these tumultuous times, soul-searching beckons. Natural and lab-grown diamonds coexist, each with distinct weaknesses and virtues. Lab-grown diamonds have donned the mantle of eco-friendliness and social responsibility. Still skeptical? Just ask Chat GPT. While I don’t claim infallibility, the results consistently favor LGDs. However, let’s not overlook the virtues of the natural diamond industry. Despite its positive impact, consumer education often gets drowned out in the cacophony of social media and the deluge of misinformation. As De Beers CEO Al Cook recently stated, ‘the natural diamond story needs refreshing.’ Stay tuned, for soon Signet Jewelers and De Beers will launch a joint campaign to promote natural diamonds, centered around a new ‘beacon’ product.

Love is powerful, and even more potent is the allure of diamond as symbol of everlasting love. If only we can somehow make sure consumers learn more about the good that diamonds do.

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Driven by technological advancements, lab grown diamonds have seen a consistent plummet in prices, mirroring Moore’s law’s predictions for the tech sector. Initially posited by Gordon Moore in 1965, Moore’s law forecasted that the number of transistors on a microchip would double approximately every two years, fueling rapid progress in computing capabilities. This principle has been outpaced by innovations in microchip design and manufacturing, with companies like Nvidia advancing faster than Moore’s law suggests.

Similarly, lab grown diamonds have surpassed Moore’s law, with efficiency gains and competitive pressures leading to an oversupply and a race to the bottom in pricing. Unlike Nvidia, which has expanded its market and added value, lab grown diamonds have struggled to carve out new markets, relying instead on selling in jewelry market using traditional pricing benchmarks like the Rapaport Price List. The traditional natural diamond price list is based on the natural scarcity of supply at the higher color, clarity and carat ranges – which allows for an exponential increase at the higher colors and clarities. Lab grown diamonds however have no such scarcity at the higher ranges of cut, clarity and carat ranges. The cost structure for lab grown diamonds follows a strictly linear scale, but by piggy backing on the natural diamond price list, it has allowed synthetic diamond growers to pad their profits. They should have never followed this system to begind with and now we are finally seeing it break away from this system and be sold strictly on a per carat basis as it always should have.

Now as LGD prices in wholesale have entered sub $100 price range the key questions facing the Natural Diamond Industry:

1. Market Displacement: To what extent have lab grown diamonds displaced natural diamonds in bridal jewelry? And how much of that is permanent?
2. Fashion Jewelry Disruption: How is the affordability of lab grown diamonds affecting the fashion jewelry sector?
3. Price Floor: Given the cost-plus business model of lab grown diamonds, how low can prices realistically go?
4. Commodity trap vs Branding Opportunity: Could the commoditization of lab grown diamonds present an opportunity for brands like Swarovski and Pandora to command high margins based on brand value, and what does this mean for commodity sellers?
5. Retail Shift: Online and traditional brick and mortar retailers have made a killing so far on lab grown diamonds – with many selling easily at 3-10x markups. How long can they hold these margins and where will they end up longer term, especially if growers increasingly sell direct to consumers? Once the retail markup shrinks due to inevitable increased competition and transparency, at what point will they switch back to promoting natural diamonds over lab?
6. Cultural Perception: As lab grown diamonds become more widespread, and large carat synthetic diamonds become common – will the allure of natural diamonds diminish, or will they regain their mystique, akin to natural pearls and precious colored stones, which also went through a similar onslaught?
7. Consumer Reaction: How might consumers react upon realizing the diminished resale value approaching ZERO of their lab grown diamond purchases (especially for those who spent tens of thousands), and how will this damage their long term trust in jewelry retailers? How will this affect their perception of gold and diamond jewelry as a traditional store of value?
8. Eco-Friendly/ Conflict Free Claims: Lab grown diamond growers have pumped significant marketing dollars towards touting their products as eco friendly and conflict free. Many of which are arguably false or at least overstated. Can the natural diamond industry effectively counter lab grown diamonds eco-friendly claims, and what efforts and costs would be required to shift public perception?

The Future of diamonds:

The diamond industry stands at a crossroads, with lab grown diamonds challenging the status quo while crashing and burning. As the market evolves, answers to these questions will shape the future of both lab-grown and natural diamonds, influencing consumer choices, industry practices, it’s viability, and the very essence of what a diamond represents. We have an idea of where things will end up due to the basic economic principles of supply and demand – but the long term effects on the future of retail and the consumer mindset are anyones guess at this point. There is increasing optimism on the side of the natural diamond industry currently where it appears that there is a shift already occuring back towards natural diamonds among a large sector of the retail and consumer market. However, a large part of the market has alreadt been cannibalized by lab grown diamonds, and much of it will never come back. Lab grown diamonds are here to stay, but so are natural diamonds.

PS. While it may appear that some questions posed here are rhetorical, we must acknowledge the industry’s earnest search for clarity amidst uncertainty. Your insights and contributions to this dialogue are highly valued.

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What the marketing doesn’t tell you is that with simple research, you can find that lab grown diamonds use massive amounts of energy, since a massive amount of heat and pressure has to be applied to create a lab grown diamond, 24 hours a day for weeks on end until it grows to a size big enough to be cut and polished for jewelry. So while they are guaranteed to be conflict free, they are not environmentally friendly by any means. And while the issue of conflict diamonds gained a lot of awareness after the movie Blood Diamond, the movie also resulted in a massive effort across the diamond industry to eliminate conflict diamonds from the supply chain. They now are estimated to only represent up to 4 percent of the total diamond trade, and almost every reputable wholesaler and retailer has vowed not to sell conflict diamonds.

Lab grown diamonds are still very much an American phenomenon, and acceptance has not increased to the same levels in other countries. A lot of it has to do with the cultural history of diamonds. Diamonds and jewelry in general have bene seen in Asia as an investment and a store of value. And historically, jewelry with high gold content and with high quality diamonds have held their value well. Gold and diamonds both have held up well to inflation over the years.

However, lab grown diamonds are a very new segment, and have only gotten cheaper and cheaper over the years. So, anyone who bought $10,000 worth of lab grown diamonds a few years ago can expect to get about a 10% return on their purchase at the most when looking to sell or trade in their diamond. However, anyone who put in $10,000 into natural diamonds a few years ago can expect to get approximately 50-80% of the value back depending on the size of the diamonds as well as the retail markup they paid.

Many don’t consider or care about the resale value of a large lab grown diamond when purchasing an engagement ring. I’ve had friends tell me that they don’t ever intend to sell their engagement ring, so the resale value is irrelevant and they are thus considering purchasing a lab grown diamond to get a larger diamond for their money. Something they aren’t considering though is that if they ever come across hard times and need to sell their jewelry for cash or want to trade up to a larger or different shaped diamond, they will not be able to easily sell their lab grown diamonds for much at all. Also, when they one day will pass on their jewelry to their children as part of their estate, they will be passing on 1-5% of what they paid, rather then 80% or more.

One metaphor I use to help explain this in a way they will understand better is to use the metaphor of purchasing your forever home. While you may intend to live in the home forever, and thus aren’t looking at the resale value, how many people would feel good about their purchase if the home they purchased for $500,000 is worth only $50,000 a year later? I’m sure no one would feel good about that at all. Because who knows, your family may grow and you may want to trade up for a bigger house later, or you may pass it down to your kids. However, if the house is only worth 10% of what you paid, you will feel like you threw away that money, and instead of having that portion as part of your assets and balance sheet, it is instead lost to massive instant depreciation.

Another factor to consider is that lab grown may make sense for a fashion purchase where it doesn’t have much significance to the wearer, an engagement ring is historically a more emotional one. It signifies commitment to the other person, and is something that you and your partner will cherish for as long as you are together (likely your entire life). A natural diamond will always have value since it is infinitely scarcer than a lab grown diamond. All the natural diamonds on Earth were produced about a billion years ago, and there will never be any new ones produced, only existing ones dug out of the Earth. However, lab grown diamonds will constantly be created every single day for the rest of our lives. They will only get cheaper and cheaper and while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, their significance will lessen as well. This is why I recommend friends who are looking for everyday wear to consider lab grown diamonds, but for those who are looking for heirloom pieces that they will cherish forever, natural diamonds are a much safer investment.

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Rare Carat touts itself as the kayak for diamonds. That’s great in that it shows awareness in that this is not an inherently new concept. The concept is as old as the internet itself, with numerous price aggregators out there for every industry. You could argue that Amazon’s entire website just one big price aggregator, putting together prices from hundreds of individual sellers, and serving in real-time the lowest price for the item you’re looking for.

I’ve heard multiple people mention over the last few years how they think there is bound to be a “Priceline for diamonds.” Rare Carat is the first to attempt to tackle this, and more power to them for being the first to actually take it from concept to reality.

Price aggregation by itself is harmless, and was bound to happen, since there are hundreds of individual diamond e-tailers out there, and it is daunting for an individual to check the same diamond specs on multiple sites like Blue Nile, James Allen, and the numerous smaller retailers. So in practice, it’s a great service for a website to come along and put all prices from different sellers in one place, making diamonds easier to compare and sort through. That sounds great, especially since its role model Kayak, and now Google Flights, has helped make finding and comparing flights and hotels much easier – which has personally helped me a great deal when buying flight tickets.

However, the issue with Rare Carat is twofold:

1) Its’ diamond recommendation engine is inherently flawed:

When searching for a diamond on rare carat, the user is prompted to enter a GIA certificate number, which rare carat then grades to tell you whether or not it is a good price, and then grades the diamond itself on multiple parameters and tells you whether their gemologist would recommend the diamond or not. This is great in theory, but anyone in the diamond industry will tell you that the GIA report is a good starting point but is far from the complete picture on a diamond. GIA has done a great job branding itself, and is arguably the most consistent large independent laboratory in the world, but even a GIA board member I spoke with recently admitted that they are not perfect.

While color grading is increasingly being handled by grading machines, diamond clarity is still graded by humans, and different graders have different ways of grading clarity. Especially for VS2 to SI2 grades, the ranges are pretty wide where two SI1 or SI2 diamonds can be vastly different, with one diamond vastly superior to the other. However, Rare Carat doesn’t have any way to know from the certificate itself whether one SI1 graded diamond is inherently better than another.

Further, for the cut grade, especially when looking for any shape other than round, which don’t have cut grades, their cut recommendation engine is dicey. For oval, pear and marquise diamonds, it’s important to look out for a bowtie effect, where the center of the diamond will appear dark in the shape of a bowtie in a poorly cut diamond. Rare carat mentions this phenomenon deep on its website in an article about selecting diamonds. However, when asking their recommendation on an oval diamond, their cut grade doesn’t factor in a bowtie effect or mention this at all. As a test, I submitted a diamond that to me had a very obvious bowtie effect, but even their trusted gemologists, who had access to a video of the diamond failed to mention this effect at all. When I brought it up, the gemologist on their site replied “I don’t think this one is as sever[e] as the image shows.” And another said “It doesn’t look so severe to me.  I’ve seen much worse and of course much better.” When I told the gemologist that the bowtie seems noticeable and her advice contradicts what many others have said, she replied “my job is to not to tell you what to do, it’s to tell you what I would do.”

(Pic: A strong bowtie shrugged off by Rare Carat’s gemologists)

I think the issue here is that the gemologists that RareCarat employs are former GIA graders who know how to grade diamonds from a grading report perspective, but are not as well accustomed to what buyers really should look for and value from a buying standpoint. As a diamond wholesaler I know that when buying a diamond, the buyer always has to make compromises based on their budget. But rather than learn from the customer what they are looking for, and where they are more willing to compromise, RareCarat’s engine and gemologists push their own opinions. For example, if I were recommending a car to someone looking to buy a new one, I would want to learn about whether they are more interested in fuel economy or speed, or if they have kids and need additional space and want to go bigger with a minivan or SUV. It would not serve the buyer well for me to provide my own opinions on a tree-hugger by saying that I don’t mind lower fuel economy, I love driving big cars. The same way, it doesn’t serve the RareCarat user well to disagree with them by pushing their opinion that the bowtie isn’t noticeable to them, without first knowing how important this factor is to the individual user. This is only something a truly invested diamond consultant could do – the RareCarat gemologists don’t have the time to learn about the user and their personal preferences, and instead simply push out their personal opinions on the masses. They want to give you just enough information for you to make you confident enough to buy a diamond (preferably through their trusted retailers), even though it may not the complete picture. They are not incentivized to go too in depth since they make more money with a large volume of traffic rather than trying to make sure individual customers truly get the best diamond experience, like only a one on one personal interaction can provide.

I’ve also noticed that RareCarat grades every type of cushion modified brilliant diamond as the same as any other, even though most people in the industry know that there are many different types of cushion modified diamonds, some better than others. There’s a regular cushion modified brilliant, which has additional facets at the bottom of the diamond that makes it a bit heavier at the base, and gives the diamond a crushed ice effect similar to a radiant cut diamond, which are generally 5-10% cheaper than a hybrid or regular cushion brilliant. However, Rarecarat’s price engine and cut grade system fail to mention this, and will show a hybrid cushion modified diamond as not as good of a buy compared to a regular cushion modified which I know from a wholesale standpoint has much better light performance and has a much higher value. This is another area where RareCarat’s experience falls short of the real thing – working one on one with a diamond expert.

2) Biased partnerships with only select retailers. 

While there are hundreds of online sellers for GIA diamonds and customized rings out there, Rare Carat only shows and compares listings from a few select e-commerce sites that it has partnerships with. This severely handicaps its ability to live up to its claim of being the “Kayak for Diamonds”, since Kayak includes a much higher percentage of the total market than Rare Carat. Kayak shows airline and hotel fares from every major online merchant, saving the user from clicking onto each individual site to compare fares. Rare Carat only currently shows results from less than 10 online retailers – those that are arguably very niche and small – and doesn’t include the top 3 largest and well known online sellers (Blue Nile, James Allen and Brilliant Earth). So while the concept is great, it’s still only offers access to a very limited inventory, and the user will still have to log onto Blue Nile, James Allen and Brilliant Earth in order to get the full picture of what’s out there.

I personally find it annoying that Kayak and Expedia don’t include fares from Southwest in their engine, but imagine if they didn’t include prices from Delta, American Airlines and United, and instead just showed fares from others like Jetblue, Alaska/Virgin Airlines, Spirit and Frontier. That’s where Rare Carat is right now. It’s likely that the list of retailers it includes will grow, but they might face push back since online retailers who already face stiff competition and slim margins are likely to loathe paying commissions to Rare Carat for every click, especially if those clicks don’t convert into meaningful sales numbers. Rare Carat states on the FAQ section on its website that “Instead of getting paid a commission when you buy, the online retailers pay us when you click on diamonds (this is how Google and Trivago work). This means we don’t have incentives to push you to buy anywhere, and can still pay our bills.” However, they’re smart enough to know that this really isn’t as clear cut as they make it seem. Even though they get paid based on click’s and subsequently may not care specifically which diamond a user ends up buying, they are still incentivized in the long run for their users to buy one of the diamonds on their partner retailers websites rather than elsewhere, because its pretty easy for these retailers to track how many visitors referred by RareCarat actually buy a diamond. If the retailers see that rarecarat users aren’t converting at a rate high enough to be profitable (with their already razor thin margins), they may drop their partnership and spend their marketing money elsewhere. So while it is technically true that the don’t have a (short term) incentive to push users to buy anywhere, in the long run they have every incentive to have you buy from one of the sites that offers them click based revenue.

Rare Carat has a visually appealing website and although it admittedly isn’t a very unique concept, it has great potential to make its mark on a still very old fashioned diamond industry. This case is especially strong among millennials who are now more comfortable than ever making big purchases online. However, since it’s still a very new website, there are still several kinks to the product that will need to be refined in order for it to really live up to what it promises. The website would be well-served to work closely with diamond industry experts who actively work with consumers to refine its recommendation engine to come up with more accurate price comparisons, recommendations and diamond rankings. And while I think it’s also inevitable that it will eventually open itself up to more diamond e-tailers, it is also very closed off in terms of suppliers, which currently limits the user experience and increases the likelihood of bias in its recommendations.

The internet has disrupted almost every industry and forever changed them, and the diamond and jewelry industry is no exception to this. One of the biggest disrupters in recent history has been Blue Nile, which while it has struggled to make a profit, has drawn a lot of ill will from traditional brick-and-mortar jewelry stores and wholesalers alike. Many complained it shrank retail margins down to unsustainable levels, but at the end of the day, it is just a middleman that lists diamonds for sale by other middlemen who list diamonds from large diamond manufacturers and wholesalers around the world. Neither RareCarat, nor the retailers it works with carry their listed diamonds in their own inventory. Diamond wholesalers and manufacturers set the prices for their diamonds, and these ecommerce sites list them for a tiny margin in order to gain market share and also because since they are not undertaking any inventory risk, they can work on tiny margins, unlike traditional jewelry sellers. According to Joshua Niamehr of Enchanted Diamonds, their margins are often less than what typical retailers charge as sales tax.

The internet brings greater transparency, which is bad for traditional sellers who have much higher fixed costs and overhead, but great for consumers who can get pretty much the same thing for cheaper. Uber gave users access to taxi rides with a better user experience at a cheaper price, and Amazon does the same with consumer products. The problem in this case is that while websites like blue nile and now Rare Carat help consumers get access to diamonds at a cheaper price than they could have with traditional retail, they don’t necessarily provide a better user experience. Blue Nile arguably made diamond buying even more confusing by laying out thousands of options for every budget, and Rare Carat also spreads a lot of misinformation by guiding users towards certain types of diamonds without proper justification, and providing just a limited picture on the diamonds they’re searching for, with nothing but a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the page to warn users of this potential hazard. Yes, Rare Carat hopes to simplify diamond buying, but so far it’s pretty fair to say they still have a long way to go.

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Starting a new business venture or embarking on a new phase within an existing business brings with it much excitement. What usually follows are many long hours in the office converting that enthusiasm and optimism into product and eventually profit.

But what effects does that hard grind have on the man or woman searching out success and profit? It’s not long before energy levels, once roused by the thought of launching your product or service, are being propped up by coffee and sodas as the sun drips under the office window leaving our hard working entrepreneur to fall asleep at their desk.

At least, that’s one version society has come to know. Perhaps some of us have experienced this personally. What can we do to ensure we aren’t inviting burn out along for the ride?

How We Burn Out

It’s easy to get lost in the process of taking a product or service to market. The idea that the race is on and not necessarily against a competitor, sometimes it’s just ourselves. We grab opportunities and connections wherever they appear. The schedule overflows leading to a pre-deadline crush and unrealistic expectations. Evenings and weekends are abandoned to get things done. Exhaustion sets in, followed by poor decision-making and we’re at the start of a negative downward slope. Symptoms start appearing, within the business or the body. It’s no longer fun and soon you’re wondering why you got into this in the first place.

It’s a sure thing that a society like ours, built on innovation and the hungry pursuit of success, won’t ever curb the appetite for hard work. So, how do we preserve the person embarking on that journey?

It’s really very simple:

Balance

• Eat healthy nutrition-dense foods at regular intervals.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Exercise.
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
• Drink Caffeine in moderation.

And do these things consciously.

If you forget to eat, or drink because you’re engrossed in your work, or your body doesn’t register hunger or thirst loudly, set an alarm on your cell phone every 3-5 hours. Keep a jug of water on your desk and refill it on your way to the rest room. Go to the gym/pool/track/yoga studio before you go to the office, that way your physical exercise is done before you start your working day. Switch your smartphone or tablet off in the evening and relax. Wind down before bed.

After a few weeks of doing these activities consciously, habits will start to form and you’ll find your mind more occupied with how to apply the knowledge that brought you into business in the first place in a meaningful way.

It’s likely there will be less fires to put out on a daily basis and being in business will become more enjoyable. The goal will be clearer and you’ll be in better shape to reap the rewards when you finally reach it.

There’s a famous toast in the English-speaking world “To health, wealth and happiness.” Getting into business can bring us life changing wealth, but what good is it if we don’t have our health and our happiness.

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Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram; the list goes on and on. Social Media has become a large part of human connection and interaction in the daily lives of millions globally. Becoming and remaining a visible and credible entity on several social media sites is a great way to market your business. Join communities and groups already created that focus on the ideas similar to what you offer. Share valuable information or add new, fresh views to discussions already in progress to show your value and expertise.

Email Newsletters

Forget the claims that e-mail marketing is outdated. The odds of finding someone under 40 without a valid email address is slim to none. How often they use it is their business, not yours. Sending sharp, witty and straight-to-the-point monthly or bi-monthly newsletters can keep your business on the top of your customer’s minds, even if just for a few minutes at a time. It may send them back to your website if only to figure out why they’re receiving the newsletter. To ensures fewer unsubscribes, entice your readers with discount and promo codes, as well as useful, relevant information.

Freebies

Everyone knows the way to a consumers heart is by giving away something free. And most marketers and the smart consumer realize that it isn’t also exactly free. Sign up for something and receive something valuable for free. For example, if a customer wants to purchase a diamond solitaire ring and your site offers a free ring cleaning kit, that is incentive over a site that doesn’t offer anything. Offering a product or something valuable to the consumer for free is favorable, even if it does nothing but increase traffic to your site. The goal is to get the customers foot in the door; and enticing them with freebies is for the most part, a good way to consider.

Blogging

Blog communities are a tight knit circle of people who are extremely passionate about their chosen topics. Starting a blog in conjunction with your website can be a strong marketing tool in itself. The average company that blogs generates 55% more website visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 434% more indexed pages.Most blogs link to favorite and rather similar blogs. In doing this, the favor is likely returned by the other blogger. If a blog has 1000 viewers per day and your blog is listed as a favorite, or you write a guest post; it isn’t wrong to assume that many viewers may just click the link to view your blog and likely venture elsewhere on your site from there.

Marketing your business doesn’t have to be elaborate or painstakingly meticulous. Little things work. Tune into Twitter for personal use and start there. Send referrals about your website to gain insight and offer incentives. Be creative and stay connected.

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With so many people using this platform, this is your opportunity as a retail business owner to reach out to new audiences, create a connection and even build your brand through ads. If you’re unfamiliar on how to advertise on Facebook, let’s explore the basics on how you can get started today:

The Types of Ads

Facebook has a handful of advertising options that you can take advantage of, including:
• Marketplace Ads
• Page Post Ads
• Promoted Posts
• Sponsored Stories
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• Sponsored Results

Each method works in a different way, so let’s take a look at how each type can benefit your business:

Marketplace Ads

Like Google AdWords, these ads will consist of a title, a small image and a body of text. Marketplace ads allow you to link out to your website or to a Facebook page. Usually, these ads work best for those who are looking for a specific audience. So for example, if you want 40-year-old females who love dogs and diamond jewelry, you would be able to target that specific demographic.

Page Post Ads

Suggested posts, unlike most other ad types, are ads that will show up within a Facebook user’s feed. So when a user is browsing through their feed, your ad will show up, looking very similar to any other status update. This type of ad is ideal for those who are looking to gain more visibility, promote a page post or get more likes for a Facebook page. Again, with this ad type, you will be able to target any audience that you want.

Promoted Posts

A promoted post is no different than posts that were created by friends and family. The only difference that you will notice is that at the bottom, it will say “Sponsored.” Since Facebook only shows your post to around 15% of your fans, the promoted posts option will make sure that more people will see your post.

While promoted posts sounds a lot like page post ads, you have to understand the differences. Promoted posts will only be able to target fans that have already liked your page, while page post ads can target anyone.

Sponsored Stories

A sponsored story ad will show up in the news feed, promoting a specific page or website. With sponsored stories, you will able to get more likes, have people join an event and install or play an application.

Sponsored stories are a great way to increase your visibility and have your potential customers interact with your ads.

Sponsored Results

Within the search results, this ad will show up whenever someone searches for something that is similar to your ad. With this feature, you’re going to be able to target a specific audience. For example, if you wanted to promote your jewelry business’s Facebook page that specializes in bridal jewelry, you could tell Facebook to show your ad via the search results whenever someone searches for something similar to bridal jewelry. Sponsored results are a great way to get people to your page with one click.

Facebook can be a great way to reach a new audience as long as you target your ads properly in order to maximize your return for your ad spend. While it can seem tough to get into, it can provide better returns over traditional media advertising since you can target exactly the demographic you want to see your ad, and you can better measure how many people see your ad and how effective it is.

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Today your credentials may get you in the door. Yet to really succeed, you’ve got to look credible when it matters most: in face-to-face interactions. Whether you’re meeting one-to-one or presenting to a packed audience, your credibility is immediately being assessed.

But what does credibility look like? And, more important, why do some smart, capable people project credibility, and others—who are just as smart and capable—don’t?

In studying this phenomenon with thousands of clients, I’ve identified 25 specific visual and auditory cues—explicit “codes of conduct” for posture, gestures, vocal skills, and eye contact—that affect the perception of credibility. And unlike countless other cues, such as gender, age, or physical features, these 25 cues are within your active control. What’s more, small changes can make a big difference.

To get started, consider these seven dos and don’ts:

1. Do keep your head level.

In the dog world, renowned trainer Cesar Millan has exceptional “executive presence.” Dogs recognize his alpha status by the way he carries himself. In the business world, one of the best ways to project such presence is to keep your head level when speaking—no raising or dropping your chin, which can appear aggressive or submissive. The power of this one skill—to literally be levelheaded—can be transformative.

Fast Tip: Lengthen your spine and level your head. Now, moving only your head, like a camera on a tripod, scan your environment while keeping your torso still. Stillness is an authoritative behavior, so try not to let your shoulders twist with the movement of your head.

2. Do keep your hands in the gesture box.

In poker parlance, a “tell” is a subtle signal revealing the strength or weakness of a player’s hand. Similarly, in meetings or presentations, your gestures alone can be telling to others. The most effective hand gestures happen inside the “gesture box”—no higher than your sternum, no lower than your hips, and no wider than your shoulders. The sweet spot is your navel, where gestures tend to look the most natural.

Fast Tip: A common tell of self-consciousness is when your mouth is engaged but your body language isn’t. To appear comfortable, get your hands involved immediately, reaching out to your listeners with interactive gestures. In short, if your mouth is moving … so are your gestures.

3. Do speak with optimal volume.

If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you surely remember the infamous “low talker.” Likewise, in business settings a common problem with volume is speaking too softly or dropping volume at the end of sentences. The good news is that volume is the easiest vocal skill to adjust. First, however, you must know the difference between adequate volume and optimal volume. Most people err on the side of merely adequate. If you want to be a powerful voice, speak with a powerful voice.

Fast Tip: Your diaphragm, the small muscle separating your chest and abdominal cavity, is your engine for volume. Strengthen this muscle with five minutes of isolated exercises a day. One such exercise: Say the days of the week in a single breath, drawing out the vowels to prevent your diaphragm from resting between words. Later, move on to the months of the year.

4. Do hold eye contact for three to five seconds.

“Eye contact is the best accessory,” says writer Takayuki Ikkaku. It is also a key indicator of confidence and credibility. Still, there is a difference between making eye contact and holding eye contact. Duration is critical, and in the Western world, holding eye contact for three to five seconds is considered optimal.

Fast Tip: As you converse with coworkers, try speaking one phrase to one person. Then, when you reach a natural pause, speak the next phrase to someone else. Continue in this way, letting the structure of your sentences guide your rhythm. You may look away momentarily, but keep your eyes on the horizon—no looking up or down—and each time you come back, hold eye contact for three to five seconds.

5. Don’t use speech fillers.

Speech fillers are superfluous sounds or words, like “um” and “you know.” Today, such fillers are pervasive in our culture, including the business world. A smart, young technology CEO recently said to his team, “So, I actually sort of passionately believe that we have an opportunity to, uh, you know, sort of really take this platform to a new level. So we just kind of, uh, need to jump in, you know, with full force.” He wanted to fire up his people, but his fillers extinguished his passion.

Fast Tip: Embrace the tactical pause. Instead of interjecting fillers, simply pause while your mind searches for the next word.

6. Don’t make extraneous movements.

Extraneous movements—such as jiggling your knee, bobbing your head, or shifting your weight—weaken your personal power. You might say, “I can’t help myself. I just can’t be still.” Truth is, excessive fidgeting is a self-comforting behavior. Stillness sends a message that you’re calm and confident.

Fast Tip: Test your ability to literally have a level head. Fold a thick pair of socks and balance it on your head. Try talking for several minutes without losing the socks.

7. Don’t make yourself smaller.

If you’re like most people, when you feel intimidated, you make yourself smaller so as to avoid being an easy target. You might place your feet closer together, tuck your arms to your sides, dip your chin, or pull back on your volume. Any or all of these behaviors say, “I feel threatened.”

Fast Tip: Practice optimal standing posture throughout the day, not just in important situations, to help make it habitual. Balance your weight over your feet, lengthen your spine, and elongate your neck.

About the author: Cara Hale Alter is president of SpeechSkills, a San Francisco–based communication training company, and author of The Credibility Code: How to Project Confidence and Competence When It Matters Most (Meritus, 2012).

About Vishinda: Vishinda is a NYC wholesaler of fine cut white diamonds, and offers a calibrated diamond service for sourcing matched pairs and layouts of ideal cut diamonds according to mm size.

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This is something that anyone who has flown domestically in the United States can attest to, but since airlines have an almost monopoly, especially in certain popular regions and routes, people tend to tolerate the lower standards of customer service. This was taken to another level on April 9th when officers dragged a passenger off of an overbooked flight. This incident sparked worldwide outrage, as the video of the incident was viewed millions of times around the world, and flashed across every major news outlet.

While this was an extreme example and one particular to the airline industry, there are clear takeaways from this incident that are transferrable to the the retail jewelry industry (and many other industries).

1. Don’t take your customers for granted

No matter how profitable your business and strong your model, it is important to remember that every customer ultimately made a conscious decision to come to you. In most cases they could have just as easily gone to a competitor, even if it would have meant paying a bit more or driving a bit further.

So no matter who the customer, it is important not to take their business for granted and constantly remind yourself that no matter how highly you may think of your own business, that your customer almost always has a choice to go elsewhere. This is especially true in the retail jewelry space, where customers now have the option to shop online for their jewelry. The fact that they have chosen to come to you is a great opportunity to prove to them why the in person shopping experience is far superior to the online experience when it comes to jewelry purchasing. Give your customers the attention and respect they deserve, and they’ll likely stay loyal for years to come.

2. One unhappy customer can lose you exponentially more customers.

The most important thing that the United incident highlighted is that especially in the Internet age where everyone has access to social media, one customers’ negative experience can be seen and heard by hundreds, thousands or even millions of other potential customers. While you can count on certain loyal customers to give you the benefit of the doubt and stick by your side, it’s clearly not worth the risk of any damage to your reputation. It may have taken you decades to build your name and reputation, but one negative experience can ruin your (online) reputation in a day.

One bad social media post or Yelp review can dig you in a hole that can take ten times as many positive posts and reviews to overcome. According to Nielsen, 68% of people trust online opinions from other consumers. As United quickly learned, a negative incident can happen in a heartbeat, so it’s important to always err on the side of caution and properly train employees on being calm and collected, even with the most difficult of customers. This doesn’t mean that you have to give in to every demand of your customer, simply remember to always treat them with respect even if you may feel like that difficult customer doesn’t deserve it.

3. When you make a mistake, immediately own up to it and try to fix the situation.

One major mistake that United Airlines made was to try to avert the blame and not accept fault for the incident right away. This action outraged the public just as much, if not more than the original incident. For the CEO to try to pass off any blame was an egregious error that is sure to exacerbate any ill will.

Mistakes happen, and no person nor company is an exception to this rule. No matter your best efforts, you or your staff will eventually do something wrong that will upset your customer. This is unavoidable, but what can be avoided is the extended fallout after the fact. The sooner you accept responsibility for the mistake, the sooner you can work with the customer to move forward and fix the error. While you can’t go back in time and change what happened, accepting the situation and working together on the best steps to move forward is the only productive way to proceed, rather than emotionally attempting to shift or deflect blame. A heartfelt apology right off the bat could have saved United a great deal of heartache.

This incident was clearly not great publicity for United Airlines, but they seem to not be seeing a visible dip in business at least not yet. But according to a new survey, Overall though, United will be fine in the long run. This is largely because they maintain a near monopoly in their sector, with only up to four airlines servicing most routes. However, the retail jewelry industry is much more competitive. While United may have gotten off with just a momentary PR nightmare, a jewelry store or designer will likely not get off so easy. The more competitive the industry and the more luxury the goods being sold, the more vulnerable the company to negative press. Take these lessons to heart and learn from the mistakes of United before becoming a cautionary tale yourself.

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