Greta Rolli: How a Young Model and Entrepreneur Scaled Her Jewelry Brand Using Organic Instagram Strategies

As a part of our series about How To Leverage Instagram To Grow Your Business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Greta Rolli.

Greta is a 22 year old model turned entrepreneur, residing in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She has been signed to Elite Model Management for almost three years and recently received her Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising, Marketing, and Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology. After developing an array of experiences in marketing through her time working for lifestyle and luxury brands, she has launched her own jewelry brand; Greta Louise.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Thank you for having me! I have always been passionate about jewelry as it allows individuals the opportunity to express themselves through sentimental pieces and fashionable accessories. When both of my grandmothers passed away last year, I was given an assortment of their most treasured jewelry. Since then, I’ve been wearing my Mum mum’s cross every day and my Grammy’s high school ring comes with me everywhere. My Mum Mum loved her layered gold necklaces, each one with a different meaning to her. My Grammy was always wearing a big statement necklace that made her feel like a queen while she was battling dementia. I think it is incredibly special how jewelry can bring back memories and signify days in our lives. In the midst of the pandemic, the fashion industry shutdown , I wanted to fill my free time with purpose. I thought, what better way than starting my own business? It was the perfect marriage of a passion and an opportunity; to practice my skills I learned from living in the fashion and marketing world for the past four years.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

When I first launched Greta Louise, there was an outpour of love and support from family and friends. Prior to the launch, I created a handful of personalized mailers targeting key people in my network to support the official announcement. When people started receiving their packages, they posted their new jewelry which created interest and sales within their networks as well. By the end of my first week, 40% of sales were from customers I did not know and at the end of my first month, unknown shoppers took over the majority. This was interesting to me as I witnessed first hand the power of social media and how it acts as a spider web, expanding outward through Instagram stories and Facebook posts. Even somebody with 500 followers has an influence. Each one of their followers is potentially a customer who could make a purchase and then share a recommendation to their 500 followers.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I way underbought my branded jewelry boxes as well as overall inventory for my launch. I started off with 500 boxes, and by the end of the first month I was almost entirely out. I had to quickly order and rush shipping on my next order of boxes. This time I bought 3000. In the beginning, I underestimated myself which I think is funny because why would I not believe in myself more from the start! I think as humans we let doubt hold us back from fully diving in. Now when I stock pieces for my collection, I make sure to buy amounts that will last me longer than a few weeks.

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. For the benefit of our readers, can you explain why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

As a model, it is important to brand yourself on social media. Through content, people and companies who are interested in hiring you can see the type of person you represent. Followers love to see genuine content, not just portfolio images. Over the years, I have grown and connected with people through Instagram, and have utilized everything I have learned when starting Greta Louise. Even though I have my marketing degree, I find my real world experience more beneficial by a long shot.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

Instagram by far is the most effective tool for revenue for me. The swipe up to shop feature on stories is my favorite tool. I use it often on my personal account to promote my business account. To combine both pages I use imagery of myself and my friends in my jewelry that is candid and relatable. People are more likely to shop from iphone images that feel organic in my experience because they can visualize themselves in the jewelry more.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share five ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Utilize Direct Message — The direct message feature is one of my favorites because it is a great way to connect with followers on a personal level. If I am having a slower day of sales, I will personally reach out to people with a discount code for 25% off and send a kind message. Let your followers know you appreciate them, by commenting and liking photos your brand is tagged in.
2. Post user generated content — If your customer posts a photo you love on their account featuring your brand, shoot them a nice direct message and ask if you can repost. Another idea is sending your product to relatable users in exchange for them to create content for your page. For example, I send my jewelry pieces to stylists, models, and agents and always am reposting their content on my business page whether it be a story or actual feed post.
3. Have an Instagram Story live 24 hours — It is important to always have something live on your story so followers are being led to your page. I personally think three staggered stories a day is ideal, but if that is too many, at least one will still have a big impact. For jewelry, I like to show the pieces I have styled together each day.
4. Use your Network — For my launch and continuation of brand awareness, I definitely used my network to my advantage. My friends with followings and social media influence helped me spread the word on a large scale. However, my friends with smaller, more intimate followings actually resulted in more sales. This is because people trust their close friends even more than influencers they follow. Of course, influencers do impact their followers, but a consumer is far more likely to shop from a trusted friend. Even if you feel like you do not have a big or impactful network, use who surrounds you as a way to get the word out and as a sounding board for new ideas.
5. Create a sense of urgency — Instagram is a great way to advertise flash sales, or a week of free domestic shipping on all orders. Urgency drives sales and will lessen your percentage of abandoned checkouts. Consumers sometimes need a little push to buy now, or else they will push off shopping for a want until the following day, week, or simply forget about it.

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I want to inspire young people to create and take chances now. We have this perception in our twenties that time is endless, but in reality what we do now has a huge impact on our future. If you have a dream there is no better time to start taking steps towards them.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them :-)

I would die to have lunch with Martha Stewart, especially if she was the one cooking haha. She is the perfect example of somebody who created an incredible brand and dreamt limitlessly. With hard work she moved from best selling magazines, to broadcasting, merchandising, and e-commerce. It would be incredible to speak to her about her successes and advice on a personal level.

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!