He is starting to “break through”, as the young people say! A 73-year-old jeweler from Rouen launched on TikTok in early Februarythis very popular social network among teenagers, which offers short entertaining videos to the user, based on an algorithm.
Michel Bouadana, beginner Tiktokeur but seasoned jeweler, details in his videos the products and good plans of his tiny shop of 16 square meters. Baptized “Coralie B” in homage to his wife, the small shop is filled with watches and costume jewellery. The particularity of the shop, with its baroque and subtly kitsch decoration, is to practice discounts all year round.which attracts budget shoppers and broke college students.
“Martin propelled me into the world of TikTok!”
This is what seduced Martin, behind the camera and behind the TikTok account. This 20-year-old boy is a business school student in Rouen, passionate about watchmaking and always on the lookout for good deals. He himself has a TikTok account where he talks about watchmaking. He had a crush on Michel.
The jeweler remembers their meeting well: “Martin came with his friend to buy me a watch and he came back to see me saying ‘I want to communicate about you’, I said ok!” Michel is rather the curious type. He started working when he was 13 and he’s been selling jewelry for 20 years, so it wasn’t hard to convince him. He first accepted a first video filmed by Martin.
“Martin told me that if the video had 3,000 or 5,000 views, that would be good”says the jeweler, “but me, in fact, views are nothing to me, I don’t know, I’m a bit of an older generation and in fact, he propelled me into this world, despite myself! But I I’m very happy with it because it’s nice to have a little recognition for what you do.”
“Older people are what get the most views!”
The sauce took. Michel the septuagenarian is popular on this social network trusted mainly by young peopleeven very young people, but that’s normal, explains Martin: “I had already seen old people on TikTok and that’s what almost gets the most views!” And then Michel is a character “interesting to listen to” and who likes to identify the personality of his clients. Above all, he ended up becoming aware of the visibility that TikTok could bring him, explains Martin: “For Michel, it took a click to realize that the videos were working well! During my holidays, he called me to tell me that young people had recognized him in the street an hour from Rouen and had taken pictures with him!”
Michel’s wife, Coralie, is not familiar with TikTok either, but she finds the idea original: “Having created this account is original because you see the boss’s face again, you get used to it and it’s a face that becomes familiar!”
“I didn’t become a millionaire but I had my first TikTok customer!”
And, in two weeks, did this TikTok account attract new customers ? “For the moment, it has just burst, it is young”tempers Michel, “I didn’t become a millionaire and I don’t have 300 more customers a day!” But Michel remembers the first TikTok customer perfectly: “It was for Valentine’s Day, a young 21 year old came to buy a watch for his girlfriend and my 21 year old daughter was there too, and I saw that the young man came here with a little warned, as if he knew the shop!”
This father, four children and two grandchildren, is ready to go further. Martin would like to involve him in a live where he would answer customer questions live because “there is a request” around this new way of doing business, says Martin, who would also like to create an online sales site for the store.