Pin-spired Baby Shower

I mentioned in Monday's post that I initially thought Pinterest was all artsy and creative and I had little interest in it.  Well, it really seems to inspire people to try new things.

Here are some photos of a nautical baby shower for a Navy Wife I recently co-hosted. After it was over and we were patting ourselves on the back for how well it turned out, we said, "We couldn't have done all of this without Pinterest."

Guest seating

Food

Cake with cupcakes

Soap Party favors from Soaps by Design

Diaper Boat

Cake by Melissa Thomas of Frosting

Invitation

Candy Bar

Cupcakes by Frosting

Hostesses with the mostestes and Mommy-to-be

Pinterest also worked as a great collaboration tool since we all live in different cities. Once you create a Pinboard, you can give other pinners access to pin to it too. Just click Edit Board and you'll get a window like this:

We discussed the theme and then each began pinning ideas that we liked.  Check out our inspiration pins here.

Using Pinterest for Business Promotion

Are you pinning yet?

Most people I talk to fall into one of three categories when it comes to Pinterest:

1. What is Pinterest?
2. Yes, but its artsy and creative and I'm not
3. Yes and I'm totally addicted - How do I use it for promoting my business?

1. What is Pinterest?

Pinterest defines itself as “virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite."

2. Yes, but its artsy and creative and I'm not  

I started looking at Pinterest because I wanted to share recipes, but initially I felt like it was just for creative and crafty people.  I really just ignored it for a while but people just kept talking about it all over the place, so I dug a little deeper. 


I started "pinning" (think of it like bookmarking) my blog posts and found that I was getting more blog traffic from Pinterest than Facebook or Twitter! (Simply put: more people were clicking on my links posted to Pinterest than those posted on Facebook or Twitter.)


3. Yes and I'm totally addicted - How do I use it for promoting my business?



First, build your personal boards - Use the getting started guides and start pinning things that interest you.  I have boards for Weight Loss, Social Media, Organization, Home Decor, etc.

Second, follow your friends (the getting started guides will help you find them) and others whose pins interest you. Also be sure to comment on others pins.  This shows them that you have similar interests.

Next, start thinking like your target market (Simply put: the people you want to attract to your business). What are your ideal clients interested in?  Home school? Scrapbooking? Weight loss? Workouts? Fashion? Party planning? What kinds of things would they appreciate?  Time saving tips? Money saving tips? You get the idea.  Take 5-10 minutes each day to pin things that would be helpful or interesting to these particular people you are interested in reaching.

So, how do I promote my business?


This comes last because I don't want you going into Pinterest giving your self a bad rap right off the start.  Well, I don't want you doing that at all.  By bad rap, I mean I don't want you to look like a slimy marketer.


Once you've established some followers and built some interesting boards, start pinning for your business.  Perhaps just adding some pins to the Products I Love board to start.  Don't add every product or service you offer all at once, spamming your followers with sales pitches and don't forget to keep building on your other boards too.

Ready, Set, Pin!

Creating a Facebook Page for your business

So, you're in business and you absolutely love it! It's your passion and you want to tell the world about it!  You've been telling everyone on Facebook about it but all of a sudden you notice you're being "un-friended".  What is happening?  Could it be that not everyone wants to hear all about your product or your opportunity?  While that may be unfathomable to you, it is a good possibility. Don't worry, it happened to me in the beginning too.

What you need is a Facebook Business Page.  This is going to be the foundation of your Facebook marketing.  It's going to allow you to draw in more of your target audience by sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm and still keep your friends. 

Here's a great video that will give you basic instruction.



For direct sales professionals or consultants, I recommend using your own branding and not your company name. For example, if your name is John and you sell widgets for Tommy's Tools and Widgets, do not name your page Tommy's Tools and Widgets. Instead, consider something like John's Handy Household Tips or John's Toolbox, something relevant to the business you are in, but uniquely identifying you.

Once you have your business page set up, you should share tips, tricks and other information that your target audience will find interesting.  Make a few posts there and then invite your friends.  Those who like what they see, will click Like to join and continue getting your business updates.  Be sure to check out my Facebook Business Page and click Like if you like what you see!

I'll go further into what to share and how to do it without spamming in an upcoming post.  Be sure to subscribe to this blog to get all the newest updates as soon as they are available.

How to Create a Facebook Profile

I recently conducted a Social Media Marketing session for a 22 year old, well established company that has many seasoned distributors who are brand new to social media. I recommended that they get started by utilizing Facebook. I started this post with the intention of creating a tutorial on how to create your personal Facebook profile, but found that there was "no need to re-invent the wheel". There is a great tutorial and video already available from AllFacebook.com.

Take a look at the link and video below and let me know if you have any questions.  I'm here to help and glad to do it!

Facebook Tutorial: How to Create a Facebook Profile




Remember, you can also connect with me on Facebook for daily Social Media tips and tricks and subscribe to this blog to get the latest news first!

Enhancing your personal profile for business purposes

The Queen and First Lady

I have a confession to make. I judge businesses (and/or professionals) by their Facebook profile. Be honest, don't you?

In social media, this is where you make your first impression. I want you to think of your profile just like you would your business card. When you meet someone on the street, you introduce yourself, shake their hand, chat with them and hand them your business card. When you connect with someone online, it's really the same. Today, I want to give you some quick tips for keeping your personal profile professional.

1. Use your real name. You wouldn't introduce yourself to someone new by saying, "Hi, I'm Tommy's Tools and Widgets", would you?
   
2. Use a picture of yourself. People on social media sites want to connect with YOU, not your dog, not your kids, not your Christmas tree. We want to do business with people we can trust. In real life we connect and build trust by looking people in the eyes. We need to do the same thing with our profile pictures. If you don't currently have a photo like this, take one. Make it a head shot, just your shoulders and head, look into the camera just like you would look into the eyes of a person you've just met on the street as you introduce yourself.
   
3. Link to your website. If you own your business or are a direct sales professional, you most likely have a website. As long as you are conducting yourself professionally and representing your company in a professional manner, link to it. People who are interested in you, want to know what you do. Your website gives them that information without you having to tell them all about it. Check for typos and make sure the link works. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a dead link (ok, well maybe there are somethings that do).
   
4. Check for spelling and grammar. I know we live in a world where texting and Twitter have created some "acceptable" abbreviations and lingo, but poor grammar and spelling are still recognized as unprofessional. Take the few extra seconds and make sure it says what you want it to say. This is a big deal, please take it seriously.
   
5. Skip the copy and paste statuses. If you've been on Facebook for any amount of time, you know what I'm talking about. "Copy and paste this if you love Jesus, hate taxes, think FB needs a dislike button" etc. These statuses are unprofessional and may cause others to question your credibility. When you really believe in something that strongly, take real action towards it, not a Facebook status.
   
6. Hide the game and app sharing. That means your Farmville requests, your daily horoscope, quizzes, etc. Do not allow these things to post to your wall. It looks unprofessional, clutters up the news feeds of all of your friends and may prevent your business contacts from taking you seriously. If you absolutely must have these things, you can control who sees the updates in your privacy settings under "Apps and websites".

These are just a few suggestions.  There will be more in the very near future. Subscribe to this blog to get the latest information as it becomes available.

Social media and the Queen...

The British Monarchy on Facebook

Over the weekend, I caught a bit of "The Queen", a movie about the royal family's response to the 1997 death of Princess Diana.  Before now, I haven't followed the royal family and didn't watch the royal wedding, so I was a bit surprised by the way the movie portrayed Queen Elizabeth II's dislike for Princess Diana.  But, what I really found interesting was how the film emphasized that the people wanted a public expression of grief from the royal family, as if they wanted to be included in the family's grieving process or at least know how they were grieving.

Could this have been the start of the "social media revolution"? 

At the end of the movie, the Queen states that times have changed and that the monarchy must "modernize".  I started wondering how all of this would have been different had it happened now, 14 years later. Of course we could compare it to the royal wedding fanfare, but weddings are a time of positive publicity and celebration, not the grief and controversy around Diana's death.

In the film, the Queen is appalled at the desire of the people to have a public funeral.  I wonder how would she have felt if it had been broadcast on Facebook like Michael Jackson's funeral, (which I did watch parts of on FB)? Even with her recognition that there was a need to modernize (according to the film), it wasn't until last year that the British Monarchy joined Facebook.

So, why does any of this matter and what does it have to do with anything?  I simply found it interesting since I work with people from many generations and backgrounds with varying "attitudes" towards Social Media, some with concerns about the transparency of it all, and some who just don't understand why people want to know what you're doing all the time. For the most part, I think its just another example of how "we don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it." (Erik Qualman)


What do you think?  Feel free to post your comments below.

Why Social Media? Why Now?

If you're still asking yourself why you need to get involved with Social Media Marketing, here is a wonderful demonstration of the impact Social Media is having on today's culture.



Click here if you can't see the video above: http://youtu.be/3SuNx0UrnEo

Compare the data from the video above with this one to see the growth in just two years!



Click here is you can't see it: http://youtu.be/NhPgUcjGQAw

5 Simple Rules

While Social Media can be an excellent networking and business marketing tool, there a few basic rules that everyone should follow, whether promoting themselves or their business.

Rule One: Think Before You Post.
Know that anybody can and will GOOGLE you. Many posts show up openly in Google searches and anything can be copied, pasted, shared, re-tweeted, etc. Don't post anything that you don't want your mom, your friends, your employer, your clients, your professor or a recruiter to see. It's that simple.

Rule Two: It's not all about me!
If all you do is post about what you had for lunch and complain, you will not get much benefit from these tools. The best way to be successful with social media sites in general is to be engaged. It's a two-way conversation. So, actively go out and "engage" with people who have similar interests to you. You never know where that online conversation may take you.

Rule Three: Don't Drink and Post!
This is pretty self-explanatory. The same goes for positing and driving. Posting and drinking and posting and driving are downright stupid and can be dangerous. If you're not sure about this one, refer to Rule #1.


Rule Four: Use Good Grammar.
I know it's often hard to express everything due to the limited characters allowed. That's why certain symbols and abbreviations have become common shortcuts. But that being said, there's no reason to have ugly grammar errors.

Rule Five: Don't Be A Debby Downer!
Be positive! There's enough doom and gloom in the world, so don't add to it with a whole bunch of negative posts and complaints.

Getting started: There's No Need to Re-invent the Wheel

Image

Sometimes when we start something new, we think we have to start from the ground up.  I've been trying to determine where to start with this blog.  What basic information should come first?  I've decided that there is already a LOT of information out there, so there's really no need to duplicate it exactly.  I'm going to share some great links here about getting started with Social Media Marketing, focusing on Facebook since 51% of Americans already have Facebook accounts.  Since my goal is to keep it simple, I want to provide the most basic information first.  My concern is that with my technical background, my simple may not equal your simple.  So here are some great resources to get you started.  What I want you to do is note any questions that you have in the comment section below so that I can gauge if these links contain truly "simple" direction, okay?  Let's get started:

How to Create your Personal Facebook Profile
If you are part of the 49% NOT on Facebook yet, it's simple, start here.

To Build a Facebook Page, you need a Facebook Profile
This will help you understand the difference between a Facebook Page (for your business) and a Facebook Profile (all about you).

Facebook 101 for Business: Your Complete Guide
There is a lot of info here. It may seem complicated if you don't have a full understanding of the links above.

Now, review these links and let me know what you think.  I'm here to help and glad to do it! Post your questions below and we'll figure it out!

It's finally here...

No one is too small to put themselves on the social map. Social networking is the most productive and cost effective form of marketing/advertising currently available.

I specialize in teaching small business owners and direct sales professionals to manage their own social media marketing campaigns. Let me show you how simple it is to create your social network today.