Getting Started with Pinterest

Getting Started with Pinterest

Before you can start using Pinterest you need to be accepted by them. Simply go to their website and fill in your name and email address, it took me a couple of times before they emailed by confirmation that I could set up my new Pinterest account.

http://pinterest.com/

1. Create your username – Max 15 characters no spaces or symbols

Then there are just 3 simple steps:

Step 1. People

Click on things you like or are interested in and Pinterest will recommend who to follow

Step 2. Pinboards

Pinboards are where you can group together things you’ve bookmarked on the web – whether there are your products, services, views from your B&B window etc or whether they’re other people’s things and products that you like.

Step 3. Button

To install the “Pin It” button in Chrome:

1. Display your Bookmarks by clicking the Wrench Icon > Tools > Always Show Bookmarks Bar

2. Drag the “Pin It” button to your Bookmarks bar

3. When you are browsing the web, push the “Pin It” button to pin an image

Once installed in your browser, the “Pin It” button lets you grab an image from any website and add it to one of your pinboards. When you pin from a website, we automatically grab the source link so we can credit the original creator.

You're in!

Pinterest Etiquette:

Try to...

• Be Respectful. Pinterest is a community of people. We know that individual tastes are personal, but please be respectful in your comments and conversations.
• Be Authentic. Pinterest is an expression of who you are. Being authentic to who you are is more important than winning lots of followers or fans.
• Credit Your Sources. Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source.

Happy pinning!

Still not sure how Pinterest can help promote your business? Maybe a little training will help?Take a look at my Pinterest for Business Training Course

How can Pinterest help my business?

You may have already heard of Pinterest – the new social media kid on the block.

So, what is Pinterest, what is all the fuss about and how could Pinterest help your business?

As with many of the social media platforms which have bloomed in popularity, Pinterest is a very simple idea, cleverly executed.

When you log on to pinterest.com you’ll see how each page looks a bit

like a pin board; yes, those things on our kitchen walls crammed with our old

family photographs, holiday postcards and ‘must do’ lists.

Here then, you can create an easy to view photo album of your products and

services to enable your customers to get an immediate visual understanding

how you can help them.

Every photo you post can be linked back to your main website or your social

media site and you can also encourage people to ‘like’ and share your pins.

It’s great for designers, photographers, artists, organisations that run events

or venues (such as hotels and tourist attractions) or any business that sells a

range of products.

Here are a few Pinterest sites that I think have got the right idea...

http://pinterest.com/source/ikea.com

http://pinterest.com/cookingwcaitlin

http://pinterest.com/visitbuckspa

http://pinterest.com/servicedapts .

Have a look also at some of the areas you’re personally interested in. You

search simply by subject, name or organisation.

It’s free to sign up and create a page (you have to request an invitation first)

and Pinterest also has a reassuring user policy which forbids nudity.

Here at Coldicott Freelance Training I’m ‘liking’ Pinterest because it’s a very

simple and effective way to showcase your business and increase your online

profile.

As with any new social media platform it’s a good idea to sign up early so if

you’d like to get started or know more, contact me for more details.

Essential tips for Start-ups in a recession

Born in a Storm

Essential tips for Start-ups in a recession

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester are running a programme everyday this week which focuses on how some local start-ups not only set up during a recession but have also managed to survive and some of which have also thrived. I was approached by H&W Chamber of Commerce and asked if I would like to be one of the businesses interviewed for the programme - free publicity on the local radio I thought - absolutely count me in.

Kate Mundy, BBC radio newsreader and journalist, wanted to find out what a normal day for a Social Media Trainer might include, so I invited her to tag along for the day, this is what my diary looked like...

Friday 17th February

• 10.30am - Meet Ben Kinnaird to record Podcasts
  Ben and I hooked up about 12 months ago to deliver our joint venture Inventive Workshops. These are local, cost effective social media workshops run on a monthly basis followed by an Internet Marketing Club. The podcasts are there for anyone who wants a flavour for the type of things we discuss during our Internet Marketing Club and who is interested in learning more about online marketing.

• 12.15pm - The Lunch Club, The Vale Golf Club, Evesham
  Business Networking Club 19 local business people, based in and around Evesham who are asked to bring their guests on a fortnightly basis for lunch and networking.
  
  
• 3pm - Catch up with admin and email's in preparation for the following week.

If you'd like to listen to the Radio Interview...

You can catch it on Wednesday 21st March sometime between 6.00 - 9.00 am

Helen Coldicott - Director, Coldicott Freelance Training
Ben Kinnaird - Director, Rather Inventive
Rob Bell - Bank Manager - HSBC, Evesham

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/programmes

For me there's no secret when it comes to surviving in a recession (I don't know any different, so it may just be tips for starting a business full-stop), but I know there were a few things that I did try and do fairly consistently.

• Keep costs low - if I could make do with something, for example a standard phone, a free piece of software, creating my own website that's what I would do. Anything that meant I kept my costs to a minimum.
• Raise your profile - This was my aim for the first 12 months. No one knew I existed or that I offered help with using Social Media so I needed to get that message out to people anyway that I could.
• 10 x 10 marketing plan - My business coach, Simon Williams advised me to use at least 10 different marketing channels or methods of communication to get my message out there. Here are mine, what you'll notice is that a lot of these are free:

1. Attend all the free networking events

2. Grab any opportunity to do a spot of public speaking

3. Network - choose 1 or 2 networking meetings that you enjoy and keep going to on a regular basis

4. Use social Media - write blogs to increase your online content

5. Build an audience - Help and advise people on your area of expertise

6. Get out there - get out of the house/office make yourself known

7. Grab any free marketing opportunity - radio interview, presenter slot at a networking meeting, to be on the chamber website...

8. Create some professional business cards and aim to hand them all out by the end of the year

9. Send out regular newsletters

10. Post social media updates - on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn - whichever platform best suits your target audience

If your business was established during a recession and you have any hints or tips for other businesses in the same boat, it would be great to hear from you.

If you'd like to know how to generate lots of free content and get noticed online - why not attend one of our Social Media Workshops...

How to create a Facebook Business Page

"How to make small business into BIG!" was the theme of this month's Start to Grow Forum, organised by Hereford & Worcester Chamber , sponsored by Hayward Wright and hosted by the lovely people at Holland House in Cropthorne, near Pershore. Thanks to everyone who came, I hope you found it both useful and inspiring?

The Little Soap Company

There was an excellent local business hero, Emma Heathcote-James who owns and runs The Little Soap Company, based in Bretforton. She told us about her journey and how she developed her product range, taking it from small, local, agricultural shows and how she came up against "the big boys" and has now successfully developed The Little Soap Company into a big business where you will find her Little Soap range in Waitrose, Warners Budgens and possibly coming soon to another major supermarket chain. She managed to get onto the Waitrose shelves in just under 12 months, the shortest time ever for a fledging business to have achieved this. Take a look at how she uses Facebook to engage with her clients and build a community around her product I think a great way to learn how to engage with people online is to see it in action and then have a go yourself.

My task was to inspire and educate small businesses in how they can start using Facebook to develop, grow and enrich their businesses by developing their business and brand through human communication and develop a sense of community and brand loyalty that can all be achieved when you use Facebook effectively.

Why aren't more SME's taking advantage of Facebook business pages?

However, I was shocked by the number of local business in the room that still don't even have their own business page on Facebook. Facebook is a free marketing and communication tool that empowers you to have a two way conversation with your customers. You can discuss what you've been doing and they can tell you what they like and don't like, if there's something missing from your products or service offering - there are a multitude of ways in which Facebook can help to grow your company.

It became apparent from speaking to people in the room that still some are concerned that information posted in their personal account will be visible to their business customers - this simply is not true.

People are still worried about, what will they talk about, who will see it, what will they think, what if a I look silly? Well what do you talk about usually with your customers and more importantly what are your customers interested in hearing more about? Just transfer that to your Facebook page.

How to create your own Facebook business page

In less than 4 minutes you can learn how to create your own Facebook business page, just watch this brief online tutorial to learn how quick and simple it really is.

Thank you inspirational ladies!

And finally, I would just like say a big thank you to Faye Hurley from Eden Aromatics. The next morning I received a message to say that Faye had been so inspired by our talk that she got straight onto it and created her own Facebook business account - if you're impressed by this business lady taking action and promoting her beautiful smellies, show her the love and "Like" her Facebook page. I thinks it's amazing how much information she has shared in just a couple of days and 7 people "Like" her business already - I'm sure this is just the start of making her small business into BIG! X

Like to learn more about Facebook?

Anyone interested in learning more about How to use Facebook for Business - why not come along to one of our interactive and action packed Facebook workshop?

Is social media the new business networking? (Social Business Networking)

• Expand your network
  
  Social Media allows you to meet people you may never have come into contact with in person.
  
  Not only does social media reach outside of our physical location, but also outside of our normal networking circles. Represent yourself professionally on LinkedIn, Twitter and on-line generally and you could start attracting larger businesses that just don’t go to local business networking events.
  
  (The image is what my LinkedIn network looks like, each dot represents a different contact and the lines show the relationships that link them together. Imagine this on a larger scale and you'll get some idea what your social business network could look like.)
  
  
• Save time, money and reach the right people
  
  
Instead of visiting all the business breakfast meetings in town, spending time travelling, getting up at an unearthly time, eating a breakfast that’s been chosen for you and paying for the privilege and then thinking did I really meet the people that will buy my products and services? Could this time, money and effort be better spent finding people on social networks who are qualified customer, leads and business partners?

• Find the right supplier
  
  
If you are looking for a supplier, why not search for them on LinkedIn? Here you can see the products and services they offer, chose the right location and see what other people have said about them in their recommendations. You can also choose a local business group and ask people to recommend a supplier for you.


• Searching for prospects
  
  If you’re looking for prospects, find out which groups your prospects hang out in by looking on their profile. Join these groups and listen to what people are talking about, what problems are they experiencing and how can you help them?
  
  Imagine you've just met this person at a Business Breakfast meeting, listen carefully to what they are saying, what problem are they asking for help with and only if you have a valid solution share that with them.
  
  Remember if you just talk about yourself and your business you’ll soon end up in an empty room (discussion) with no one to talk to.
  
  Ever been to a business breakfast and just end up speaking to one person and that person you'll probably never do any business with? An added benefit of LinkedIn is that you can listen to a discussion and then think actually that’s not relevant to me and walk away!
  
  
  
• No 60 minute advert
  
  Are you one of the millions of people who struggle with speaking in public? Do you dread having to stand up and deliver a professional 60 minute advert that highlights all the benefits of working with you and your company to a room full of strangers and sometimes competitors? Another benefit of social (business) networking is that you don’t have to do this at all.
  
  Perhaps you don’t mind doing this, but perhaps after doing this for the fortieth time that year you’re struggling to think of something new and interesting to say that your other networkers haven’t heard before? Either way, with business breakfast networking you have to stand up and deliver who you are and what you do each time. With social networking once you’ve written your profile, your twitter bio, info on your Facebook page you won’t have to adjust this as often and it could be seen by a far greater number of people looking for your services.
  


• Lay on the beach networking
  
  People who want your services can come and find you. So even if you’re out of the office all week or maybe you’re on holiday, if you have a great online social media profile people will be able to search for you and find you and your company. They can enquire by tweeting or by sending a message and this can be picked up on your return. No costly call-centres to pay and the real benefit here, qualified leads and prospect are coming and knocking on your door, you don’t even have to go and find them yourself.
  
  
• Is social media the new business networking?
  
  Social media is not a replacement for meeting people face-to-face, listening and talking with them. Social media cannot replace the dedication and time it takes people to build strong, lasting and trustworthy relationships. Building a strong network of like-minded people whose businesses can work together and where customer relationships overlap, takes, time, energy and dedication. What social media can do is further strengthen, support, build and promote these relationships and expand them even further than traditional networking alone can do.

What do you think?

Please leave a comment. I would love to know what your personal experiences of real business networking vs Social media business networking are.

If you want to find out how Social Media can improve your business take a look at our open, public workshops...

http://inventiveworkshops.com/events/

Creating an effective LinkedIn Professional Headline

Here are a few of my favourite, inspirational and quirky professional headlines from LinkedIn profiles.

Benefits of a powerful Professional Headline:

What do people find when they Google your name? Try it and find out. Google rates LinkedIn profiles very highly, so it is very likely to be one of the top search results when people search for your name on Google. Here are a few more benefits of spending time on creating a powerful professional headline on LinkedIn?

• Helps you stand out from the crowd
• First impressions count
• First step in controlling your identity online
• Authoratative resource on your career
• Helps you collaborate with others
• Higher position in LinkedIn search

Here are 3 tips to consider when creating your professional headline:

1. Remember to include your keywords
2. Make sure you stand out from the crowd
3. Explain how you help people and their businesses - don't just talk about yourself.

If you would like to share your own favourite LinkedIn professional headlines, whether it's your own or someone else in your network I would love to hear from you.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rhysbmjones
http://www.linkedin.com/in/hrmking
http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharongaskin
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/denise-liebermann/4/939/a92

How to complete your LinkedIn profile to 100%

Before you can start building your network and developing business relationships on LinkedIn it pays to invest some time in providing a 100% complete profile.

Why?

To improve your online visibility and create a good first impression. Google values the information provided by LinkedIn, therefore when someone searches for you in Google it is highly likely that your LinkedIn profile will be at the top of the Google search results.

If you were looking for someone on Google and found a half filled LinkedIn profile with a bland headline, what sort of first impression would you create?

When someone searches for you in Google this is the information they will see:

Therefore, your name and headline are the most important things to get right to create a memorable, useful impression that makes the reader want more.

Get found in the LinkedIn results

In order to increase the likelihood of people being able to find you in LinkedIn, it helps if you have filled out your LinkedIn profile fully. People with 100% complete profiles rank higher than those with information missing.

How do I get a 100% complete profile?

Just make sure you have the following:

• A profile photo - Ideally professional headshot not a holiday photo
• A profile summary
• A current position
• 2 past positions
• Education
• Specialities
• At least 3 recommendations - How, write them for others or just ask politely!

Like to learn more about making LinkedIn work for you and your business? Attend our Understanding LinkedIn Workshop, just £25 per person.