How to Market with Pinterest

Pinterest is sometimes viewed as a social media tool intended more for recreational use than marketing. However, for the right kind of business, Pinterest can be a very powerful customer acquisition and brand awareness tool. How, you ask? Let’s start from the beginning:

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, "re-pin" images to their own pinboards, or "like" photos (read more of the details on Wikipedia).

Why would businesses use Pinterest?

Businesses of any size who sell products to consumers should examine using Pinterest to reach a wider audience than they would be able to by driving traffic to their website. The best thing about Pinterest is the likelihood that lucrative products go viral--being posted over and over again on different pinboards and then shared on other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

How can I get started?

Pinterest is one of the more simple social media tools to set up and adapt to. There are no hashtags, no follower lists to manage and it’s quite simple to get started. Follow these easy steps:

1. Sign up for Pinterest. Registering is simple - it just takes a few seconds to connect the site with your Facebook account or fill in a few fields and register with your email address.

2. Build a profile that’s consistent with your brand. Make sure your username is the same as your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media accounts you have - that way, your fans will be able to easily identify your business. The description should be the same, picture should be the same, and link to your website or another social site to increase traffic.

3. Create boards that relate to your products and post. Are you an apparel store? Create a board for clothes, outerwear, shoes, accessories. The more specific you are, the better the chance is that other Pinterest users will find and share your content. Post products from another source (like your website or Etsy store) so Pinterest users have a way to find out more and purchase the product.

4. Use hashtags. A newer feature in Pinterest, hashtags are a way to categorize posts and a search shortcut. Hashtags are used differently on each social media site - whereas on Twitter, it’s really only advantageous to use two or three in each Tweet, you can get away with using more on Pinterest. However, I would keep it around a handful - we all know how obnoxious posts with 20 hashtags can be. If you’re interested, this blog discusses the use of hashtags on Pinterest in more depth.

5. Have fun. Show your personality. Don’t post only your own products. Make connections: comment, favorite and share other people’s posts. Build a community and the Pinterest traffic will come to you.

Are you a Pinterest user? If so, I’d love to hear the tips and tricks that work for you. And as usual, if you’re looking for feedback or have any marketing questions, please feel free to check out my website or email me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com.

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Link Exchanging, Best Practice or Old News?

Once upon a time, reciprocal links were the best way to build links to your business website. Now it’s thought that inbound links are king and the practice of reciprocal linking is dead - but that’s not true. Although link exchanges don’t really boost your site’s SEO, they will likely still bring some traffic to your site if the link is housed on a relevant and quality webpage. And for small businesses, referral traffic from other sites that have you listed as a preferred vendor, a recommended partner or the like, can increase your sales.

If you decide that exchanging links is for you, there are a few best practices that you should take note of. When reciprocating links with other small businesses, keep these simple tips in mind:

1. Only link to related businesses. There are a few problems with links from unrelated sites, some obvious and some less so:

• They’re less likely to get clicked. If I’m on a site looking for handmade candles, I probably won’t click on an unrelated recommended product. It’s really as simple as that - and leads me to the next point...
• They give both sites a bad reputation. Unrelated links give your new potential customer a bad impression. When you link to unrelated products and services, it screams spam, and that is not a word you want linked with your brand.
• You might be penalized for linking to low-quality sites. In April, Google announced the Penguin update, which penalizes websites that are loaded with low-quality links. You’ll also want to check periodically for broken links with a free link checking tool.

2. Make sure you can vouch for products and services. When you run a small business, recommendations that are posted on your business website are as good as recommendations from you. Before you link to another site and list them as a partner just to get links to your site out on the web, try out the product or ask to see work samples if you’re linking to a service. I’ve been in a situation where I recommended a service to a friend and it didn’t go well. Although the friend wasn’t upset with me, he very well could have been (and this situation could easily happen to someone who isn’t a friend, and will be upset).

3. Triple-check content on other sites that mentions you. I know firsthand how it is to run a small business and be (extremely) strapped for time. However, when your partners offer to link to your page, you should always have final say on what they write. If there is a blurb that describes your business, you should write it to keep your brand voice consistent. And don’t be afraid to ask for edits; the only way you’ll get traffic is with well-written content that describes your company.

The verdict on link exchanging? Go ahead and do it, but be careful. Remember that building backlinks to your site surrounded by content (like getting mentioned in a blog or article) is always best, but all quality links are good links. Have any questions or comments? Contact me at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com or leave a comment below.



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3 Steps to Get Started with Social Media

The internet is full of articles and advice about social media. Do this, not that. Post this, not that. You should be on this site, not that one. With so much contradictory information, it can be difficult to have any idea where to start.

The truth is, every single small business will have a different presence on social media, post in different ways and on different sites – and you can all be successful. Use this short guide to get started using social media to your advantage.

Step 1: Choose your platform

Facebook. Twitter. Google Plus. Instagram. Pinterest. And the list goes on. There are so many social media sites that it can be near impossible to figure out which one you should post to. My first tip is to only choose as many sites as you can keep up with. If that’s one site – perfect. If you choose five, that’s great too, just make sure you do them all well.

It’s important to consider what you’re selling. If you’re selling B2C, feel free to take advantage of the usual suspects like Facebook, Twitter, Google+. However, many direct to consumer companies find a lot of success on Pinterest and Instagram, so those might be a good place to start. Alternatively, companies that sell B2B might not do as well on Pinterest as they will on Twitter.

Step 2: Strategize

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make on social media is not having a plan. Social media is all about reaching a larger audience, so feel free to get a little personal to connect with your readers. However, posting about everything from your business to what you’re eating for dinner is a mistake. Sit down and make a plan:

• What you’ll post – What is your target audience interested in? If you’re selling clothing, post about industry trends and related topics. If you’re a band, post about music. It really is that simple. And to make deciding what to post even easier, set up an RSS feed like Feedly to get a constant stream of information.
• When you’ll post – Create a schedule that outlines the days and times you’ll post. Tools likeFollowerWonk for Twitter analyze your audience and tell you the best time to reach your fans.
• How you’ll post – Logging into each site and posting throughout the day is a lot of work. Employ an easy-to-use tool like Buffer to plan posts for the whole week. (And, bonus, it’s integrated with Feedly!)

Step 3: Put yourself out there

You’ve chosen your platform, your target market, and made your plan. Now get out there and do it! Remember, everything you post won’t get liked, shared or retweeted – so don’t get discouraged. It will take a while to gain a solid following.

Getting started on social media really is as easy as the steps outlined above. If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me a note at jackie@jackiesteinmetz.com or leave a comment below!

Like to Share Product Review of CraftyWithStyle

Today’s review is on Anna Vaeth and her own handmade craft business CraftywithStyle. Anna is an Army wife and stay at home Mom located in Stewart Ga. Anna designs a variety crafts, including; headbands, bobby pins and clips, but mostly Anna designs bows. Anna sent us one her bows that is for a child about the age of 3 and up. It is a very colorful bow of red and yellow with a Winnie the Pooh button in the middle. The bow arrived very quickly and in a nice sturdy clear package. We tried out the bow on a 3 year old girl. The child liked it of course and was happy to wear it in her hair. She wore the bow all day, including during her nap. We were happy to see that the bow did not fall down or fall out and the bow is made very securely. The girl absolutely loves it also!

Anna has a fan page for her crafting business and has much to look at. Anna has over 35 albums in which you will find her variety of items that she crafts, her auctions, her sale items, her giveaways, and her sold items. She was very active over black Friday and Small business Saturday and provided many ways to save on her crafts. Anna also just had 500 fan celebration on her page! She is very active on her page providing photos of her crafts, activities and shares parts of her life with her fans which fans always like to see.

In addition to her fan page, Anna also has a Twitter and Pinterest page. On her Twitter page you can follow of her specials and sales. On her Pinterest page you can see all of her great work. We were very pleased with our experience with CraftywithStyle. Anna does great work and she is quick in her turnaround time. If you are looking for some great handmade hair pieces, CraftywithStyle may be just the place to go. When you stop there to check out her work, give her page a like and tell her that Like to Share sent you, she’ll be happy to see you there.

It Works! with Giovanne Bazile

           Today’s review is on the It Works! Body wraps. We were happy to receive an ultimate Body applicator from Giovanne Bazile and her Direct Sales business “It Works!”. Giovanne sent us our wrap very quickly and was very thorough on explaining how to use the wrap, she even sent us a link to a video. When I tried the wrap I had to decide where to use it. Well, I have had three children, so the stomach area was the best spot to try. I followed the directions on the package which were very easy to follow and applied the wrap. The wrap is a thin plastic like material with lotion on it. The lotion smelled to me a lot like Vicks vapor rub. After you apply the wrap, you use saran wrap over the wrap, once I did this the smell subsided. Then you wait 45 minutes.

         While I was waiting, my stomach started to get a warm and tingly feeling. It was nice but made me wonder just what was going on. After 45 minutes I took off the wrap and looked to see if there was a difference, I have to say I did not see much of a difference right away. A few hours later though, I could see that the skin was somewhat tighter. I was happy to see that the next day it was the same. I have never used a product like this before and I can say I was happy with the results.

Giovanne has a fan page and a website that you contact her through. Her fan page has almost 600 fans and she has activities and giveaways on her page. When you to visit her page tell her that Like to Share sent you. She will be glad to have you. On her website you can view different success stories, shop and contact Giovanne directly.                                                                

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It Works!, is a direct Sales company, so therefore you can sell It Works! products as well. Giovanne can certainly help you out with any information you may want on this opportunity.

          If you have looked into this and are thinking about trying out one of their products, I don’t think you will be disappointed, I certainly was not. Giovanne, is wonderful to work with and also followed up with us to see if we needed anything and how it was going. We had an excellent experience with this product and service at Like to Share. 

Lori Schieffer with Passion Parties

      Today’s review is on Lori Schieffer’s Pomegranate Ginger Toning Body Butter. The body butter is in the product line of Direct Sales Company called Passion Parties. The product arrived very quickly with a personal note, brochure and a few business cards from Lori. Thank you! 
     Lori had written to us that the product sent is the most popular and once it is worn, not to be surprised that people may comment on the smell all day. The scent is a very pleasing scent, a sweet and a little spicy smell with almost a citrus like smell. It is true, the scent does stay with you a long time and a couple of people did ask what I was wearing! Lori also wrote that the product is enhanced with caffeine to assist in cellulite reduction and skin rejuvenation.  I can tell you that once you put this lotion on it is invigorating to your skin, it leaves a cooling sensation and leaves your skin really smooth. It is very pleasing to the skin and the scent is wonderful, definitely something to pamper yourself with.
       Lori Schieffer has a website with Passion Parties and a face book fan page. Her website gives information about becoming a consultant for this company. This company does home parties where you can view the products in the comfort of your home. Passion Parties sells products for enhancing your personal life as well as lotions and scrubs.  Lori’s Fan page has a following of over 350 fans and she is pretty active on her page. She promotes her products and shares fun pictures and greetings. When you go to visit and like her fan page , make sure to tell her that Like to Share sent you!

    If you are interested in this type of Direct Sales company or Lori’s products, you can contact her via her website or fan page. If you are looking to spice up your personal life or just how your skin smells and feels, I would say that you should definitely look into Lori’s website and fan page. The lotion is definitely something to try!

Darren Sanford Mia Bella Candle Review

Today’s review is on Darren Sanford’s candle from the Mia Bella Company. We were very pleased to receive the candle in a very timely manner and it arrived in a box that had secured the candle very well.  Darren sent us the candle called Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper. It is from the Classic Candle line.

 It is a reddish orange color and it has two wicks. The scent is exactly what it describes…in fact… we have had people ask if something was cooking while burning it! We have lit it about a dozen times, burned it for a few hours and sometimes all day. It is a nice, clean even burn. It burns evenly and leaves no residue on the side of the jar. We have burned it almost to the bottom and it is still lighting and burning.

Darren has many ways in which you can contact him. We have found him on Face book, Twitter, MySpace, UTube, LinkedIN, Naymze and his own website. His fan page has over 900 followers and his Twitter page has over 2,000. You’ll be sure to hear about his Mia Bella candles and his sales on any one of these social media sites. Make sure to tell him Like to Share sent you when you go to follow any one of his sites.

Mia Bella candles sells candles, air fresheners, bath and body, make up and skin maintenance products. They even have a Sweet Orange and Chili bath cleansing bar! You’ll be sure to find a product that you will be interested in trying! Also, maybe you are interested in selling for this company. I’m sure Darren can tell you about the opportunities. Thank you for reading and hope you decide to try out Darren's products for Mia Bella.