Is your business Pinteresting?

 

 

      I took a webinar last Friday night, yes I am that dork, and learned a few new tricks Pinterest has up its sleeve for businesses. I know, when Pinterest first hit the scene we were all pinning away, not really with much purpose and staying up way too late to do it. Now the game has changed dramatically. First off you can now set up an account as a business. Don't worry if you have an account already, Pinterest makes it easy to convert your personal account to a business if you have a ton of content already on your boards. You can also have several Pinterest accounts so not to worry, just add a business account. The research Pinterest has uncovered about their audience is quite astounding. People on Pinterest are shoppers, big shoppers, much more so than Facebook, twitter and Instagram, even with the new video feature. What is Pinterest in a nutshell? According to their website, Every day, millions of people use Pinterest to explore their interests, find products to buy and connect with people who share common interests. A pin is an image or video that people add to Pinterest. People add pins directly from websites or apps by using the Pin It button. Any pin can be repinned and all pins link back to their sources...your sources. Having a Pinterest profile increases your SEO (search engine optimization) which increases your online visibility. You can also get a Pinterest Facebook tab page at www.woobox.com/pinterest

Pinterest for business

Pinterest suggests these 4 easy steps to be a pro pinner.
1. Put together a stunning profile. Think dating game here. Select an eye catching image or logo, one your audience can connect to your brand. A business account gives you access to Pinterest analytics which tracks your activity and reach. Who's viewed you, and who's repining you.
2 Create and organize boards. Design several different boards to showcase your company. Give them clear yet creative titles to encourage people to follow them. You can do boards like Our Celeb favs, Products we can't live without, Services that rock, Summer trends. You get the picture, and speaking of pictures, have great images and enough pictures or videos to make your boards substantial. Make sure your most relevant boards are on top and don't be afraid to swap out seasonal boards front and center.
3 Make sure to pin at least once a day. Try creating your own compelling images with picmonkey.com. (the photo on top I made with picmonkey).You can also pin others pins that are useful and relevant to your content. People love check lists, and info graphics. Useful content is what goes the most viral. You can create your own info graphics at Infogram

Get creative here Picmonkey

 

4 Engage. In order to build your community you need to be an active pinner yourself. Follow other fashion boards, like brands you carry and repin to your community. Don't forget to like and comment. People want easy so make it simple to pin your stuff by adding the Follow button to your website and make sure you include a Pinterest link in emails so people know you’re a Pinteresting salon. Increased social media is increased visibility and that's smart marketing.

Stylize Your Guests!

 
      With all the hype of last night's Grammys the nails did not disappoint. I believe they were front and center, as well they should be. You didn't hear Ryan Seacrest asking the celebs about their hair and what product they were wearing. Yes nails really rocked the Grammy's. I had a client text me to turn on E! during the Mani-off. Thanks to Lisa Marie Santos Facebook status update, I was already tuned in. She texted "This can not be bad for biz." With nails being front and center many have taken notice. Women's Wear Daily reports nail polish sales hit a record 768 million in the US in 2012 a 32% over 2011. And there is no sign of it slowing down. As more treatments emerge including pattern nail stickers and textured polishes, gel products continue to be on the rise. Nail polish is the new economic indicator replacing lipstick. The theory goes that as the economy struggles, sales of these small luxury items rise. You may not be able to get that new Mercedes this spring but wow look at all the cool polish you can buy. Social media has also driven the upsurge with sites like Instagram. E! online introduced a "Mani Cam" at the 2012 Emmy awards inviting celebs to walk their manicures down the red carpet and while the gimmick was panned at the time they had two Mani Cams at this years Grammys and a Mani off during the Red carpet countdown. I have to say I was a bit disappointed some of the celeb nail stylists used retail products as opposed to professional. I guess in the end it still is all about moving the industry forward. Don't hate the player hate the game?

      So how do we capitalize on this exposure? Ironically enough as it usually happens I got an email with Seth Godin's blog update. Seth Godin is a brilliant marketer and change alchemist having written 14 books The Purple Cow among his most popular. Godins blog talks about Humanizing our work. In the land of cookie cutter, imitator nail styles you must break free and create your own voice in your own unique work. Godin suggests "To create something that only you could have made, or said, or conceived of." To set yourself apart. With so many new companies emerging and offering so many new opportunities you must still put your creative trademark on your work. The Internet is crammed full of ideas, between Pinterest and YouTube. Let these sights be the spark for creativity and push out your own boundaries. Practice something new, fail if you can and start over creating smarter because of it. Then post, post and post some more. Create Pinterest boards showcasing your work with links back to your website. Tag photos on your Facebook wall so all your clients friends see your work. Send your work into Nailit Magazine, another industry game changer. The nail universe is doing all it can to get this industry exposure, Tap in and enjoy the ride.
The Grammys Beauty Breakdown: Nail Art Edition