Like all social media platforms, Pinterest has its do’s and don’ts. Not following the written and unwritten rules means that your presence will look less than professional so do ensure that you are following the correct pinetiquette.

# 1. Do Not Confuse Ownership

Don’t include your url in a descriptor on someone else’s pin!  I was really surprised when I happened to spot this repin of one of my own pins.  I was chuffed to see the comment that stated there were great tips in my article but somewhat bemused to see someone else’s url under the comment. When I clicked on it, it brought me to their website, yet when the pin was clicked, the source was still my article so that hadn’t been tampered with. However, by putting the url under the comment, it suggests that person wrote the article rather than the comment.

# 2. Do Not Repin Indiscriminately

There are spammers out there, even on pinterest so don’t repin articles without checking links (It’s a good idea to check pictures too but people do appreciate it is timeconsuming to check all your repins).  However, each repin acts as a recommendation for the content so it is important to check pins that are clearly linked to articles, not just to check that it isn’t spam but also to check that you endorse the content.

 # 3. Do Not Pin Too Much Of Your Own Material

Repin or pin other people’s material too, not just to share but also to share quality pictures / ideas / articles with your followers not to mention showing your personality via a variety of pins.  Many argue that the 80/20 rule is a good one to follow, 20% of your pins being your own content.

 # 4. Do Not Pin At Length

Pinning and repinning constantly for an hour (or even half an hour) will fill up the page for your followers and is particularly noticeable  if the pins are all your content and are similar in theme.  Seeing a page filled with pins that are similar almost feels like being spammed so do pin with caution particularly if each pin is being tweeted or shared to your facebook profile.

If pinning from your own website, use a scheduling tool such as pingraphy to spread the publication of your pins throughout the day.

If you see lots of pins you would like to repin and you wish to spread them out, like some of them and then go to your ‘likes’ page later and repin them then. Alternatively you could repin them to a secret board and then repin them for public view later.

# 5. Do Not Make It All About Your Niche

Pinterest is a great place for each and every company to show their personality, their passion, what they get up to behind the scenes. Whether businesses are made up of a single sole trader or thousands of employees, they can engage with potential clients and customers by including boards showing their community work, what they do behind the scenes or their hobbies.  My own pinterest boards will reveal my enthusiasm for crochet, my appreciation of interiors and my love of scenery as well as including many social media themed boards. Hubspot, a large social media company, has numerous boards focusing on social media but also includes ‘orange’ boards (their signature colour), marketing cartoons and unicorns!

# 6. Do Not Ignore Your Boards Page

Remember to re-arrange your seasonal boards as nothing suggests a neglected pinterest account (and business) more than seeing Christmas themed boards at the top of your boards page in January or Hallow’een boards in November.

If you have set your board covers too, it’s a good idea to re-arrange them occasionally too, partly to update them and partly as if someone clicks on your board in order to see the board image pin and then can’t find it as it is so far down the page. This is something that is easy to forget so it’s worth while spending an hour every now and then resetting your board images.

# 7. Don’t Forget To Be Sociable

Apparently pinners only spend 0.5% of their time actually commenting on pinterest.  Social media is about being sociable and while repinning someone’s pin is also acting as a compliment, do take the time to comment on those pins that offer something extra special be it extraordinary photography, beautiful design or a well researched or written article.

If your pins are being tweeted, remember to check into twitter to see if anyone has responded to your tweets/pins with a reply.

# 8. Don’t Forget Your Quality Images

Remember to include quality images within your blog post – preferably ones that are either strikingly beautiful or demonstrate that your content will be useful to the readers.  Those images are what you are using to drive traffic back to your blog so they need to be good.

It is also important to name each of your images appropriately. If you pin this post, you will see that the title will come up automatically in the descriptor box for you, this is because it was named thus when I uploaded the image.  If it had been named ‘pinterest’ or ‘fence’ or some other one word term that might be meaningless, I’d be relying on the pinner taking the time to write in the description which they may not do. Spend the extra seconds on it for more success with social sharing of your blog posts.

There you have it – 8 Tips of what you shouldn’t do on pinterest. Have I missed any? Do let me know in the comments if you can think of any others.

Did you like this article?  

1. Please share it with your network, we’d really appreciate it! 
2. Would you like to write for Tweak Your Biz? Or sign up for our RSS?
3. An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.

Connect with Tweak Your Biz on:                      

The post What Not To Do On Pinterest appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

Pinterest Tutorial - How to ensure your blog posts are pinnable

# 1. Image Selection

Spend some time choosing the right image for your blog post. If it is a post about a visual topic, for example, interiors or fashion, you'll be using plenty of images in the post in any case.  If it is more of a business / non-visual type post, you know already that you need the occasional image to break up the text and for visual interest but  you need to  work out how your image will appeal to those on Pinterest.

# 2. Infographics

Many companies are creating infographics to sum up statistics or impart knowledge. Posting the infographic in a blog post means that when the pinner clicks on the infographic, they will be brought to your post, complete with more information and a call to action. Most infographics are long and narrow in design, hence taking up more space on the column layout of a Pinterest page. However, beware of creating one that is much longer than a screen size of a laptop as viewers will lose interest.

# 3. Instructographics

An instructographic is a text image that promises answers, tips and knowledge. Pinners know that the instructographic will 'do what it says on the tin' and the full instructions, answers or tutorial will be found once the pin is clicked. Instructographics can be as simple as the one I have used above which has text on a white background or it can be a series of images as the crochet example here.

Instructographics should promise tips, answers, instructions or a tutorial. Starting them with words such as 'How to ....', 'Ten Tips ....',  'Free Pattern for ....', 'Step by Step Instructions for ....', 'Tutorial for ....', '5 Ways to ....', and '7 Top Reasons for ....'. They can be formed from text on a plain background or text over an image (just ensure the text is legible).  What I like about this crochet instructographic is that one knows at a glance that one will find the written instructions when one clicks on the link and as a nice added touch, the text is written in a stitching-like font!

# 4. Most important for Pinterest - name that image

It is exceedingly important that when a person pins your post, that the descriptor (containing the keyword/s you have carefully selected and used) is pinned with the image.  Yes, the individual may remove your descriptor and add their own but this is unlikely.  If the descriptor is not there, the potential pinner has to take the time to add a description - which means that they may not bother, they may abort the pinning process, they are unlikely to use the keyword you'd like used.  Remember that pinterest boards are now being featured on google searches so you want the keywords to be there.

Many of the Pinterest plugins will automatically post the blog post title as the descriptor which works great, however, don't rely on this. Many pinners won't bother to scroll up or down to the top or bottom of the post to use the plugin or by habit, they will pin using their bookmarklet tool on their toolbar. If the image isn't named appropriately, the descriptor will be whatever the image has been called, e.g IMG9574.jpg!!

The quickest and easiest way to name all of the images used in your post is to rename as you are uploading them (in wordpress) or rename them when resizing/editing them and saving them in your folder.

Rename it in the title, alt title and the descriptor boxes when uploading the image to your blog post.

# 5. Name every image

You should name all the images in the blog post appropriately as you don't have control over which image the pinner will actually pin.  If your post is filled with images that don't necessarily illustrate what the post is about, the descriptor alone won't entice people to repin or click, for example, a post filled with screenshots won't work to its potential. Therefore, it is a good idea to create an image that spells it out at a quick glance - for example, text image used at the top of this post incorporates a pin so anyone glancing at it knows immediately that it will have something to do with pinterest.

If you are unsure about how to add text to a photo, read this tutorial for picmonkey and pinwords.

These steps will take seconds yet I'm constantly amazed by the number of bloggers that aren't making their posts as pinnable as they can.  Don't be one of them - from now on, choose and name your images appropriately for much better results on Pinterest.

Did you like this article?  

1. Please share it with your network, we’d really appreciate it! 
2. Would you like to write for Tweak Your Biz? Or sign up for our RSS?
3. An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.

Connect with Tweak Your Biz on:                      

Images:  ”three blank photo pinned on wall  / Shutterstock.com“

The post The Importance Of Being Pinnable appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

What Will The 'New Pinterest Look' Do For Your Business

# 1. Bigger Pins - More Emphasis On Quality

Images are larger, crisper and bolder on the new pinterest.  Flicking from the old to the new look, the differences are very apparent on the gallery home page.

This means that the quality of images is going to be even more important if they are to do well on Pinterest.  By 'doing well', I mean that they achieve repins and that they deliver click throughs to your website.

To alter William Morris' quote slightly - 'Have nothing in your Pinterest account that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful'.  Pins that do well on Pinterest are either extremely striking and beautiful OR they are of use to others, either in the form of an instructographic, infographic, or a simple text box which indicates that the 'Top Ten Tips on XXX' will be provided in a blog post.

As you'll notice in the preview on the left, the images are larger, the white bar around them has been removed and the corners have been rounded - all adding to a cleaner look that is somehow kinder on the eyes.

Businesses must ensure that the image quality on their website and on their blog posts are as good as they possibly can be. Poor quality photography will stand out like a sore thumb and will not reflect well on a business.

# 2. Increased Visibility Of Pinners and Boards - Popularity Grows

The repins and likes of each pin are visible, as before, under the pins.  More prominent than before, is the name of the pinner and the board they pinned it to.  This means that if pinners aren't already following that pinner, but have come across the pin from a search, they have the option to click on the name, look at all their boards, decide whether to do a 'follow all' or follow selected boards OR they can click on the board and follow it.

I think this will lead to more people following selected boards rather than 'all boards'. If the pinner likes your products and has pinned some of them to that board, your pins are more likely to be seen with the additional followers.

It is also important that your boards are named appropriately so they appeal to others.

# 3. Less Emphasis On Commenting - More on Repinning & Liking?

The comment box isn't filling up space on the 'home page now' nor is the 'comment' option available on the pin unless the whole image is clicked on and enlarged.  Only when a comment has been made on a pin, do the comments show on the main page.

This means that the comment boxes aren't taking up space on the home page.  This decision was probably taken because because people just don't tend to comment on Pinterest, they respond to other pinners by liking or repinning. According to Repinly, people spend 0.5% of their time on Pinterest engaging in comments.

What does this mean?  Unnecessary clutter is removed from the home page. However, if you wish to engage people in a conversation, you can comment on your own pin and see if you get a response.

There is a timestamp now beside the comment so you can see exactly when a person may have commented on one of your pins.

Again, this demonstrates that Pinterest isn't necessarily a place for conversation, the emphasis is on making your pins as strikingly beautiful or as obviously useful as you possibly can.

# 4. Additional Information on Repinning - Increased Visibility Of  Boards/Pins/Website

The recent changes mean that the content of your boards is even more important now, as are your recent pins.

If another pinner repins your image on the gallery home page, a box like this will pop up. They can edit the description, choose their board and click 'pin it'. At the moment, the new look doesn't include the option to send the repin as a tweet but I'm sure that will be reinstated.

However, if a person clicks on the image first, another page opens and this change is the one that holds huge potential for businesses if they are using Pinterest effectively.

• People could always access the source of the image by clicking on it, now however, the website tab is very visible and acts as a reminder to pinners to check out your website.  If your pin is uploaded rather than being pinned from your website, this tab will be missing. I've seen this on some retailers' pinterest accounts and it is a serious mistake, particularly if you are selling online.  You MUST pin from your website so it acts as the source.
• The sharing options used to be on the right of the image and are still available. The 'Share' tab is prominent yet does not detract from other information.
• To the right of the pin, potential repinners can see all the pins in the pinner's board with the option to follow that board placed at the bottom. A board with quality content is much more likely to be followed and therefore grow its followers numbers. Ensure each of your boards are filled with quality pins. NEVER pin the same image to a board multiple times as it will stick out like a sore thumb and you will not gain followers for that board.
• The original source of the pin can also be seen to the right - and this is significant for businesses.  Pinners can see other pins that have been pinned from that source, that particular website. That effectively brings them  to the url used to determine who was pinning what from your website (http://pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com).  With the addition of new Pinterest Analytics tool, you'll be able to see the number of repins and clicks each pin received.   Pinners can then visit your website via this method too.  As social media are the spokes on the wheel to get more traffic to the hub, your website, Pinterest is providing easy, quick and numerous ways to get pinners there.

• Scroll down and you will see 'Pinners Who Pinned This Also Pinned' meaning that it is likely to show lots of similar content.  If a pinner is looking for a wedding cake, they can scroll down to see what other pinners pinned and is likely to see hundreds of beautiful wedding cakes. Therefore, there is much more potential for your product, your image, your pin to be seen and repinned, and for your account to be followed.

This change is one of the most significant for businesses as it lends much more potential to be found. In my opinion, it will also contribute to people staying on Pinterest for much longer periods of time.

# 5. Activity Tab Removed - Less Big Brother, More  Emphasis On Pins

The Activity tab has been removed - this is where you or anyone else could view all of your recent activities on Pinterest (very Big Brother) from who you followed, what you pinned and repinned and what you commented on.  You can still see recent pins by going to the 'my pins' in the drop down menu, and you can see other's most recent pins by clicking on their 'Pins' tab under their profile. You can see your 'followers' and those you are 'following' by clicking on those tabs and as always, you can get email alerts of followers and see recent activity in the left hand column of the gallery home page.  The main difference is that you can't see a record of any comments you have made unless you revisit the pin that you commented on.

Is this because Pinterest is concentrating on the visual rather than the written, we pin and like rather than write words?  I think so - which means that there is more need for beautiful and/or useful images.

Businesses must pay attention to the quality of their images on their websites. Many businesses, e.g. tourist businesses showing scenery shots,  will use landscape photographs due to the shape of a laptop screen. However, with the column layout of pinterest, portrait pictures receive more visibility on the gallery home page, being longer and thinner.  Businesses need to address this by including portrait sized images on their various pages and within galleries.

It is also important that all your images are named appropriately. This isn't because of Pinterest's new look but it is exceedingly important.  People will pin beautiful images on your website if they wish to file and/or share them.  They may not take the time to write a beautifully crafted SEO-ready description and indeed, if they have to write a description at all, they may not pin a second picture.  Name all of your website imagery appropriately. Do not have images named as '84739.ipg' or 'blues'. Instead, an image of Kilkenny Castle should, at the minimum' be named 'Kilkenny Castle, Ireland'.

# 6. Pricing Is More Prominent

The jury is still out as to whether adding a price to your pin is good for click-throughs and sales. Some research shows that it increases sales. Others suggest it works well if the price has been added by another pinner, not the retailer (as seen as too pushy).  Until now, the price was shown in the top left hand corner as a banner. Now, it is displayed (more prominently I believe) in the top right hand corner as a bubble.

Note - it only displays as $ or £, not as € as yet.  By writing the price with the appropriate symbol in the description, the price automatically appears over the image.

If pricing on a image proves to deliver more results and makes it more obvious that the product can be purchased online (which I feel it does), as long as the image quality is good, I feel this change in making the price more prominent should deliver positive results for those selling online.

There are many other changes but as Pinterest has promised to reinstate some of them, one can only assume that all of the 'good 'uns' will be there soon. Examples include the ability to re-arrange your boards, being able to see how many pins are in a board and the option to invite friends.

These changes will make Pinterest more appealing for people to use, which means more repins and click throughs for business owners. With Pinterest providing more encouragement for people to visit a pinner's website, businesses must ensure that their website and blog imagery are either beautiful or useful to others.

Did you like this article?  

1. Please share it with your network, we’d really appreciate it! 
2. Would you like to write for Tweak Your Biz? Or sign up for our RSS?
3. An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.

Connect with Tweak Your Biz on:                      

Images:  ” Red Push Pins - Isolated on White Background  / Shutterstock.com“

The post How The 'New Pinterest Look' Will Help Businesses appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

# 1. Business Account on Pinterest

Convert your pinterest account to a business account - it takes seconds!  If you haven't set up a pinterest account as yet, then do set one up as a business account.  Pinterest are already providing functionality to business accounts which is not available to personal profiles and this is bound to continue. Social Nicole provides some helpful advice to Set Up Your Business Pinterest  Account.

# 2. Quality Images Matter

Good quality images on pinterest are rewarded by being repinned, hence increasing the likelihood of multiplying traffic to your website.  Use good photography on your website and in your blog posts.  If your blog post is 'non-visual' and you are using stock photography, do spend time looking for a suitable image. You can also use a free photography tool such as picmonkey to insert text on the photo so pinners can see at a glance what your blog post is about.

# 3.  Optimise Photos For Pinterest

Always, always, always optimise your photographs for your blog post by renaming them with the title of your blog post or a short description of the content.  Then, if someone pins your blog post, the description will also be included (unless the pinner deletes it from the descriptor box which is unlikely if it is suitable and saves them typing it out).  I find that I often pin a blog post to discover that the photograph contains a number like 9478o4u83.jpg or even worse, has a description that isn't relevant.

# 4. Advantages of Contributor Boards

Create a 'shared' (or contributor) board for an area you specialise in and invite others to contribute. Become a member of other suitable contributor boards in order to reach a much larger audience as they will have many more followers than your individual account. You should find that pins pinned to the contributor boards receive many more repins and click throughs.

It can also be advantageous to pin to your own individual board first, then repin to the shared board.  Why? Because when a person repins a pin, the original board flashes up and the repinner has the opportunity to follow that board, hence you are increasing your chances of gaining more followers.

# 5.  Re-Arrange Your Pinterest Boards

Remember to re-arrange your pinterest boards occasionally. DO NOT leave any Christmas boards at the top of your board page past 1st January at the latest - move them to the bottom of the page until next October!

Create any seasonal boards in good time (I'd recommend about 4 months in advance s0 you have plenty of time to build up that board with good content) and move seasonal boards to the top of the page at least two months before the event, e.g. Valentine's Day or Easter.

# 6.  Change Your Cover Images

If you have set your board pictures with particular pins, it can be worthwhile spending some time occasionally changing those cover pictures with more recent pins.

Why?

• So that if anyone is checking your boards occasionally, that they see change and new content.
• It reminds you of your board content, perhaps there is a pin you have forgotten about and you could repin to a new contributor board.
• If someone clicks on the board to see the cover image and it is way way down the page, it doesn't speak well of your pinterest management.

# 7. Track Your Pinning Success

As with all the social media platforms and your non-internet marketing, you need to know if your efforts are sending traffic to your website and generating conversions, therefore, it is a good idea to check your pinning performance at least on a weekly basis.

• Google Analytics
• Pin Using Reachli (formerly Pinerly) - useful for seeing the click throughs for the images/posts you pin
• www.pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com  - this is a useful tool for seeing which images on your website are being pinned by other people. You could then follow those who have pinned your posts to build engagement with potential clients.

# 8. Publicise Your Pinterest Presence

Increase the probability of more people pinning from your website and following you on pinterest by doing the following:

• Add a 'pin it' plug in to your blog
• If you have an online store, add a 'pin it' button so it shows beside every product - thereby reminding people to pin and acknowledging that you are giving them permission to do so
• Add a 'Follow me on pinterest' button to your sidebar. You now have the option with the new business accounts to add a 'board widget' (displays 30 of your favourite board's latest pins) or 'profile widget' (displays your 30 latest pins) too.

Ignore Pinterest at your peril. It is a fun tool to use which is why it is becoming so popular, I hope these tips help you to maximise your success using Pinterest for 2013.

Did you like this article?  Write for the site. Sign up for our RSS.

Connect:                       

The post 8 'Pinteresting' New Year Resolutions For 2013 appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

You'll find examples of businesses reporting huge successes with Pinterest (e.g. Sony) and those citing disappointment (e.g. Zappos).

Here's our Pinterest picks from amongst many articles and blogs so you can discover how to use pinterest more effectively.

Images & Photos: How To Increase Their Social Media Effectiveness  - Pinterest is visual so good images count. However, it isn't just about taking a fabulous photograph and sharing it.  Other steps need to be taken to ensure your pin is repinned, clicked upon and action taken. Heidi Cohen 

Going Viral on Pinterest: Driving Big Traffic and Making Pinterest a Real Marketing Solution - Users of pinterest aren't just looking for pictures of inspiring interiors, funny quotes and cute dogs, they are also looking to share and repin creative ideas, advice and tutorials.  See how to create an instructographic and how to maximise its effectiveness with careful timing. Colby Almond

How To Get More Pins and Repins On Pinterest  80% of pins on pinterest are repins (RJ Metrics). Hence, there is a huge opportunity to get your pins repinned. With the most popular pin today on Repinly showing 9,449 repins - the question is 'How Can I Get More Repins?  Dan Zarrella

Pinetiqette - Breaking the rules doesn't mean you'll be expelled from Pinterest but you will increase your popularity and pinning success by following some guidelines. Lorna Sixsmith

4 Timeline Apps to add Pinterest to your Facebook page - how to add Pinterest to your facebook page using a timeline app  Ching Ya

How 5 Creative Brands Pin On Pinterest - Learn how to arrange your boards for maximum effect.Jeff Bullas

Eyes on Pinterest: How People Look At Your Boards - Eye-tracking research demonstrates that users view pinterest pages differently to other websites. Use this information to inform the re-arranging of your boards. Sarah Kessler

Brands on Pinterest: To $ or Not To $ -  suggests that brands putting prices on their pins will achieve less repins as it is seen as too commercial. Lauren Indvik

How To Get More Followers On Pinterest  - We all like being popular and more followers should mean more repins and more conversions. I share some tips re how to increase your follower numbers.  Lorna Sixsmith

7 Retail Secrets To Be Pinworthy - it's not about you, it's about your customers. Think about what your customer likes to see, rather than what you like.  Heidi Cohen

How  To Monitor Your Pinterest Performance With Pinerly  - Pinerly is a handy tool which provides information on each pin regarding the number of likes, repins and clicks it gains. Lorna Sixsmith

How To Track Traffic From Pinterest In Google Analytics - Don't just look at the number of repins, you need to analyse the conversions.  Pin smart, not hard! Jim Giangolio

How To Successfully Use Pinterest For B2B -  While it might be easier to understand how B2Cs could use Pinterest to showcase their products, using it for B2B requires a little more thought. Sarah Ryan 

If you wish to, do follow me there

Related: Spice Up Your Interest In Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know To Get Started

Did you like this article? Sign up for our RSS, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

Image: “ubergizmo.com”

The post Our Top Picks To Help Maximize Your Pinterest Success appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

Hunters Lodge provides self sufficiency courses in poultry keeping as well as other small farm animals. Having read Fiona Dillon's blog and now also her columns in a national magazine, and listening to her on local radio shows about how effective a blog can be in marketing your business, I decided to interview her.

Fiona, can you describe your business for us please?

My business is all about growing and rearing food in your garden.  I run classes here at Hunters Lodge during the Summer. I am a freelance writer, am hired for self-sufficiency consultancy work and I give talks to groups, garden centres and pet stores.

Fiona, I keep seeing your lovely picture on various magazines and hearing your dulcet tones on local radio - how did these opportunities come about because of your blog?

One word – chickens!  Both these opportunities were created because of my poultry-keeping experience.  Let me explain…not long into my blogging career, I got a call from the Farmers Journal asking could they feature me in Irish Country Living (the lifestyle supplement in the Farmers Journal). You can imagine my surprise (and delight) to hear that the editor was a fan of my blog!  I went from being featured in Irish Country Living to being a feature writer in Irish Country Magazine.  KCLR96fm also found my blog and I got a call to answer a question on poultry-keeping on air, over the phone.  Now I have a regular slot on The Sue Nunn Show, talking about all aspects of life at Hunters Lodge.

Related: Self-Employed In The Country! The Varied Life of Professional Outdoorist, Lynne Allbutt

When you started your blog was it to record your sustainable way of living or did you start it as a business blog?

For many years I was without doubt, the quintessential career girl.  I worked insane hours and had four children so life was hectic to say the least.  In January 2009 I got very ill and the future looked like a blur of consultants and medication.  After some soul-searching, the business suits were swapped for wellies and within three months of being diagnosed with Graves Disease, I was in remission and medication free.

Losing the stress of life in the corporate world meant that I went from hurtling towards a thyroid storm to being the picture of health.  As my new life unfolded, my friends were intrigued with my goal to produce dinners for my family solely from garden produce.  So my blog started for my friends and family.

I see your daughter Ruth is being featured on television - did this come about as an indirect use of your blog too?

Yes!  I got a call from Buckshee TV asking would I know of any 8 or 9 years that might have attended my Keeping Chickens class.  They were looking for someone of that age to present an RTE programme about chickens.  So you would think that immediately I said “yes, my daughter is 9 years old and a poultry-keeper” but initially I didn’t even think of her!  In my head I was going through all the youngsters that had attended my classes with their parents and then it dawned on me – Ruth was exactly what they were looking for.

What about other social media -which platforms have promoted your business well?

Over the years I had learned the hard way that an advertising budget can become a bottomless pit very easily, often with negligible results.  The decision to go from simply being an online diary to a small business was made on the premise that the transition would be as stress free as possible.  My health was my priority, and there would be no major advertising campaigns or promotions, no loans, no overdrafts.  Instead, I used Facebook and Twitter to convey my message.  A combination of my blog, Facebook and Twitter has allowed me to run a stress-free, successful small business.

Do you know which blog post has brought you the most business?

Actually no.  I think it’s a combination of a lot of posts.  There are so many aspects to this lifestyle and I think it’s a combination of these that appeal to people.  So I have readers that follow some or all aspects of what I do e.g  chickens & baking, pigs & veg growing or indeed, all aspects.

In your opinion, is social media about growing brand awareness, creating relationships or what else?

For me, social media is THE most cost-effective way for me to promote my business.  People learn to trust you and engage with you and these social media relationships are the cornerstone of my business.

Related: Facebook And Pinterest Helping To Grow The Secret Garden Centre

Have you any tips for other fledging businesses regarding using social media?

Well I don’t consider myself to be in the least bit “techie” but I love to write and share all ups and downs of life at Hunters Lodge.  I highly recommend blogging, but you must be committed.  Readers don’t want to visit my blog to find that my last post was weeks ago.  I always remind myself of the texts from my friends before I started blogging that said “what are you doing now”?

Social media allows me to keep my readers updated with what I am doing now.  It can be time consuming but consistency is the key.  Having said that, don’t ever blog just for the sake of it.  Readers aren’t stupid and if you are not passionate when you write, it will be immediately evident.  But if like me, you love to write, commitment will be easy…

Do check out Fiona's blog at Hunters Lodge Living  - living proof that a blog can become a very successful, small and thriving business.

Did you like this article? Sign up for our RSS, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

The post When A Blog Becomes A Business: Hunters Lodge Living appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

 How to Monitor Your Success on Pinterest

80% of pins are repins, simply because it is easier to repin on pinterest than search for new content. (Interestingly as a comparison, only 1.4% of tweets are retweets which demonstrates the much higher chance of your picture going viral on pinterest).  Therefore it makes sense to find out, not only how many times your original pin has been repinned, but also if it is resulting in click throughs to your website and ultimately in sales.

1. By signing up to Pinterest, you will receive an email notification when your pins are repinned, liked or commented on. However, you won't necessarily find out if these repins are repinned further.
2. Google Analytics contains information on your traffic sources. For the first time this month, visitors to my site from pinterest surpassed those from Facebook and not only were they coming in larger numbers but they were visiting more pages and spending more time on the site.  However, the numbers of visitors is not necessarily an indication of conversions. Setting up a funnel to determine if a conversion/sale occurs is the most accurate mechanism. (See CGOnline Marketing's post on how to set up a funnel).
3. Pinerly is a new online measuring tool for Pinterest that will record the number of repins, likes, comments and click throughs for each campaign.

Related: Spice Up Your Interest In Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know To Get Started

 How Does Pinerly Work?

Pinerly is the new online measuring tool for pinterest that is also free to use.  However, it is limiting its numbers of users for the time being. Having just received access to it this week (a month after registering), it's very much early days for reporting on its effectiveness.  Nevertheless, it does seem to be very easy to use and monitor so I can see it becoming hugely popular.

To pin using pinerly, add the Pinerly It bookmarklet tool to your bookmarks and use it to pin from your website/blog instead of clicking on the 'pin it' button.  As you can see in the image above, you can doublecheck the link, add effects to your photograph and you can write in your descriptor just as you would for pinning on pinterest.

You can also select the 'website' option (see below) and simply paste in the url from the post or product that you wish to pin.  The picture will be displayed and all you have to add is add a description which should, of course, contain your keywords.  You can then select the board where you would like to pin that image.

Each pin/post seems to create a single campaign so there seems to be no limit to the number of campaigns that you can have.  It is not yet clear whether a campaign can be created from a board which contains numerous pins.

Remember, true pinners are those who pin interesting content they like so don't be tempted to use pinterest solely to self-promote. To pin successfully, it very much has to be a mixture of pinning your own content and other people's.

Related: How Pinterest Can Increase Your Website Traffic

Main Advantages of Pinerly:

• Tells you how many likes, comments and repins your pins/campaigns are receiving
• Can reveal the number of click throughs to your website
• Displays the information numerically and in a graph
• Tells you the number of followers for that pin (some people will follow all your boards, others will elect to follow a single board so the numbers of followers will depend on the board the image is pinned to)
• Tell you the reach for that pin
• Shows you other pinerly pins so you can connect with others
• Suggests people that are worth following
• Provides tips for improving your pinning abilities

I always recommend to clients that they pin and repin little and often, especially if they are also sending their updates out on their twitter and/or facebook feed. It is not recommended that you  clog up the page for your followers with all of your pins/repins or you will be unfollowed.  However, not everyone has the time to check into pinterest a couple of times a day and the scheduling feature of Pinerly will be a very useful tool when it is released.

I can see it becoming a valuable tool for monitoring your progress on pinterest.

Related: How To Successfully Use Pinterest For B2B

Access to Pinerly is being wheeled out gradually and I see that I can invite 20 friends to use it this month so do let me know if you would like an invitation (will require your email address). You can follow me on pinterest right here.

Did you like this article? Sign up for our RSS, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

The post Advantages Of Using Pinerly To Monitor Your Marketing On Pinterest appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

As so many people seem to be nervous of public speaking and of presenting pitches, I was delighted to interview Paul about his tips for successful pitching and hear about his experiences. An internationally recognised authority on business pitching skills,  Paul has been training entrepreneurs, business people, politicand and performers for many years.

An article recently suggested women win fewer pitches than men as their self esteem can be lower. Would you agree?

I feel that each person should above all else be themselves and play to their own strengths regardless of age, gender, background or any other characteristic. I have to admit that I have seen a lot of women pitching in a very tough way that many people would describe as 'masculine', as if they feel that to succeed in a "man's world", they have to behave in the same way. I've also met people who think that the way to get on in business is to behave like Lord Sugar on The Apprentice.

Speaking from personal experience, I haven't found that women generally value themselves any less than men, maybe if anything, men can tend to be more competitive and perhaps that comes across to some clients as greater passion and desire to win, which is certainly a decision factor for many people.

It seems that if a dragon in Dragons Den shows an emotional response to a pitcher, they are much more likely to invest.  What are your top tips for connecting with a dragon-like investor?

That's definitely true of any pitch, or any decision in fact. An emotional investment is very difficult to backtrack on, and psychologically speaking, people will go to great lengths to remain consistent to early commitments. Robert Cialdini has conducted a lot of excellent research in this area. I would even go so far as to say that any extreme emotional reaction - love or hate - is better than none at all.

Again, speaking personally, when I receive cold calls offering me great deals on mobile phone upgrades and the like, the one objection that really stumps the sales person is when I say that I just don't care enough to make a decision.

Related: Ten Steps To Captivating Your Audience At That Next Live Presentation

I once completed a teaching practice in a difficult secondary school and had to learn to assert my presence quite quickly. Are there different ways to take control of the space with different groups?

There certainly are and I have worked with many teachers in a similar position, along with professionals who had to face protest groups, the media, investors and other 'tough rooms'. There are many ways to approach this, all of which boil down to one very simple idea; that arrogant pitchers think they own the place whilst confident pitchers know that they own the space.

Very simple, subtle behaviours often work best; walking into the room with a clear intention signals your presence and belonging to the audience whilst using the space available and getting close to the audience signals that you're not hiding from them. As you hint in the question, each group is different, but the key is never to take the space by force, merely to assert your right to be there.

What would your advice be to someone trying to set up an appointment for an investment pitch?

Firstly, never, never ever make grand promises about what a once in a lifetime opportunity this is. They will hear that on a daily basis, and it's a guaranteed turn off. Investors aren't godlike wizards, they are ordinary people like you and I who have simply learned to value their time.

You will demonstrate that you are worthy of their time by valuing your own, and one of the most important ways to value time is to get straight to the point. After all, are you looking for an investor or a friend? Here's an example; "Hello, my name is Joe Smith and I want to arrange a short meeting with you to pitch my business idea". It's simple, it sets their expectations and most importantly, it's what they want!

Don't think of investors as having something you want, as in a big pile of cash, think of them as potential business partners. You have what they need; you are their core business. So why wouldn't they want to hear from you? If no-one ever called them, their business would fail! So pick up the phone, don't expect it to be the right time for everyone you call, and just keep going. Remember, when you make that phone call, you're not trying to sell your idea, only to secure a meeting.

But always be prepared to make your pitch there and then on the off-chance that you get through to the decision maker on your first attempt.

Related: I Am A Presenter, Get Me Out Of Here!

If you were to choose 5 single tips from your book for a successful pitch, what would the top 5 be?

In no particular order:

1. Start at the beginning - The pitch begins the moment the audience buys the ticket, so you are able to influence the outcome of the pitch long before you stand up and open your mouth. If you don't influence the audience early, someone else already has.

2. Layer your content - When you write your pitch, start with the overall structure and then fill in the content in layers. When you arrive at your pitch, you'll almost never have the amount of time that you were promised and by layering your content you can very quickly adjust the length of your pitch with absolutely no impact on the message that you want to get across. As a result, the audience will be left feeling that your pitch will be 'complete', whether it lasts one minute or ten minutes.

3. Elevator Pitch - Keep an 'elevator pitch' in the back of your mind at all times because you never know who you'll bump into. Remember that the purpose of the elevator pitch is NOT to cram your entire pitch into three minutes, it is to 'sell' the pitch itself, like a trailer sells the movie. The purpose of the elevator pitch is to make the recipient think, "hmm... that sounds like it's worth an hour of my time". Therefore your elevator pitch should be as short as is necessary to create curiosity and a desire to find out more.

4. Keep control of the pitch - Never take questions at the end of your pitch - always take a couple of minutes to close your pitch after the Q&A. If you finish and then take questions, you hand control of the pitch back to the audience and their lasting impression will be that the pitch fizzled out when they ran out of questions. When you close the pitch, you control when the questions end and you have the chance to include the answers in your summary.

5. Follow up - The pitch does not end when you walk out the door. The audience will continue to reflect on what you have said, and of course on what your competitors have said too. Write a personal, relevant and specific follow up letter and post it that same day.  Emails are easily sent and easily deleted, but a letter carries more weight because it stands out. You might even consider hand writing it to add an extra personal touch and get it to them sooner. The letter should mark out the key points of the pitch and most importantly, reiterate your sincere desire to work with them. After all, who would you rather give your money to, someone who's not really bothered, or someone who is genuinely looking forward to working with you?

Seeing too many pitches can render the audience 'pitch blind'. What are your top recommendations  to ensure a person stands out amongst so many pitches?

I can only answer that question if I know what the other pitches are! If you think your competitors are using PowerPoint, leave your laptop at home. If you think they are making dry, business oriented pitches, give yours a personal angle. We crave novelty; more than that, our senses are wired for novelty. When our brains perceive something different, it stays with us. Now that's not a guarantee that your client will favour your product or idea, only that it will be memorable.

Related: Presentation Tips – The GROW Model

You emphasise in your book that 'the reason for your pitch is you, the focus is the audience'.  How does the person pitching stays aware of any changes in the audience's reactions during the pitch and how should they change their pitch accordingly?

Well, if your focus is on the audience, this will happen naturally. However, I think that most people get 'lost in the pitch' from time to time, so I find the best advice is to make sure everything you say is brief and to the point and ends with a question to check the audience's understanding or acceptance. Asking the question puts your focus on them and answering it gives them a way to verbally or nonverbally let you know how they're doing.

If you are preparing for a pitch at the moment or know there will be one coming up in the near future, then I wholly recommend Paul's book The Pitching Bible for a comprehensive, easy to follow guide to future success.

Did you like this article? Sign up for our RSS, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter

Image: "hepitchingbible.com"

The post The Pitching Bible: Paul Boross On Pitching Successfully appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

10 Ways To Improve Your Linked In Profile

1. Ensure your profile is 100% complete. Different sections carry points, for example, adding a completed summary will earn 5%. Having 3 or more recommendations earns Linked In kudos too. A photograph earns 5% but ensure it is a professional one, rather than one you might use on facebook.
2. Optimise your profile by including relevant and highly searched keywords within your job title, your summary and your specialities.
3. Ensure your summary reveals your expertise, your accomplishments, your ambitions and gives readers a sense of who you are as well as including a select number of those all important keyword phrases.
4. Giving your website its full name looks more professional ( Linked In provides the wording 'Company Website - change this to the name of your business) and include a link to your website and blog.  Remember this link will contain good SEO juice too.
5. Many Linked In profiles are not unique and individual, ending in a long number. It is easy to create a personalised Linked In url by clicking edit beside the url, inserting your name and clicking save.
6. When requesting a connection, always change the standard message and personalise it.  Refer to when you met the person and why you would like to connect. You never know, the other person may have forgotten all about you.  A friendly request means that it could be the start of a good working relationship.
7. When asking for a recommendation, do personalise the request.  Asking the person to focus on particular areas of your expertise will ensure that their recommendation includes optimised keywords and focuses on the areas you wish to highlight.
8. Joining groups that are relevant to your industry and taking part in discussion should get you noticed for all the right reasons.
9. Look for questions within the 'Answers' section and become involved in the discussions and contribute by answering any queries, thereby building on your credibility as a trusted source of knowledge and expertise in your area.
10. Starting a group and inviting others to join will also position you as a 'thought leader' and a 'doer'.

Related: 10 Reasons You’re LinkedIn, But Still Not Tuned In!

Related: How Can I Look Amazing On LinkedIn?

5 Actions We Don't Recommend For Linked In

1. DON'T send a connection request to people you don't know stating they are your friends - your requests will be ignored or refused.  Don't ask people to connect just because you are both members of the same group, especially if there are hundreds of people within that group.
2. DON'T send out standard recommendation requests to 200 contacts, even though the facility is there. If you are expecting someone to spend time writing a recommendation for you, invest a few minutes in writing them a personal note.
3. DON'T use Twitter to update your Linked In profile.  Twitter is much more informal than Linked in, hence the vocabulary and tone used for both social media platforms should be very different.  Seeing people's casual or conversational tweets on their Linked In profile does not do their brand image any favours. By all means, let your Linked In updates feed  into your tweets but never the other way around.
4. DON'T post personal updates on your profile but ensure they all relate to your business and your professional standing. Posting an update twice a week would be deemed sufficient in my opinion.
5. DON'T ask for favours before you establish a good working relationship.  Look upon Linked In as an effective networking tool where you work to help other people if you can, then they will help you in turn.

Related: Successful Fundraising Using LinkedIn – Goshido Case Study Of “Crowd-Funding”

Linked In offers you a means to control the identity of your brand, of your business.  Use it well to optimise the success of that message and build relationships that will be beneficial to your business success.

Image: ricardogranda.com

The post How To Network Effectively On LinkedIn appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.