Placing Your Interest in Pinterest

By now you know that thanks to technology, companies have been able to reach consumers on a large scale. Maybe you’ve been using social media sites like Facebook to reach your customers or even tweeting to your followers on Twitter.

Now there may be another site to add to your online marketing efforts. Pinterest is a website that allows users to bookmark and organize their favorite things. Simply put, Pinterest allows you to “pin” your favorite posts onto virtual pin boards filled with your specific interests. And as a marketing professional, wouldn’t you want to be on your customers’ lists of the things they love?

For example, if you see a recipe you like on the site, you can organize it onto your recipe board. Then later, you go back and look it up on that board when you’re ready to cook. Although people use the site for craft ideas, wedding inspiration and a variety of other recreational uses, don’t underestimate the value of the site. Get started by logging on to pinterest.com and playing around with the site.

Here are some ways that you can use Pinterest for marketing to connect with your customers on a whole new level.

Your Logo

The minute you make it onto somebody’s pin board, the more recognition you get. Immediately all of that person’s followers will see it on their newsfeed. Pinterest uses a photo, and then users click on it and are taken to a website. If you can get your customers to add your logo to their pin board and link it to your website, you automatically have new people looking at your logo and seeing that your current customers like you. It’s a great option because people place trust in businesses that their friends say they like, simply because people tend to trust their friends.

Products

One of the unique features of Pinterest is that it separates everything into topics. One of the more interesting genres to marketing professionals is the “products” genre. This is where users can make pins showcasing their favorite products. If you have a quality product that your customers love, you can get them to make a pin about it. Your company could even use its page to make a pin board called “our products.” Then let your customers know that you have a Pinterest account and tell them to follow you just like you would with a different social media site. The more customers you have repinning your products, the more eyes you have on your company.

Web Site Content

You or your customers could pin anything that you would normally post about on Facebook or Twitter. Make sure you use an interesting photo and caption, because that is all users see upon first glance. If it is interesting enough content, users will click and be taken to your website. Did you write a particularly interesting blog post? Maybe you have an article that deserves some recognition. Don’t go overboard with posts, since Pinterest is used to bookmark favorites. That means your company needs to pick their favorites to post about on Pinterest, so customers won’t have their feed bogged down with posts from your business and become annoyed.

While Pinterest may not suit every company’s marketing strategy, it may be worth a look to see if you can pin down some new customers.

An example

Presenting information is a key part of marketing your business, and communication is the key to success when it comes to presenting. But it doesn’t matter if you have the best product or idea in the world. You need your prospects to understand your pitch. No matter what your goal is, if you can’t present your information properly it just won’t click with your audience. If you’re looking to impress with your next presentation, avoid these presentation don’ts.

Don’t Read Your Slides
We’ve all been to this presentation. As you sit there wondering why you showed up when the presenter could have emailed you a list of bullet points, you probably lose interest because they handed you a printout and you can just read it later. Instead, keep your audience interested. Use keywords and phrases that keep your audience wanting more elaboration. Pass out note-taking materials before you start so that your audience will jot down your main points and feel obligated to stay intrigued in your presentation.

Don’t Phone it In
Think back to that monotone professor you had that made you fall asleep, no matter how interesting you found the subject matter. The same can happen in your presentation. If you aren’t excited about what you’re presenting, then your prospects won’t be excited either. Don’t be afraid to use some humor if appropriate for the subject matter. Make sure that overall, your presentation team has a certain spark that will please the potential customers.

Don’t State the Obvious
If your audience already knows the information you’re trying to feed them, they will lose interest within the first few minutes of your presentation. Give them something they don’t know, and show them why you deserve their attention. There’s a reason behind your presentation, and the audience is there to hear it. So give them something new and exciting to keep them hooked.

Don’t Use Different Styles
If you’re trying to put together a book, you wouldn’t use different fonts on every page. It seems pretty self explanatory, but make sure that you use common features so that your presentation is pleasing to the eye. Make use of a common color scheme, but don’t go too colorful and loud. Your information should be the main focus, not rainbow colored fonts.

Don’t Rely on Spellcheck
Having misspellings or any grammar flaws will quickly lose credibility with your prospects. If you can’t get the presentation right, how are they to trust you to do work for them? It can be easy to rely on spellcheck, but that doesn’t mean spell check will catch everything, especially if sentences don’t make sense. Make sure to look over your presentation multiple times for the best results.

All of these presentation don’ts can be avoided by practicing your presentation in front of coworkers or even family members. Have them tell you what you can improve on and what you may be missing. By recognizing these flaws, you should be able to see better results. And always remember to gain feedback from your audience so that you can continue to improve your presentation skills.

• Be genuine: Be up front and honest about your bad news; don’t be coy andmake people wait or try to read between the lines. Be clear and specific about whatled to the situation, and be equally honestabout the repercussions.
• Be empathetic: Think about how the bad news will affect the person or people you need to tell. That way, you’ll be ready to address any questions or concerns they might have when you meet.
• Be proactive: Don’t just deliver the bad news and stop at that. Instead, provide a plan for what can be done about it. This will not only soften the blow for the recipient, but will also help you stay a step ahead of the problem.
• Be a leader: Once the first three tiers have been addressed, delivering the news becomes easier. Now, you’re not just delivering bad news, but are doing so with a better understanding of causes, consequences, and a plan for doing what it takes to make it right.

Tobak says the key to delivering bad news is not just to get it over with, but to deliver it thoughtfully and in a way that helps everyone involved move forward.

Articulate Your Goals

How will you craft a more effective marketing strategy if you don’t know what you’re working toward? Go over your business plan to identify areas to which marketing can contribute. Check your current marketing strategy for any tactics that aren’t related to those goals. Revise your strategy to ensure that it’s doing exactly what you need it to.

Pinpoint Weak Spots

Improving your marketing strategy according to your business’ goals naturally leads to addressing weaknesses. Recognize the areas that need a little help and market the company with those in mind. If your company needs to increase visibility, adjust your marketing plan to do just that—focus on word-of-mouth initiatives, customer rewards and SEO. If client retention is far from your strong suit, plan customer loyalty programs and invest in advertising that promotes your excellent customer service.

Know Your Audience

Before you can woo your audience into buying your product or subscribing to your service, you’ve got to really know them. Can you paint a picture of who would buy your product? Do you know how much they’re willing to pay? What does it take to convince them? Answer these questions and adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

Measure Up

The tighter the money, the more careful the consumer. Get used to the fact that when consumers spend less, they scrutinize your business and your product more carefully than ever. Does your marketing strategy speak to your expertise and your company’s credibility? If not, what can you do to fix that? Maybe it’s spotlighting testimonials of happy customers, or rewarding customers who refer leads. Maintain a content-rich website and develop a PR strategy to showcase your trustworthiness and persuade the tight-fisted to bite the buying bullet.

Know the difference

Your business plan and your marketing plan are two completely different tools. The former describes the whole of your business—your customers, your budget and your goals. A far more focused document, the marketing strategy, consists of the concrete steps your business takes to achieve the goals in your business plan. Both tools work best when they’re separate but in harmony.

Guide your marketing strategy revisions according to these five considerations, and you and your business will have more to celebrate next year. Get to it!

Think about the businesses you like to frequent. There’s just something about them that makes you want to go back for more. It may be hard to actually describe specifically why, but you know you love their brand. You find value in doing business with them, and you’re not ashamed to pay a little bit more. If you’d like to compete without getting into a price war, consider finding cost-effective ways to add value to your customers’ experiences. Here are some ideas to help you impress your customers into paying more.

Fullfiller of Needs
Customers come to you for an experience. It’s your job to make that process as amazing as possible. You should have a customer service philosophy that sets you apart from your competition and your employees need to buy in to that philosophy and live it every day.

Put Out the Welcome Mat
Beyond customer service, consider your customers’ surroundings when they’re in your business. It’s the little things that make a huge difference. Your image should be represented from point of purchase signage and packaging to dusted fixtures and clean bathrooms.

After the Cash Register Closes
We all know that it’s easier to keep a customer than to find a new one, so you want customers coming back. Consider ways to keep in touch with them after the sale. Maybe it’s a birthday club mailing, advertising specialty item or a newsletter. A simple hand-written thank you note from time to time really impresses customers. Regardless, you need to keep reinforcing your brand so they don’t forget about you.

• Think like a consumer. Define your brand from a consumer’s viewpoint. What do your customers enjoy about your company? What benefits and values do you offer that other companies don’t?

• Take a look in the mirror. Have you overlooked things you’d like to change? Are there areas that could use improvement? If you see things you’re not happy with, change them.

• Stay relevant. You may have a successful company now, but remember: If you stand still, others will speed past you. Success requires an ongoing commitment to excellence.

• Find your unique selling proposition. What sets you apart from the competition? Analyze your brand position relative to others in the market, and look for areas where you excel.

• Explore opportunities. Find ways to clearly differentiate your brand from the competition, without making promises you can’t keep. Opportunity is there, if you’re willing to look.

In fact, this trend seems to be worsening. According to a new University of Melbourne study, online shoppers are 30% less loyal to online businesses than in 2007.

The University of Melbourne study also found that Internet consumers are 20% more trusting of websites than they were five years ago. According to Dr. Brent Coker, the author of the study, the increase in online consumer trust is largely linked to the visual appeal of websites.

As aesthetically orientated humans, we’re psychologically hardwired to trust beautiful people, and the same goes for websites. Our offline behaviour and inclinations translate to our online existence. As the internet has become prettier, we are venturing out, and becoming less loyal. With websites becoming increasingly attractive and including more trimmings, this creates a greater feeling of trustworthiness and professionalism in online consumers.

But it’s not enough just to have a pretty website. According to Dr. Coker:

The biggest source of frustration is the inability to find relevant information on a website. The best way to stop defection to other websites, and increase loyalty, is to be interesting. Being pretty, but with nothing to say, is not enough.

Among other things, the University of Melbourne study found that if a website has poor navigation or access to information, or takes more than two seconds to download, prospective customers are more likely to opt against purchasing and navigate to another site.

Post Credit to: CrowdSpring

Whether you know it or not, your buying decisions are oftentimes based on color. The next time you’re looking at an advertisement or packaging for an item you’re considering, pay special attention to the colors you see. Observe how those colors make you feel. Once you understand the effects of color on buying habits, you can make marketing decisions based on that knowledge.

Shoppers put visual appearance and color above other factors when considering a purchase. According to research compiled by KISSmetrics, 85 percent of shoppers said color was a primary reason they made a buying decision. Additionally, 80 percent said that color increases brand recognition. Brand recognition improves consumer confidence. Before you make the next color choice for your brand, consider this:

Red
Think of a clearance sale and you’ll be seeing red. There’s probably a good reason as red creates a sense of urgency. Red is the color energy and is known to raise your heart rate. Red usually draws attention first.

Black
Black is the color of power, luxury, elegance and authority. Now you know why so many luxury items have black in their marketing. However, black is also associated with death and evil and can evoke strong emotions, so beware of how black will relate to your products.

Green
The color of money, green is associated with wealth. It’s also easy on the eyes and often used as a relaxing color in stores. Light green shows change while dark green shows balance.

Blue
Blue is a color you can trust, so it’s often used in banking and business. Blue causes the body to produce chemicals that are calming. It is also associated with wisdom and loyalty. However, too much blue can make a message cold and uncaring.

Orange
If you have a call to action, orange creates the need to subscribe or buy. Orange is another energy color associated with happiness and ambition.

Yellow
Stop those window shoppers with yellow. It causes your body to release the feel-good chemical, serotonin. Yellow is associated with happiness, laughter and creativity.

Purple
Purple is the color of sophistication and prosperity. It is often associated with royalty. Purple can increase brain activity that helps with problem solving.