Using Pinterest to Market your Business

Pinterest is another great bookmarking tool available on the Internet. It is a fun way to upload, save, and sort images, known as pins, onto your virtual pin-boards. Users can browse their friends pins and then choose to save the ones they like, or they have the ability to go to a specific category and browse other people’s pins from around the country.

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Since we are working with Andrea Whaley from Wardrobe Interventions, I feel like Pinterest would be a great way to grow her business and market herself even more. The majority of users on Pinterest are women and since Wardrobe Interventions focuses on image consulting and personal shopping, Pinterest would be a great way to market her business to a specific target audience.

By creating different boards, users are easily able to organize their pinned images and name their boards according to what pins they contain. This makes it easy for people to go to different users sites and view specific boards they pinned. This picture is an example of what someone’s “fashion” board might look like on Pinterest.
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Businesses, such as Wardrobe Interventions, can create a Pinterest page and then post pictures of products or accessories they like and even pin other people’s fashion ideas to show people what they suggest and what they see as “in-style.” In order for someone to trust you enough to change their wardrobe, it is important that they like your styling choices and feel comfortable enough to work with you. If you connect your Pinterest site to your business website, it gives potential customers an opportunity to view your work and see if they like what you do.

Pinning and commenting on other people’s pins is a great way to gain new followers if you are just starting up and it is also a good way to market your business. Styling and fashion is a huge part of Pinterest  so I think it would be a great social networking tool for Andrea and her business. Posting her own models and styling ideas would be a great way to really show off her style and connect her to her followers even more.

Pinterest is a great website to really let your creativity really shine through. This bookmarking website is a fun and fresh way to share your ideas or products with literally thousands of people. I definitely think Pinterest is one of the top marketing and networking sites on the Internet today!

How to Incorporate Instagram Into Your Business

A couple weeks ago in an earlier blog post I talked about Instagram and how important it can be for Wardrobe Interventions but today I am going to look at how Instagram can be beneficial for all types of businesses. Instagram is a relatively new form of social media and has really taken off in the past couple of years. I really feel like it has the potential to expand businesses and really allow consumers to connect and understand the company they are buying their products from.

Instagram provides users a fun and fast way to share images with friends, families, or even complete strangers. In order to really connect to their consumers, it is important for companies to post both business and fun pictures. People get bored when their newsfeed is constant branding or products so in order to really captivate the reader’s attention, businesses should focus on sharing images that are cute, funny, and interesting.

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Another way businesses can use Instagram is to post videos on their accounts. Almost a year ago Instagram started to allow users to upload 3-15 second videos and I feel like it is a great way to really take this photo sharing app to the next level. For her fashion business, I feel like Andrea Whaley could use Instagram video to post fashion advice, helpful hints, and maybe even do a complete make-over on someone. People do not always check blogs on a regular basis but if she starts posting Instagram videos or pictures, it gives her another way to connect to potential customers. Even though a 15 second video might not be that long, Andrea Whaley could use that to her advantage and show how dramatic and quick one of her transformations could be on someone.

Engaging on Instagram is a great way to network and use your account to your greatest advantage. If someone new follows you or likes/comments on a picture you posted, follow them back or respond! When people feel they are actually being acknowledged they are more willing to try your brand or product and even recommend it to other people. Hashtags are also a great way to connect your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram account. If you can get a hashtag trending people can click on it and link it back to your page.

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These are just a few suggestions on how Instagram can be beneficial to your business. With so many products and brands on the market today, it is important to sell to your customers on why your company is the best. Using Instagram allows you to personally share photos and videos while at the same time really connecting you to your customers.

Blogging for Small Businesses

This week I am going to talk about the benefits of blogging! Millions of people every day blog in order to stay connected, teach others about a subject, and most importantly just to have fun. Blogging can serve different purposes for different people but in our situation I am going to look at how it can be beneficial to Andrea and her small business of Wardrobe Interventions.

Blogging can be a great way for a small business owner to really connect to potential customers. Being consistent and knowledgable with your updates will give your readers more of a reason to follow you and interact with you online. Since Andrea is into fashion I think it is important for her to attend fashion events and post pictures of what she sees and what she thinks is going to be “it” thing. Fashion is such a visual business and people want to be confident in your decisions before they go and hire you for a full makeover or closet facelift.

This website does a great job of informing readers that blogging doesn’t have to be stressful and can actually be really fun if you don’t overwhelm yourself. It also provides great tips on how small business owners can go about blogging if they are first time users.

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One of the most important things to remember is that it can take time to build a following. With millions of blogs out there you really have to be proactive in your approach to inform your customers that you have a blog and encourage them to follow it. Many people link their business’s website to their blog to allow even more people to be exposed to their brand or business. In today’s society just having a webpage for a business is not enough. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blogging have all become important pieces to running a successful business.

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Since Andrea is considered an expert in her area of business her goal should be to educate and inform her readers of fashion trends and popular accessories. Blogging should be a fun way for her to form relationships with her readers and potential customers. When you have your own blog it gives you opportunities to be creative and really enjoy what you are writing and posting about. So far I have enjoyed my weekly blog posts and I have only just started!

I hope ya’ll have a great spring break and I will update soon!

Creating a Twitter Page

Last blog post I talked about how beneficial Twitter is and how important it is to follow other people that are in the same industry as you. Today I am going to discuss how important it is to create a professional Twitter page for your business. The first thing someone sees when they go to someone’s Twitter page is their picture and brief description. In order to really catch their attention it is important to make sure you have a professional picture of you or your business and a relevant description of your business.

Julia Engel is a professional blogger who focuses on fashion and beauty. She uses her Twitter page to promote her blog and current fashions.

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Her Twitter handle, as shown in the picture, is her blog name which gives her readers easy access to her work. One of the most important things in Twitter is having a username that is relevant to your business or brand. Most of the time people search for a business by their name and if your product doesn’t pop up on their search list, it is going to be very difficult for someone to follow you.

Once you have a Twitter name the next step is to add a profile picture and a background picture to your page. Since Andrea Whaley of Wardrobe Interventions has her own personal business I think it is important that she has a professional picture of her self as her profile picture so people can connect her face with her business. Another important part of your Twitter page is having a good background picture behind your profile page and description. People like to be entertained so having a fun but suitable background picture can really brighten up your page.

Andrea does a good job of having a good profile picture but could work on having a more fun and stylish background picture. Screen Shot 2014-02-27 at 11.46.36 AM

Since she is a stylist in the Austin area she could mix fashion and the city to create a unique background picture suitable for her and her business.

Another important step is creating a brief description outlining who you are and what you do. Most of the time this is the only information someone will get before they go to your business website so including personal information about yourself and business is essential.

Michael Kors does a good job in their description by promoting their brand and at the same time giving the reader an idea of what they sell.

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I hope this gives you a better idea of what Twitter is all about and helps you make your Twitter page even better!