Pinterest has been a major player in the marketplace for the past few months, and with good reason. Pinterest is a social site that calls themselves a virtual pinboard. It allows you to organize and share all of the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, organize their wardrobe/closet, and find favorite recipes. They use it to find interesting ideas and to share different things they love, for both home and office use.

Yet Pinterest is more than sharing information – its about sharing things in a visual way. The image attracts attention and makes people want to share. The more they share, the more exposure you will receive.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Pinterest yet, now is the time. Use these ideas to set up and draw attention to your business.

Dedicate time

One of the key ways to make Pinterest work for you is to dedicate the time to make it work. If you’re active, others will notice and share what you pin. Its not like Facebook where newsfeeds can quickly get overwhelmed. You can dedicate even just a day or two with a few minutes each and quickly find a following. Start by following a few movers and shakers to see what they do. Then build contact and let the fun begin.

Keep it simple

Pinterest is attracting a heavy female audience. Its easy to use and because its visual in nature, you can quickly scan things and find something to share. Every board is set up in the same way, giving it a clean, uncluttered look. And every pinned photo includes a link back to your site, which can help boost the page views and attract attention to any specific post or content you desire.

Share the love

People have preferences for where they spend their time. If they love Facebook, they probably won’t dedicate a lot of time to your Twitter feed. Yet when they recognize a site and learn you have an account as well, they will quickly look you up and follow. Create Pinterest logo links from your blog and let people know where you are active.

Understand your demographics

Is Pinterest a place for you to attract potential business? Do a little research before you begin spending time developing your pin boards. Pinterest is very visual and highly concentrated in the female marketplace. If you have things to share visually – photography, art, weddings, fashion, decorating, crafts and more – it may be a place to explore. Make sure you understand what you will be promoting and what your overall goals and plans are for developing boards.

Its not about you

I’ve been to great profiles that have amazing boards. Most are themed in precise ways so people understand immediately what they will be looking at. Some things are about their businesses, yet most things are linked all over the web. What makes them great is they realize people want tips, resources and ideas related to your concept, yet don’t want to be overwhelmed with a sales pitch, no matter how subtle it is. If you have great advice, they will be back again and again.

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I recently picked up a book “The Filter Bubble” by Eli Pariser. A few days later, someone forwarded me an interesting Ted video by Eli on the same subject.

When you do a search online with Google, it doesn’t provide you with the same information as your next door neighbor would see, your client would see, or a person half way around the world would see. Google now has algorithms in place that filter the relevant information based on your search, where you search from, and your geographical locations, among other things. They use that information to personally tailor your query results, and provide you with the content “they feel” is relevant to you.

While in some ways, that can be good, in many more ways that can hurt us all. Your search results may completely ignore current news, news in a different genre, or even news with a different political voice all based on the algorithms in place.

Google isn’t the only site doing this. Facebook is also jumping on the bandwagon, and changing your newsfeed based on which friends’ links you click on most. This allows your feed to begin to “ignore” friends in which you have little interaction. Which again means they are controlling what voice and what information you receive on a regular basis.

What does this mean to you?

First, keep in mind that what you see isn’t what everyone else sees. If you are striving to be number one under a keyword, you may achieve it, but your clients don’t see it because of their search patterns.

Next, think congruency. Don’t rely on one site to carry your message – build an online platform that crossed many sites and many interests. Make sure your message is the same from site to site. Stay active and you will be found.

Finally, stay informed. The Internet is still a new venue, and is changing from day to day. The more you learn today, the more you can apply in the future. The important key is to make sure you are reaching out to your customers in many ways, and understand how they like to find you.

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I’ve owned three separate businesses here in Denver over the past 20 years, and over that time period I’ve networked just about everywhere. Today I can’t walk into a restaurant or event without knowing someone – or at least saying, “I know him/her from somewhere.” It comes with the territory.

And if you’ve ever been out on vacation and run into someone you know, again you realize what a small world it is. We were at Disney World in Florida a couple of years ago, and walked down the main stretch of Downtown Disney, only to walk right into a family we knew here from Denver but hadn’t seen in a few years.

It’s not coincidence. It’s simply the fact that the world is getting smaller. Which means that everything you do can either help or hurt you in the future. So its more important than ever to monitor your habits online and off, and always pay attention to the impact you have on your relationships.

What Is Friendship Marketing?

Friendship marketing isn’t about selling. It isn’t about marketing. It’s about creating a friendship base around you so that ultimately you can create a lifestyle you love.

People need certain things in their lives, and they would much rather give their money to a friend than to a business or to someone that simply doesn’t care.

People go to the same salon for a haircut because they enjoy the friendship they’ve created. They don’t just cut your hair, they know you and understand you. They ask about your family and with you a happy birthday. You have to have your haircut anyway, so why not go to a friend?

The same applies to any type of service you choose, whether its heading out to dinner, buying a new outfit for Saturday night, or hiring a marketing firm to help you market your business. You can trust a friend, so it’s important to find the right one.

It’s Possible With Social

You can build strong relationships with people online, even if you are in a different country, and have never met before.

It’s simply a matter of taking what you do in a face-to-face situation and converting that to the online world.

With Twitter, you can monitor what people are saying and respond. You can remember what people are up to and ask questions. You can bring 140 character Twitter conversations to Facebook or to Skype and expand on the relationship. You can even agree to meet at an upcoming event, whether its in your home town, or you meet in another city.

Just like in your face-to-face relationships, it takes little effort because you are dealing with friends. And if you treat your online social friendships the same way, it won’t be work; you’ll be dealing with friends.

“Every person is a new door to a different world.”
- from movie “Six Degrees of Separation”

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According to B to B’s 2010 Outlook survey, 87 percent of all businesses will be keeping their current marketing budgets steady or increasing them in the coming year. But where they will be spending that money will vary greatly.

The highest area of decreased spending is in the print category and in attending events, both at 63 percent.

The highest area of increased spending is in the online category, with over 80 percent anticipating increasing within this category.

So where are the best places to increase spending online? Email campaigns, search campaigns, social media and website development were the top categories – pretty much as expected.

We all know the struggle traditional media sources are having right now. Just today we went hunting for a story on a local media site, and found it as a current release. However when we did a Google search for the same story, we found it in online sources from several days ago.

You can’t stay in traditional sources because you’ve always been there. If your clients are moving on, you need to as well.

Shifts happen quickly now. Where it took years for new technology to penetrate the main population even a few short years ago, now technology can affect the majority in a matter of months.

If you’re not learning something new, it will have an impact on your business.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qXiCBMBsjs

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