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Put a Face to that Name! Use Images to Build your Personal Brand Online

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By Diana Gomez

For many small business owners, their integrity is the backbone of their enterprise. Loyal customers depend on them to reliably deliver exceptional goods and services. This personal trust is a key reason that many of these “Davids” can successfully compete with the “Goliaths.”

As more products and services are transacted online, it has become more difficult for small businesses to maintain the personal relationships that can provide a competitive edge. This is why it is so important to cultivate personal identities and relationships on the web as well.

One easy way to get started is to incorporate personal photos into your online activities. A good approach is to treat your personal profile as if it is your brand. After all, in many ways it is!

images for personal branding

Take a cue from savvy brand marketers:

• Packaging is everything: Consumer products companies spend millions of dollars to design packaging that is appealing to the customer. Make the effort to take some good photos of yourself as well. In most cases, this would be a professional, recognizable head shot. Remember, unless you happen to be a big-time wrestler, you want your image to be friendly and portray trust!

• Be Consistent: Brand marketers generally try to display their brand consistently across all products and media. The same goes for your photo. Consider using the same one in all of your on-line activities. In a way, your photo becomes an instantly recognizable brand logo in the online community.

• Protect the Brand: Many companies go to extraordinary lengths to protect their brands. You should do the same with your online identity. Be careful how your profile and photos are distributed and portrayed on the web. Monitor your online persona. Take corrective action to remove posts that aren’t “on message.”

Once you’ve defined your personal brand, it’s time to publish it. Here are a few places to start:

• If you have a Facebook or LinkedIn account, it’s likely that you have already posted a personal photo. Start by reviewing these and any other photos already on-line and consider replacing them with some that are more suitable.

• If your business has a website, you will want to personalize it with photos. This is one of the few venues where photos other than headshots may be appropriate. Just make sure that they are professional and consistent with your strategy.

• Consider adding your personal photo to your email signature. If you decide to do this, resize the photo and be selective in its use. Some recipients discourage this practice as it can add to the size of the email, but most email providers now make it easier than ever to add images.

• Some integrated phone systems such as Microsoft Lync enable you to add photos to your profile. The system will display these personal images in contacts, email, phone and IM communications.

• By adding a photo to your Google+ profile, it will be accessible from other Google offerings such as Authorship or Hangouts. These applications will link to your profile and further expand its reach. Your photo can even be displayed in Google search results.

• Blogging tools such as WordPress can incorporate your photo. This same image will then be displayed in your posts on all WordPress Blogs. While many people use avatars for blog posts, consider adding your headshot instead.

• Of course, you can also add a photo to your profile on a multitude of individual sites such as Twitter, Skype and Yelp. Be sure to take advantage of these whenever you can.

The old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words” is just as true today as it was a hundred years ago. Incorporating personal photos into your online activities will help you build and maintain valuable relationships with your customers. Goliath won’t have a chance!

Author’s Bio: Diana Gomez is the Marketing Coordinator at Lyoness America, where she is instrumental in the implementation of marketing and social media strategies for USA and Canada. Lyoness is an international shopping community and loyalty rewards program, where businesses and consumers benefit with free membership and money back with every purchase.

Photo Credit: Brian Auer via Compfight cc

Get a Grip on Visual Content

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

The saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is cliche for a reason.

It’s no secret that images receive more engagement on Facebook than their text only counterparts. The growth of audiences on Pinterest and Instagram, even Tumblr, supports the notion that at our core, we humans are a visual bunch.

And now there’s a whole lot of talk going around about visual content and its rapidly increasing influence online.

So, what exactly is this visual content all the cool kids are talking about? Let’s agree to set jargon aside and not make this harder than it has to be. We’re talking about images; photos, videos and graphics. Visual content uses all types of imagery to communicate and support your messaging clearly and quickly. As a delivery medium, visual content is perfectly suited to social media because it’s easily consumed and shared.

Lowe’s uses Vine shorts like this one to give helpful life hacks to their customers who then share the hack and extend Lowe’s reach and visibility.

From video to photos and infographics to animated GIFs, marketers are using visual content to their advantage in pursuit of goals such as establishing market authority, gaining share of voice, driving higher CTR’s and contributing to the bottom line.

One of the most attractive things about adding visual content into your online, digital and/or social marketing strategies is that you can include not only brand generated content but user generated content as well. With some forethought, your content creators get a break, and your fans get a nod from a brand they’re passionate about.

This collection of #sharelove images from Starbucks fans generated over 26k Likes, 200 Comments and 600 Shares – that’s a lot of news feed visibility, and we all know how hard that is to come by these days.

Starbucks visuals

If you want to learn more about what’s out there and how you can apply it to your own marketing activities, come back here every other Tuesday. I’ll share some examples of visual content from brands, give you some ideas for implementation and execution, and throw in a helpful tool or two to get you started.

What do you most want to learn?

For today, I’m just going to say thanks for dropping in and leave you with this infographic from On.com that explains how we got here.

The Growth of the Visual Web - On.com
Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

Photography Secrets for Bloggers

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You’re already aware of the shift toward image-centric content, and I’m sure you’ve already started amping up the graphics in your blog posts, right?

The latest development is that even the Creative Commons licensed and free photography you’ve been using is not 100% reliable.

The safest thing to do by far is to take your own photographs. (Professional photographers, please stop reading here…)

Chances are, you’re carrying around a pretty decent camera already, inside your smartphone. If you invest a little bit of time in learning some composition and editing skills, you can stop worrying about stock photos and image licenses forever. And you have unique photos on your site to boot! You may even find a new hobby, and decide to purchase a standalone camera to take it to the next level.

photography for bloggers

Top Photography Secrets for Bloggers

  • Keep a visual mindset all the time. See that coil of rope? Could it illustrate a post about pathways? How about those birds lined up on the shore? Make it a habit to look around you for imagery wherever you go.
  • Horizontal is good for blog posts. Don’t just reflexively hold your phone vertically all the time. Horizontal orientation works better most of the time for blogs, and for sliders and other graphics as well.
  • Go as high resolution as you can. You’ll be glad later when you want to zoom in to a specific part of the picture.
  • Use online editing tools like Picmonkey to make nice text overlays for social sharing or to add your site URL or copyright.
  • Take a TON of photos. Think about the pros and how their shutters are snapping a hundred times during a photo session. If you want to capture that one great picture, take 10x the snaps.
  • Make a spot to organize them (Evernote, digital albums, Dropbox folders). Create a dedicated place to upload your blog photos after you take them, and name them with descriptive names that will make them easy to pull into the right posts. Consider organizing into categories like Nature, Office, Architecture, or whatever suits your niche.
  • Keep a backup. Be sure you keep a backup of your photo files, and don’t rely on your computer/laptop. Use the free services that are available, like Google Drive or Dropbox to keep them secure.
  • Think micro. For casual photography, we often look at the big picture, or the family group, or the huge vista. For blog posts, you might want to think about the way a shadow hits the sidewalk, or the ladybug sitting on a leaf. Get small.
  • Consider buying some pro tools. To get the lighting perfect on small objects, you can buy inexpensive, portable studios like a Modahaus. There are also inexpensive lighting kits like the Kick.
  • Pay attention to tips from the pros, like these excellent photo ideas from National Geographic, or these great composition tips from Digital Photography School.

Have you tried your hand at digital photography? As a blogger, it can be a very useful skill-set!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Pinterest Feature Hot TIp: Promoted Pins

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By James White

Pinterest explores the world of monetization with all new promoted pins.

Next time you log into Pinterest, you will notice promoted pins in your pin stream that are identical to those already in your stream. A “promoted pin” notation on the lower portion of the pin is the only differentiation and many people will have missed the small phrase unless they are analyzing the pin thoroughly.

So what is the point?

Promoted Pins will offer a much different dynamic to Pinterest since it will be the first allowed monetization within the company. Since its release, Pinterest never worried about monetizing and only worried about the content. While they are not investing in the monetization of their now-successful company, they do not want it to become so transparent. Instead, they want discretion yet visibility.

Contradicting, isn’t it?

Pinterest is in the beginning stages of their promoted pins, but overall the following can be said about them:

  • Not Flashy. Promoted pins do not offer a flashy or distasteful appeal to them. They are discrete since they blend in with your newsfeed as a regular pin post.
  • Semi-transparent. While it is not flashy, the promoted pins offer some transparency. Pinterest wants their users to know where there pins are coming from and whether or not they were paid or unpaid.
  • Relevant to Current Content. One of the most successful ideas built into the promoted pins feature is relevance it has to the content on your news feed. When streaming, ads will be tailored to fit your specific needs and interests, making it more user-friendly.

All of the above seems to be in the interest of its users.

Pinterest Finally Becoming a Sustainable Business

Promoted Pins seem to be one of many new ideas that Pinterest has in store for its users. Pinterest seems to be developing a solid business model and intends to fully monetize its newfound popularity. Whether or not promoted pins lead to success, its discretion may appeal to potential investors.

Many users on social networks have become adept at ignoring ads unless they directly relate to them. Even so, people are prone to placing “ad blockers” on their computer, which will not hinder Pinterest in the slightest. Since their advertisement is built into their system and not through a third-party app, Pinterest Promoted Pins will continue to stay in line with your newsfeed.

Nondisclosure of Advertisers, but Open to Suggestions

Pinterest prides itself on being a community, so they have shadowed who their current advertisers are for their “promoted pins” ads. Not to mention, only certain community members will have access to the promoted pins ads while others have been closed out. How the selection was made is unknown, but they have used an algorithm to select which users will and will not see promoted pins during its trial period.

However, not all is lost to those who are enduring the “promoted pins” session. Users who see the promoted pins are asked to input their own suggestions on the system and submit ideas for other promotions. While it might seem tedious, it looks as though Pinterest might finally be giving itself a well-needed adjustment to become “one of the big dogs” in social media.

Author’s Bio: James works for Inbound Marketing, Inc. and is the founder of InfoBros. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and blogging about health, tech and communication. Connect with him on Twitter at @JGtheSavage.

How to take your Pinterest account to the next level

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By Charles Mburugu

Pinterest can be a great option for business owners who would like to promote their products and services. One of the most popular social media networks, it is not just for leisure time anymore.

Pinterest allows users to collect photos and videos and share them with others. These images are pinned on boards, which are categorized according to hobbies, interests and events. Here are some tips that will help you take your pinning to the next level.

1. Include hashtags, @reply and keywords

Pinterest users can use hashtags and keywords to look for specific items. In addition, they are informed whenever anyone replies to a pin. Therefore, make sure your pin descriptions have the relevant hashtags as well as keywords. This will increase the chances of your pin appearing in related searches. However, avoid having excess hashtags in your description since this could make it difficult to read. Replies enable your visitors to share their thoughts in the comments section of the pin.

2. Add a ‘Pin it’ bookmark to your browser

If you don’t have a ‘pin it’ bookmark, pinning anything from any site can be a long and frustrating process. The good news is that installing this bookmark on your browser is very simple. All you need to do is visit http://about.pinterest.com/goodies/ where you can download the ‘pin it’ button and then install it. Whenever you pin a web page, you will be able to see all the photos on it. You can then select the specific image you want to pin.

3. Be social

The main purpose of social networks is to enable users to share, comment and connect with others. Therefore, when using Pinterest, you need to engage with others by liking, commenting on or repinning what they have posted. By being social and helpful, you will attract the attention of other users and they are likely to return the favor.

4. Request that followers pin photos of themselves with your product

This can be a very effective strategy for connecting with your fans and finding out what they think about your products. Running a contest would be a great way of implementing this strategy. For instance, the person who pins the most creative photo could get a discount on their next purchase. Alternatively, you could choose the winner based on the number of likes or re-pins their photo gets. This will encourage participants to involve their friends in the contest, thus resulting in more exposure for your products. Always be sure to read the Pinterest business guidelines before starting a contest.

5. Pin directly on your blog

If you have a blog, Pinterest allows you to pin photos directly on it. Whenever you find anything interesting, you can add it to one of your future blog posts. Alternatively, you could write a whole blog post based on that photo. Adding photos to blog posts is very easy. All you need to do is click the ‘Embed’ button on the photo and copy the code which appears. You can choose to adjust the size of the photo before pinning it on your blog.

6. Pin videos

Besides photos, Pinterest also allows you to pin your favorite videos. This is a great feature for people who are selling all kinds of products. You can pin ‘How to’ lessons and ‘DIY’ tutorials that show how the product actually works. Ask some of your fans to pin videos of themselves using your product and taking about its benefits. You could also choose to pin videos which show how the product is actually created. Funny videos of all kinds can also be very effective in capturing the attention of your audience.

7. Test various captions

One of the best things about Pinterest is the captions feature. You can use this feature to add hashtags as well as keywords. As you use these captions, it will be important to monitor them on a regular basis. Find out which captions attract the highest number of likes, repins and comments. This will give you an idea of what kind of captions to use for your future pins.

8. Include a dollar sign for products

If you’re pinning an image of something you have for sale online, you can include the dollar sign in the description, and Pinterest will automatically put a price ribbon across the corner, and index your pin as an item for sale.

Author’s Bio: Charles Mburugu is a HubSpot-certified content writer/marketer for B2B, B2C and SaaS companies. He has worked with brands such as GetResponse, Neil Patel, Shopify, 99 Designs, Oberlo, Salesforce and Condor. Check out his portfolio and connect on LinkedIn.

Pinterest for Business: The Secret to a Picture Perfect Social Media Marketing Strategy

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By Brittany Thorley

Launched in early 2010, Pinterest has fast become an essential tool for social media enthusiasts and creative businesses to share the images they admire, but many businesses still don’t include this picture perfect platform into their social media marketing strategy. However, this online scrapbooking site could be your key to marketing your business, boosting online presence and tapping into a brand new customer base – with great results!

Why Pinterest?

Pinterest is unlike any social network, and may be a confusing place for people who are unfamiliar with the format. The Pinterest network is built on a series of pinboards, which are used to collect, organise and share the images people love and the things that inspire them. Pinners set up themed boards and pin their own images from websites and blogs as well as share other pinners’ favourites. Pinterest is essentially a great way to exchange links, increase you website’s popularity and generally spread the word about your business through images. You can also target pinners with specific interests by selecting the theme of your own boards carefully to ensure you attract the right user and interacting, favouriting and liking images and boards from pinners with similar tastes as you.

Getting Started

It’s free and easy to sign up for a Pinterest account but doing it the right way is tricky for many newbies, especially when keeping their business interests at the heart of their campaign.

Make sure you join as a business. Start by using your company name as your account name, add your company logo and provide a thorough description of what your company is all about in the bio. It may also be worth linking in your Facebook and Twitter accounts, giving fellow pinners more opportunities to follow your company, as well as visit your website. Now it’s time to create your boards– focus on themes that embody your ethos as a company; for example, if you are a plumber, focus on boards centered around home improvement or interior inspiration to enthuse the pinners who could turn into potential customers.

Top Tips for Pinning Success

When pinning to promote your business, drive traffic to your website and gain the interactions you need to make your company profitable, these tips may just come in handy to ensure your Pinterest campaign is not only business-driven but customer-focused, interesting and fun.

  • Promote products and services in moderation: no one likes a selfish pinner, share other people’s images first before promoting your own to ensure your boards aren’t just full of your own images from your company website. Avoid over-promotion at all costs.
  • Pin your blog posts: If you update your on-site blog every day or week, create a board for industry news and pin your blog posts using their images. It’s a great way to share useful information, establish yourself as an industry leader and drive traffic to your website, but again moderation is the key.
  • Interact regularly: As with any social media marketing, keep your posts useful and frequent to maintain your online presence. Interact with Pinterest users and re-pin their posts to build relationships, and in return they will share the images on your boards.
  • Pin to Win: You can also run competitions and giveaways using Pinterest, everyone loves a freebie so indulge this with a ‘pin to win’ campaign, where re-pinning means prizes.
  • Always complete your profile for maximum business exposure: An incomplete profile could just mean the difference between getting the interaction you need to grow your business and not. Invest some time and effort in creating the perfect Pinterest profile before you start your pinning mission!
Author’s Bio: Brittany Thorley specialises in business-focused social media management at Forsyth Offices. You can find her on Twitter as @forsythbusiness.