Blog

Learn about best practices, get how-to’s and more for Social Media, Marketing and Web Design from Digital-Melissa. Plus an occasional article about pet care and training, and even some favorite recipes.

What is Pinterest & How to Get Your Business Started on Pinterest

What is Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media network driven by images with over 300 million active monthly users. One could think of it is an online bulletin board where you pin up things you want to remember or like.

The most common way people use Pinterest is to “Pin” images they find on the web or Pinterest itself, to different organized boards. Most images also then link to their original website, so it is used as a bookmark tool as well.

A popular example is a wedding – a bride may use Pinterest to Pin images of bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, décor, cakes and more. Then it is all right there at her fingertips. Personally, I have a board for “Purple Hair Color”, “Stitch Fix Fashion”, or “Duck Tollers”. When I find a particular image of a dress or jacket I like, I will “Pin” it to my Stitch Fix board for future reference. In the past I’ve started a board for Halloween costumes I drew inspiration from.

I use weddings as the best example because data states that 70% of Pinterest users are women, with a median age of 40. 50% of Pinterest users have a yearly earning of $50K or more a year. See a TON of great statistics here to see if Pinterest may be right for your business: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/pinterest-statistics/

Does Pinterest sound like a good fit for your business? Here are a few tips to get started:

  1. Go here and set up your Business page: https://business.pinterest.com/en
  2. Do all the fun stuff like loading your logo, fill out your profile, etc.
  3. Create some boards! Be sure to name them with keyword rich descriptions (that make sense), as Boards are searchable. Get started with these three basics:
    1. Board for your products/service
    1. A tips/help board which links to other sites
    1. A board just for fun!
  4. Connect your website to Pinterest. 89% of users have bought something on Pinterest! Be sure they can access your products. Be sure to have “Pin” set up on your products so people can pin directly to your site.
  5. Start pinning! Find keywords and other users with interests you want to Pin.
  6. Follow others. The more you follow, the more will follow you back. Try to just follow 5 new pages a day and go from there.

Some examples of things to Pin:

  • Original photography of your product
  • Infographics! These are highly popular, but do require a bit of design work.
  • Fun quotes in graphic form
  • Funny picture that make sense for your business
  • Content you find elsewhere that is the right message.

Last, here is a handy tool: go here and replace the domain with YOUR domain, and see who is already pinning to your site! https://www.pinterest.com/source/YOURDOMAINHERE.com/

About Digital-Melissa: I am a veteran of all things internet, located in Rhinelander, WI. 20 years in eCommerce with everything from design to copy, social media, marketing, project management, website help & management plus more. Contact me today if you’d like to talk about how I could help your business.

Rhinelander, WI Website Expert Melissa Read

Project Manager, Designer, Social Media, SEO and Website Expert

I am currently employed full-time by TheeDigital.

TheeDigital Website & Marketing Agency

If you need a website re-designed or started up fresh, contact us at TheeDigital and we’ll be in touch. I can vouch for the amazing team at TheeDigital and love working with the team there. TheeDigital is based in Raleigh, but we can do work for any business. Get in touch today!

My goal at Digital-Melissa is to help business owners grow their business and reduce stress in their lives. As a business owner, your time is precious and sometimes you just don’t have enough. Here is where I can help. From Social Media management, to Project Management, Graphic Design, website help, editing or writing – I can help. I can even help you send out emails to your audience and research Search Engine Optimization strategies for your company. Need a few things on your website updated? I can help. Or maybe you need your website or social media presence launched – Digital-Melissa can help. I will even provide you with tutorials on how to do it yourself in the future.

You need somebody you can trust and who can get things done and done properly. My years of experience have enabled me to work quickly, produce quality work, and communicate properly while getting things done on time. I can take care of the things you just don’t have the time for but know you NEED to be doing for your business. I will help simplify your life, and hopefully help grow your business, too! Contact me today.

About Digital-Melissa

I am a 20 year veteran of the digital world. I’ve got years of experience in all areas of the internet, and a vast amount of information to help others using this knowledge. I’m reliable, trustworthy, and know how to communicate properly, get things done and make life easier!

I’ve worked in eCommerce and online for 20 years right out of college. I love to help business with their websites, social media presence or write articles or more. If you need some help, and I can’t do it, I can use my large network to find you somebody with the proper skills to help. Based in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, I can work with businesses located anywhere. Read my full story here.

How to Grow Your Business on Instagram

How To Instagram

Wondering how and what to do on Instgram to make it work for your business? Instagram has a huge power to help you establish your brand and awareness of your business. Here are some easy tips!

Post!
It is simple, folks. Post, like, interact, consistently! You can’t find an “easy” way to grow on Instagram. You have to post actual, interesting content, graphics that draw the eye, things people will respond to, tips, tricks, VIDEOS (Video posts receive almost 40% more engagement than images-only). Things people want. Things people find value in.

Be sure to utilize the “Stories” function. Although Stories dissapear in 24 hours, they are a growing tool and utilized more and more so we need to get on board. Definitely share any regular post as a Story, and share Stories as often as you can. Quick un-edited videos are a perfect place for these.

Frequency & Timing
Frequency is up for debate. I have seen both do it every day, and both only 2-4 days. It really, truly DOES matter who your audience is.

Timing – is when your audience is most active. You an find this in your reporting. There is no reason really to post when your audience is alseep, right? If you want to be generic about the timing, it is reported that the best times to post on Instagram are weekdays between 10am and 3pm.

Use the Hastags #
This is vital. Use ALL your hastags. You can post a maximum of 30 every time – so do it! Hashtags help people find you. Try to be as specific as possible, but be sure to use your 30 every time. I have read that you “shouldn’t” use the same hastags everytime, but I’ve also read that it doesn’t matter. In the end, each of your images are not the same so hastags should not be the same, right? That’s logical.

Use Geotags (Location)
When possible, be sure to use the location you are at as often as possible, if it makes sense to do so. Instagram loves Geotags! It is eported that posts with geotags earn up to 79% more engagement. You’ll find the geotag in the top left of your post.

Interact
On top of that “normal” work of posting, you are going to need to interact! Go out an find other IG accounts that have hastags you are interested in. Comment and like them. Try for 30 in the morning, 30 in the evening. But don’t OVER-DO it. That can go badly for you account. Instagram frowns on over-liking because likely some bot could do it, and that is not what they want. Repost if you find something that is perfect for your brand – it will help start more conversations and get you noticed. Just be sure to check the account first and make sure it is one you would like to be associated with. Include an @mention of their account.

Last – DO NOT hire a bot to buy followers! It Will. Not. Work. Your page will get shut down. You have to put in the time and effort her.

If all this sounds overwhelming to you – don’t worry! I can help. I’d love to sit down or chat online with you about how I could help your business grow in this area. Contact me

More detailed post times from Sprout Social and Blogging Wizard: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#instagram https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/ https://bloggingwizard.com/get-more-instagram-followers/