Have You Heard of Pinterest?

by ahicks46 on May 13, 2012

Pinterest, a new type of social media site, which uses words like pinning – boards – a visual pin board.  I have to say at first, even I, a programmer and social media gal, was skeptical of this new site.  Really, I asked my team as they were exploring Pinterest and giving me weekly reports – Really? People are using this graphic “bulletin board”?

Nine months after launch, the site counted 10,000 users, with few of them active on a daily basis BUT – Did you know? Pinterest reached 7.2 million visitors in the U.S. in December 2011. Wow, and now I am an active user! Just like my team and many others, I see the fun, social-ness, and value in Pinterest!

Here’s a definition straight from the site CEO, Ben Silbermann of what Pinterest is all about:

Pinterest – is a Virtual Pinboard.  Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

Ben worked at Google prior to launching Pinterest and now is talking to others about how to begin their business. Find more on Pinterest and their CEO in this article:  All Things D – Pinterest article

My definition: It is much like a bulletin board where you pin photos, mementos from events you’ve attended, and even much like, a Dream Board or a Vision Board, if you will.  For me, of course, my first embrace to the site was it is a way to display the beautiful dragonflies that I love!

Get started today at Pinterest by going to www.pinterest.com and asking for invitation. This will come via email and usually takes a few days now that they are such an active and busy social media site!

For pinning to your boards, you can upload a graphic or photo from your computer or find one anywhere on Pinterest – just type into the search bar at top left – or you can find something on the web to pin.

The choices are infinite! But, there are many beautiful beaches, homes, places, and even social media! Another great way to find inspiration for what my team and I do is to look at how others display and portray themselves. If you are a visual person, this is a very fun social media site.

For business, there are a few ways that can be engaging and social at Pinterest and still help you to market your business. One way is if you have a product, have photos taken of others holding the product and pin those. (I encourage you to get their permission before pinning. :)

My team and I will be giving some social media workshops in the next few months on this new, fast moving and active social media site – Pinterest. Hope to see you!

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Is your content embracing others?

by ahicks46 on March 31, 2012

Recently, my team and I have been giving social media workshops. We often get asked some form of this question – What should we use for content? What should we post?

I have an infinite number of suggestions on this subject, but what I try to communicate to folks is to use content that is going to be what people who are following your content will want.  How do you know what they want?  Have you asked them lately?

Are you offering tidbits of info to help others from your area of expertise? Do you post inspiring, motivating, uplifting or helpful content? Are you giving articles which you are interested in reading? Are you asking questions? How about discussing community fundraisers, bringing awareness to non-profits in need or just sharing a funny video?

These are quite a few questions and when I ask my clients these and more questions – sometimes they feel overwhelmed, but you must have a plan; a goal.

Your audience is craving your attention – what are you giving them? Is it content that will embrace them? Will it make them remember you? Are you truly portraying who you are?

Carefully proofread your words; sometimes it seems like the best idea in the world to share when you feel down or when your world has received something great but how are you wording it? Do you appear to be a Me Monster? Are you going to want to remove this from your Facebook Timeline in a month, a year or more? A good indicator that maybe, this is not the best content.

Remember – Embrace your audience – give them what you like to see in your News Feed! Spread the positive, give information, share educational data and generally, help others with your social media and you will embrace others!

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The Importance of a Tidy Home Office

March 22, 2012

Written by Dianne Westrook, Team Member at Virtual Assistance by Anita The importance of organization cannot be overstated; it affects all areas of our life. As a Virtual Assistant, I have found that an untidy workplace can be one of the biggest pitfalls for the work at home employee, however, following a few simple steps [...]

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Have You Heard? The Timeline is Coming to Facebook PAGES!

March 15, 2012

Oh my! Yes, it is true! Another set of changes have been confirmed by Facebook in New York on February 29th! The new Timeline will now be rolled out all at one time on March 30th, 2012 to every Page at Facebook. This means if you own, run or operate a business, the way you [...]

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Listening!

January 26, 2012

Listen! It is a word that parents use with their children quite often; maybe sometimes a bit too often. Since I was a very small child, it seems someone was telling me I needed to listen better; and of course, talk less. As you grow and age, one thing you gain is the understanding of [...]

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You can have a Professional Email Signature!

January 15, 2012

People ask me this all the time – How do I get an Email signature that shows my social media icons and has some style to it? Maybe a splash of color, or a hyperlink, even a photo would be nice! All of this and more is possible and for – Free! Just check out [...]

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Do You want the new Facebook Timeline? Let us Help!

January 12, 2012

Have you switched to Timeline yet on your Facebook Personal Profile? Or, are you like many others – waiting until the change is implemented automatically and you are forced to use it? Do you wish you could have this new technology in order to organize all your memories, photos, posts and life experiences, but just [...]

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Why I love Dragonflies

January 10, 2012

Many folks ask me, “What is it that makes you love dragonflies so much?” or “Why did you chose a dragonfly to accompany your logo for @Virtual Assistance by Anita? Well, there are many reasons, but one of the main ones is that I’ve always loved the grace the dragonfly has as it flies from [...]

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Facebook for Business – Pages vs Profiles

January 8, 2012

Do you own, operate or market a small business? If so, you are most likely using social media as a part of your marketing plan. While you are navigating through the multiple social media networks, remember to add a Facebook Page for your business. There are various reasons which I will discuss below why this [...]

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Facebook “Lists” – Better than Ever!

September 30, 2011

Well, how are you surviving the new enhancements to Facebook, my friends? The new changes are just about complete and beginning on October 1st, all of us with personal profiles at Facebook will now have the new “Timeline”. As many of my Facebook friends just stopped reeling from the new changes to our News Feeds [...]

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