I got my invite!!!! (just thought I’d share that with you). I’m so excited to start pinning. I have just started setting up boards and my PIN button is ready to go.
Turns out I can add Pinterest to my Facebook timeline (I declined) and you can sign in through Facebook and Twitter. I now have 5 followers from my Facebook friend list (all in a couple days!) and apparently I am following 37 people (although to be honest, I didn’t actually do this on my own so must be a Facebook thing as I know them all).
You’ll notice a screenshot at the top of this post. This is the Pinterest home page for today. Either everyone is trying to liven up February or it has something to do with yesterday being Valentine’s Day. Either way, I am now going to go dig up some chocolate to satisfy this craving!
I’ll keep you posted on how things progress with the new Fifth and Missing Pinterest Account! Please drop by! http://pinterest.com/fmissing/
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The Newest Addition to the Social Media Scene
I just came across this site, and apparently I’m behind the eight ball because this was launched in 2010, but I thought I’d share with you what I’ve just learned about Pinterest.
Pinterest is a way to share images on the web, like a virtual bulletin board. You can pin your interests and categorize them by board, and comment on other people’s pins (photos). Similar to Facebook and Twitter, you can “Like”, “Re-Pin” or “Comment” on someone’s “pin” or “board”.
Pinterest must invite you to join. To request an invite, go to their home page and there is a prompt to ask for an invite. You enter your email address and a notice comes up saying they will send you an invitation as soon as they can (a bit unusual…but okay!).
So, I checked my email, and right away I received an email with this response:
Hi! Thanks for joining the Pinterest waiting list. We’ll be sure to send you an invite soon. In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter. You can also explore a few pins.We’re excited to get you pinning soon! - Ben and the Pinterest Team
Okay, so I’m thinking it must be either very popular and everyone is trying to get on board, or they are only allowing so many users….either way, looks like I’ll have to wait to start “pinning”.
Turns out, it IS that popular. Here’s the Site Analytics for 2011.
While I wait for my invite, here are a few things that I’ve just learned about Pinterest:
1. There is “Pin Etiquette“. This includes: Be Nice, Credit Your Sources, Avoid Self Promotion, Report Objectionable Content, Tell Us How To Make Pinterest Better.
2. Apparently businesses are using Pinterest to post photos of their products or services. I’m not sure how this is following the Pin Etiquette….. According to Jason Fall of Entrepreneur, “If you simply display images of your products without contributing to other content or sharing other users’ pins, you’ll likely find that people don’t pay much attention. After all, no one likes a self-absorbed blowhard.” To find out if your business might be able to make use of Pinterest, it might be a good idea to try it out first (when you get your invite, of course). Pinning photos of items are are related to your business or line of work, and commenting on other people’s pins who may have use for your product or service may be one way to use Pinterest.
3. You can install a “Pin it” button on your browser, so that as soon as you come across an image you want to pin, you can grab it and add it to one of your pinboards. It’s that easy.
I plan on checking it out, and if I find that I’m able to use it in a productive way for business, I’ll share it with you.
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“As a child of two painters who nurtured a constant reverence for art and music you might say that a need for artistic voice was in my blood at birth. I have had a deep love for photography since the very young age when my mother gave me her old olympus and I used to watch for the sunrise out of our farmhouse window so I could go out and capture the hoar frost twinkling red and gold on our barbed wire fence.
That was a long time ago but the journey has been steady, taking breaks for tragedy, illness, and life in general. Photographs have been a voice, a comfort; therapy, and a hiding place. More recently things have begun to shift in a new direction. A combination of some quiet in the turbulence of my life, and a small and steady flow of requests for portraits or wedding coverage has stilled the persistent doubter in me and allowed the dream to make herself known. I find myself in the first legs of a new journey, still trying to get the word “photographer” to pass confidently from my lips. It does, with a little less quiver each time.“
Jessica lives in Collingwood, Ontario and she can be reached at withlightandshadow@gmail.com for more information and pricing.
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I switched over from using Microsoft Outlook to ZOHO about 6 months ago. The initial reasons really had nothing to do with Outlook per say (although at the time I was having difficulty with the indexing feature), but more to do with the options that ZOHO offered.
For a relatively small monthly cost, ZOHO provides you with an all-in-one online system that offers convenience, flexibility, collaboration, storage and information management. There are many benefits to using ZOHO from a business perspective. As an Account Manager, I realize that having an up-to-date customer database is very important, as well as having the ability to organize all my clients, projects and prospects in one connected online system. Their tagline is “All that you need to run your business”, and I’d have to agree that they live up to this, and then some!
There are Collaboration Apps, such as Mail, Meeting, Chat, Share, Discussions. These apps can be added for little or no additional fees. They allow you to communicate with other users. This is especially helpful when you have other colleagues who are using ZOHO. The Project Management App is terrific for connecting teams and keeping projects on schedule. This app is a bit more costly, but in the long run will save your organization time and money!
There are Business Apps such as CRM, Invoice, Report, People, and Recruit. These are just a few of the apps available. You can email leads or clients right from the CRM and it records everything in this CRM for you. This is an excellent way to keep track, as it’s easy to forget when you’ve made multiple calls over time to a prospect or lead.
Productivity Apps such as Calendar, Notebook and Planner are extremely useful for keeping everything organized. ZOHO also offers many of their apps for smartphones, which makes it convenient when you are on the road or away from the office. ZOHO has a plug-in for Microsoft Office as well.
If you are not familiar with ZOHO already, stop by and take a look at what they have to offer. I am confident you will be impressed.
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More often than not, each new calendar year brings thoughts of New Years Resolutions. Perhaps there are things we have been putting off until the new year; things that we should have done long ago but figured we’d get a fresh start in 2012.
While many people are now focusing on trimming their waistline, perhaps this is also a time to reflect on your company’s advertising plans for 2012. I’d like to ask you a few questions to get you thinking your business and what your plans for advertising might be this coming year.
- What methods of advertising did your company use in 2011? Do you have measures in place to determine how successful they were?
- What advertising plans to you have for 2012? What methods of advertising do you think best suit your company goals for this year? How will you use advertising to attract new clients or keep existing ones in 2012?
- How much new business came in through your website in 2011? How did you track this? How useful do you feel your current website will be for your business this coming year?
- Are you proud of your website or it is outdated and in need of a facelift? Does your current website allow you to update content or product images to keep your site current and to assist in drawing traffic to your site?
- Do you plan to introduce online selling of your products or services this year? Online purchases are on the rise each year and according to Statistics Canada, “In 2010, 51% of Internet users ordered goods or services for personal or household use. In total, Canadians placed nearly 114 million orders, valued at approximately $15.3 billion.” Statistics Canada.
- Are you planning any advertising campaigns this year? Perhaps you may be offering special discounts or sales on last year’s products. Or maybe you are planning a winter sale to clear out stock or inventory. How do you plan to get this news out to current or new clients?
There are many ways to advertise to current or potential clients throughout the year. Whether you are launching a new product, introducing a new service, offering sales or promotions, attracting new investors or looking to increase your brand awareness, there are many different ways to advertise. Some examples include postcards, email campaigns, magazine inserts, newspaper or magazine ads, catalogues, flyers, new packaging, media kits…….to name a few.
Whatever direction your company will be taking this coming year, feel free to contact us for your designs!
We’d be happy to assist you with your advertising plans for 2012!
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Our office is now closed until January 3rd.
We would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday! We look forward to doing business with you in the new year!
From the staff at Fifth and Missing
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This week my inbox has been flooded with holiday messages from clients, suppliers and friends. It’s always a pleasure to open up an email, and find a colourful holiday greeting waiting to be read. Here’s an example of an email template that I received today from sinalite. While we may not currently use their services, this is an example of how an email template can be used to market to potential clients or suppliers. While nothing is being ‘sold’, the company has presented their business to me in a friendly, non-obligatory sort of way.
As most people communicate through email these days, this is an excellent way to reach out and let your clients know that you are thinking about them, and that you appreciate their business. It is also much easier, faster and more cost effective than personally mailing out greeting cards.
Email templates are fairly easy to create and make a great impression. Email blasts using an email template can be sent using services like mailchimp or constantcontact. It is important to make sure your contact database is up-to-date with your most recent contacts. You can even track an email campaign, right down to how many emails were opened. Often standard email templates can be purchased and content can be placed into them, but we suggest having your email template designed by a professional graphic designer, specifically one who is familiar with your company branding. This allows for a level of customization that a standard template will not provide. (more…)
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Nikki and I spent yesterday at The Toronto International Centre for the Graphics Canada 2011 trade show. This trade show is in Toronto every two years, and has an impressive list of exhibitors. It was a great experience for both of us, and further opened our eyes to the processes involved in running and managing print jobs.
From an Account Manager’s perspective, it was especially informative to see the huge variety of printers and digital finishing equipment available. There were demonstrations everywhere, from full offset printers to digital, from laminators to cutting machines. We were only able to see about half of the booths and exhibitors, but gained some valuable insights into the number of machines required to finish a printed piece, such as scoring, binding, stapling, cutting and trimming! (more…)