Attract customers with personality not information

Valentines day looms again in all its heart shaped madness.

According to a recent survey by the Retail and Marketing Association, 53% of American women would end their relationship if they didn't get something on Valentines Day.  Who are these people?! Would they really be so shallow as to dump their partners for not conforming to this marketing ruse?

Could it be that we're all getting so jaded by marketing overload, that we long for something to break the routine? The unexpected.  The marvellous. The extraordinary.

Perhaps it comes down to the element of surprise, after all, even those who argue that they hate surprises, would be hard pushed not to feel touched when they discover there's no charge for their coffee, or their company has catered lunch rather than leaving them to starve through their midday meeting.

Simple acts of kindness make great stories.  We share them.  They shape our brand perception. They make an emotional connection with us that remains long after the event.  Like the sweets that accompany the restaurant bill, every little unexpected joy makes us like your company more, turning us from happy customers into loyal fans.

It doesn't have to be hearts and flowers this month, but what could you be doing to surprise and delight?

Are You Speaking Your Customers Language?

Knowing the "voice of the customer" is marketing speak for

a) understanding who buys your products
b) gathering, interpreting and using customer intelligence
c) talking benefits rather than features
d) all of the above

Unsurprisingly, the answer is d) all of the above, but the ad below shows that you could of course, just take the term literally.

Who cares?

A survey by MarketingProfs found that just over half (56%) of the companies who took part, thought they had a clear understanding of their customers tastes and needs, which means that almost the same number do not. It's this vague understanding of who to market to, that results in all those wasted marketing budgets.

One mouth and two ears

Despite the logic that we should be listening twice as much as we speak, hearing what customers have to say is often way down on the priority list, unless you're a completely customer centric organisation like Zappos.

The majority of companies ask their audiences for feedback via focus groups, surveys etc. Some are even clever enough to add customer service (a.k.a. complaints) to the mix, and while this is listening, it tends to be a rather misleading snapshot in time.

Make it social

Social media now gives everyone a constant, two way chance to speak, (or at least type) and be heard.  No matter what size your business is, it's easier than every before to know what your customer thinks, feels and cares about.

My favourite and free tools for this job are

• SocialMention - monitoring over a hundred social media sites, Social Mention interprets how the world is feeling about a particular word, phrase, industry etc. in terms of strength, sentiment, passion and reach of those currently contributing. 
• Twazzup - one for Twitter lovers, this little tool is a mine of information, including top influencers, retweets, link sharing and best associated keywords for your search. 
• Addictomatic - similar to Twazzup but with a longer reach, since this monitors across platforms such as YouTube, Flickr and Delicious.
• IceRocket - pulls in FaceBook, Twitter and blog coverage and has the nifty advantage of scanning across languages, so international rantings won't be missed.
• Google Search By Image - image based, you can now start your search for what customers might associate with a particular photograph to help you rethink keywords, web links and overall communications.

You might not always like what you hear, but knowing what's being said, at least lets you join the conversation.  Today, there are no excuses for being a wallflower.

Want more customers? Tools to make you more visual (in 10 minutes or less)

As the days get darker and our attention spans get shorter, more and more Marketers are relying on pictures to tell their stories.

Above it a photo of my lunch (blame it on no nutrition Friday), and although the packaging all looks very normal, it's the last lines, which made me share it. Somebody, somewhere has taken the time to add a bit of humour to the mundane, which in turn has prompted me to share the image. See how it works? A simple visual in an unexpected place was all it took to convey the personality of this fudge maker.

Today there are some great tools available to help you share your brand in words and pictures. Here are some of my favourites.

Canva

I have no tech or design skills which has made Canva my new best friend. The free version is packed with easy to follow tutorials, tips and tricks, to make you a legend in your lunch-hour. Upload your own photos or pay a minimal fee and browse the library of images available. You'll also find layout ideas and guidance on font families to make sure your message reaches your audience, loud and clear.

Flipboard

Equally easy to use, Flipboard lets you create a social magazine in moments. Curate interesting articles relevant to your audience and publish them online to provide instant value. Ipad, iphone and Android users can then view these links as a page turning book, full of glossy images, making it easy for readers to seek out and digest the articles that appeal to them. And since Flipboard users can save their favourites as they go along, there's no end to the long tail appeal.

Pinterest

If you're not using Pinterest yet - where have you been since 2009? Probably the most obvious visual communication tool, it's a feast for the eyes, letting you create virtual pinboards of images taken from anywhere on the internet. Each pin retains the link to its source so you can do more research on your own and image creators get the recognition they deserve. More and more retailers are using Pinterest to showcase their offerings and differentiate themselves from the competition and now that you can purchase directly from pins (at least if you live in the US), this tool can only grow in popularity.

Instagram

With more users than Twitter, Instagram has become the new visual hangout for individuals and businesses alike. The hashtags associated with your photos make your content more searchable and shareable than any other platform and the opportunities to connect and be noticed are huge. Instagram have recently introduced advertising to the mix and while the jury is still out on this one, there's no doubt that Instagram is currently the hottest place for your company to be found.

Visual.ly

Here it's all about infographics and data visualization (word clouds), to help you create something visually pleasing from the cold hard facts. Infogr.am is another infographic maker worth considering in this space. Rather than wrestle with an excel spreadsheet or a three page definition of what something means, make a picture - your readers will thank you by sharing your insights.

Quozio

Turn your quotes into works of art, via this simple but clever little tool. Inside you'll find a variety of templates, fonts and colour ways to help you express yourself. Just type in your words and see them take on a whole new look. Great for jazzing up your presentations.

PicMonkey

Easy photo editing to make you look like a Photoshop genius. From little touch up to transformations, unique visual content can be yours in no time. There are lots of similar photo manipulation tools out there, but PicMonkey and BeFunky are good, intuitive starting points. Try both and see which feels most natural to you, then go, create.

Unsplash

In the spirit of the collaborative economy, Unsplash provides regularly updated, free to download photos for every occasion. So much more interesting than standard stock imagery, it can instantly change the look and feel of your content, especially if you use it in conjunction with one of the photo manipulation tools.


With so many free or relatively cheap routes open to us, even those lacking in artistic flair can get themselves seen. Which tools would you recommend?

5 Ways to Make your Customers Care, Share and Buy

Once upon a time .....

This line either brings your shoulders down from your ears as you prepare for the story, or makes your hackles rise, as you mentally urge the teller to skip to the end.  Either way, you want to know what comes next.

Storytelling is as old as mankind itself and yet a seemingly dying art, in our rush to adopt all things digital.

Smart marketers know that customers who are emotionally connected to brands, provide valuable feedback to the business, tell their friends and spend more money, than those who are not.  It therefore makes sense, to craft your marketing outreach, so that you take customers on a journey - building knowledge of your brand, not through facts, but through inspirational, educational or entertaining stories.

Done well, your brand marketing can take an audience from apathy to empathy.  Don't believe me? Watch this clever Chrysler video, aired during the Super Bowl (for maximum audience and impact).

Let's look at how this works, so that you can apply these elements to your own brand building content.

1. Context - orientate your customer

The opening 30 seconds set the scene, so that even those who've never visited Detroit can have their assumptions about the place confirmed. There's a full 20 seconds of reinforcing the stereotype before a fleeting glimpse of a cars rear view mirror, (the first hint of what this commercial is really about). What could you do to build trust, before you start selling your product?

The rugged, care worn voiceover man, reinforces the imagery and immediately asks for engagement “What does this city know about luxury?”  You're already waiting to hear more, even though you're not sure what this ad is about yet.  Anticipation is increasing.  Remember that marketing will have most impact when your customers are waiting to receive it.

2. Show and tell

By 40 seconds we've seen the product (Chrysler badge on the front of the car), but it's fleeting, almost subliminal, and surrounded by pictures which evoke the spirit of hard work and determination.  Could these be Chrysler's brand values?  Showcasing what your brand stands for, in pictures rather than words, has never been easier.

There's an American flag to make sure everyone feels included, the soundtrack builds with a baseline guitar.  Detroit, (the hero), is shown to be strong and full of resolve, having survived the recent economic blows (the villain).  The audience is drawn in, relating to the cities hardships from their own experiences. Voiceover man reinforces this “That's who we are. That's our story ....”  Be Authentic.  Reinforcing your customers problems, thoughts and assumptions, is a great way to draw them in and lets you pitch your product as the solution they need.

3. Make sure you've got a hero - ideally the underdog

A minute in and we're told “when it comes to luxury, it's as much about where it's from as who it's for”, challenging all the bad news stories about Detroit and helping you to root for the underdog. You want to know more. Your interest is peaked and you're enjoying the journey with the driver of the car, beginning to see yourself as that character, bringing your own knowledge to this crafted vision. How could you help your customer to imagine themselves using your product?

The imagery is of determination, ordinary people, challenging themselves.  The voiceover acknowledges that while all the attention is given to the best know American cities, it's our hero that represents the vast majority of the population and we should share that pride. Chrysler the brand is firmly pitched as the hero's assistant - Robin to Batman.  Be customer rather than company centric so your marketing supports what your customers value in their terms.

4. Include the element of surprise

One minute 20 seconds in and we recognize the driver - home grown talent, Eminem, reminding the viewer of Detroits glory days as Motown. The soundtrack builds to a climax, not just of instruments, but of human voices, via a choir, reinforcing the personal nature of this product.  We now know this is a car ad, but that's almost forgotten because we're so entrenched in what will happen next.  What could you do to make your product part of a bigger picture or wider community?

5. Give them a happy ending

Final 30 seconds - cue Fox theatre, far removed from the industrial landscape we've all come to associate with this Michigan state. Eminem turns to camera and addresses us, telling us that it's about the city and not the product.

In our minds Chrysler now stands for guts, courage and resolve and we want to be associated with that.  By now, American hearts are swelled with pride at their resilience as a nation and customers are already giving consideration to Chrysler as their next purchase.

In 2 minutes, Chrysler have told us a story which leaves us feeling like they're the good guys. They've given their brand human traits and we feel warm to them because they connect with how we see the world. Do your customers share an emotional connection with your brand?



As with every youtube video, the comments section is the most telling. This stream is overwhelmingly positive, showing just how well the story has been told.  One viewer summarised this ad in just one sentence - makes me wish I was from Detroit.

What's the story behind your brand?  How will you tell it?  It doesn't take a high budget video to communicate, but you will need to use your imagination.

3 Simple Ways to Build Your Brand

Our world is very noisy. Thousands of pieces of marketing content are hurled at us every day and yet our ability to consume these communications remains unchanged.  What has changed is the attention we're willing to give any one thing, so much so, that it's even got it's own term - continuous partial attention.

Our brains are finely tuned to respond to messages which touch our hearts, teach us something new and, or present content in an unforgettable way.  In other words, nobody is interested in information anymore - entertain us, educate us and leave a lasting impression by all means, but don't expect a response if all you serve are the facts.

So how could your business take advantage of this human condition? Think like a publisher.

1. Make an emotional connection

Who is most likely to buy your product or service?. How are you going to convince them to choose your brand over the alternatives available? Answer -  make them feel something. Since hearts often rule heads, those brands which challenge us to become emotionally involved, often pique our interest and therefore get the sale. They don't call it retail therapy for nothing.
e.g. Hyundai message from space commercial 

2. Add the novelty factor

Using the very prim lady in the advert below, to talk about the delicate subject of poo, is both unexpected and funny. It's often the novelty of a companies approach which grabs our attention in the first instance. We like the new and the surprising, but be sure to tailor this to the audience you're trying to attract. Humour is a delicate balancing act.
e.g.  Poo pourri

3.  Be memorable

Making your brand a household name, is every marketers dream and yet much of the content on offer is full of well worn stereotypes and pat phrases (see this is a generic brand video).  We see the same things so often that they become invisible to us, losing their magic.

The mad men of yesteryear made products memorable by adding jingles and bold images.  Some things never change - Apple think different commercial or Nike Just do it 

Think of what you've liked, shared and talked about today and remember that your marketing has to resonate with real people in disguise as consumers, audiences and personas.

In the words of Viggo Mortensen “There's no excuse to be bored.  Sad, yes.  Angry, yes. Depressed, yes.  Crazy, yes.  But there's no excuse for boredom, ever”.

Go, create.

Are you working with the Adams family or the Brady Bunch?

I've had a bit of a revelation at work this week.  It seems that social media is driven by nepotism. Doh!

Though we tend to think about the various social media platforms as individuals, we should actually be viewing them as families.  Dig just below the surface and they are all interrelated, which means that social media optimisation (SMO), the term used for all the activities you do to ensure visibility of your brand, is now more important than ever.

Knowing how the platforms link, lets you decide where to focus your efforts and the content to produce to increase engagement and build your reputation.  In other words, consider how each social media tool encourages sharing and whether they are trusted by the audiences you're trying to reach, before you rush to create a Facebook page or a Youtube channel.

Choose tactics that play to your strengths as a company and attract your customers, but remember that imagery, video and high quality content need to be part of your plan no matter which platform you use. They may be different families, but they're all run by humans.

While this is by no means an exhaustive list it's worth remembering that

Google owns Google+ and Youtube

Yahoo owns Tumblr and Flickr

LinkedIn owns Slideshare, Pulse and Bizo

Facebook owns Instagram and Whatsup

Twitter owns Vine and Periscope

Just as families favour their own, the biggest social media sites aim to maximise visibility across their channels, so make sure you create content in the most shareworthy format for each group.  Hubspot recently did a great blog piece if you need inspiration.

Which do you favour?

Storytelling - Invented authentic content?

This week, the UK celebrated Bonfire night (also known as Guy Fawkes). It's an excuse to party and set off fireworks in remembrance of a foiled plot to blow up parliament in 1605. Who knew that such a rebellious act, could result in a reason to celebrate? Maybe there were switched on content marketing folks even in ye olden days...

Consumers today still love a good story.  If you can make your audience care about your product, you're half way to the sale. Trouble is, we need to forge that emotional connection faster than most corporates can get their content through management, accounting and legal.

Guy Fawkes was a real person and the gunpowder plot an actual plan, but what if you don't have an event to write about? Could you make one up?  Inventing an authentic piece of content is all the rage.

Movember

National Boss Day

Take your children to work

National Grandparents Day

In each case above, the creators have manufactured a situation, to raise the visibility of their product or cause.  Their next task is to ensure the public engage, by showing them how to get involved while imprinting their message into the mindset at the same time. Think of it like a mass call to action.

As Kickstarter has shown time and again, involving your customers in content creation is the best form of engagement a company can hope for. That sense of personal responsibility drives word of mouth and builds a loyal following.  Rallying behind an event gives us a purpose, makes us part of the crowd and now through the wonder of social media, lets us share our efforts with the wider world, for extra credit. Win, win.

Be warned though, invented content will only work if it's true to your company values and brand.

By all means, capture imagination, but to be believed, your idea has to match the expectations your customers already have about your company. It should reinforce what they assume to be true, rewarding their decision to spend their hard earned money with you, rather than the competition.

Stories in keeping with your company values and your customers understanding of why you do what you do, have a way of ingraining themselves on public perception for generations to come.

Now, stop reading and go create!

Marketing tips from unlikely sources - children

How do you pick up a swan?

Do you remember that wiggly thing that you jump over at school, can we get one?

Can a blackbird kill you?  No.  Even if it had a drill?

Oh the random questions my children ask.

Contemplating this mornings round of curiosity, I was struck by how visually descriptive children often are.  They want you to ‘see’ what they're talking about, using language which helps you build a picture in your mind.

As a marketer I often advise my clients to write in pictures as a way of drawing the reader into the story that's unfolding.

Why tell, when you could announce, shout, whisper, confess, leak or reveal.

Instead of encouraging your customers to get something, why not offer the chance to seize, pluck, grab, earn or land.

Analogies are another great way of adding imagery to your communications, helping you to explain and position your brand in an easily recognisable way.  In the UK, people regularly use phrases such as ‘fish out of water’ and ‘quiet as a mouse’, but every country will have it's own variations on this theme.

So, next time you're writing copy, challenge yourself to use language which helps your reader to immediately identify with you, or should I say, publish a blueprint your readers can easily follow.

Be seen as well as heard.

Surprise! How to delight your customers.

Watch the video above to see WestJet airlines, a Canadian low cost carrier, playing Santa to their customers.  I challenge you not to have a warm fuzzy feeling by the end and surely that's what Christmas is all about.

Who knows how much this ultimate marketing stunt may have cost, but let's look at the benefits.

1. Surprised and delighted customers

What a story.  An experience like this gives customers something to tell their family and friends.  They want to talk about you and will continue to share the unexpectedness of this experience for a long time to come, both off and online.

2. Loyalty

If you were one of the passengers on this flight, how keen would you be to book WestJet again?  I'm guessing they'd be your first choice.  It's human nature - someone does something nice for you and you feel the need to reciprocate.  Beyond this though, the WestJet brand has just given itself a rather wonderful personality, helping customers to link it with generosity, imagination and heart.  Fabulous differentiators, especially in a market where choice is often dictated by price.

3. WestJet team building

Watching those WestJet employees take a break from their normal routine, to rush round a store buying and wrapping presents, you could tell they were having fun.  Everyone felt part of the passenger secret, and proud to work for a brand which was exceeding all expectations.  Often marketing is so focused on gaining and retaining customers, that it forgets the employees who make it all happen.  This event will also be shared by employees, keen to show how they helped deliver Christmas.

4. International visibility

I live in Scotland which is rather a long way from the Calgary based WestJet.  Had they not performed this act of genius, I might never have known they existed, but now I do. We spend so much time trying to get eyeballs on our content, clicks on our links and engagement on our social media and this five minute youtube video has now been watched by almost 30 million people worldwide.  Quite a return on investment.

Happy holidays.

Which web works?

I'm a woman of a certain age - let's just say generation X.  Recently I've been struck by the gulf that's developing in how my peers and generation Y's (also known as millennials), perceive and use websites.

Ah, websites.  In the early days they were a billboard to the world.  Function over form and a sure sign that your company was at the cutting edge of technology.  Back in the dark ages of 2005, youtube.com (to give it it's full title as we did in the day), looked like this. Retro huh?

Further back, in 1996, even Apple was an ugly duckling.

For those of us who've lived through the early evolution of the internet, websites have become the trusted face of a company, so it's easy to forget that a mere decade ago, while generation X were embracing the joys of technology, baby boomers were suspicious of this passing fad.  

Earlier this year eMarketer ran an article showing the differences in behavioural internet usage by age range. The results confirm that those born in the age of social media are far more likely to turn to Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for help and advice than they are to visit a company website.  Web pages which once had a monthly and in some cases yearly shelf life, just can't keep pace with the immediate need for answers that visitors now have.

This all means that knowing your target audience is key when defining how your website looks and the content it contains.  You can start by answering three simple questions, as you try to put yourself into your customers shoes.

1. What key problem is the visitor trying to solve or which burning question do they need to answer?  

This might be as simple as finding the phone number, address or opening hours of your company if you're aiming at generation X.

2. Does your website tell visitors who you are and what you do?

Do the colours used engage or distract?  Are you expecting your visitor to read text or providing the simplicity of a video? Does it load quickly and function correctly whether it's viewed on a tablet or a mobile or a laptop? (try it).

3. Are you making it simple for visitors to find what they need?

Each page of your website should have one clear call to action.  Make it easy for the visitor to do what you want them to do.  How many times have you clicked a link for a particular offer only to find yourself on the homepage scrambling around to find the offer all over again?  Equally, if a discount code can be applied, take visitors not only to that page, but preferably pre-populate the discount code for them as well. 

There are loads of great articles on designing your website from your customers point of view. These are some of my current favourites

Characteristics of a user friendly website

The building blocks of a great website

How to design and build a great website (slideshare)

What does your website do to bridge the generation gap?

A Quick Way To Establish Your Brand And Its Values

Branding is generally associated with external audiences e.g. customers, prospects, partners, investors and press. Everything your company does, communicates your brand to the waiting world. From website to letterhead, receptionist to location, it all helps potential customers to decide how to respond to your outreach.

Branding is just as important for your internal audience (existing and future staff), but more often than not, when I speak to a new client, there's a lack of agreement between employees, around who their company is and what it does for its customers.

If you find yourself struggling to reach consensus across your organisation, answering the following questions can really help.

1. What words would you use to describe [insert company name] today?
2. What words would you like to be using to describe [insert company name] 5 years from now?
3. Who or what do you regard as your main competitors?
4. Which words would you use to describe the competitors mentioned in question 3?
5. Why do/would customers choose [insert company name] over the alternatives available?
6. Which one attribute would you want [insert company name] to be known for?
7. In your own words, what does [insert company name] do?

There are no right or wrong answers in this exercise.  Think of it as structured brain storming.  Ideally you should gather as many responses as possible - you can keep it to employees only or invite customer and distributor input too.  Look for patterns in the replies that you collect.  What sort of language is being used - descriptive, market jargon, active or passive voice?  Where are the gaps i.e. which questions did respondents struggle with most?

As a rough rule of thumb, your brand values, are the words which you'd use to describe yourself now and in the future, (the overlap in answers between questions 1 and 2). They are the essence of what your company stands for and should help potential customers to form expectations of service, quality, credibility etc.

Questions 3 and 4 help you define the market that you're in and let you compare the alternatives, just as your potential customers will, when making a purchase decision.  Make sure to include the internet and apathy alongside your named competitors, because todays endless choices often result in people making no decision at all.

Question 5 is designed to make you think about the benefits your product/service supplies, in the minds of your potential customers. Often companies present benefits in terms of product features rather than the actual value that customers gain from buying or using your product.  Think about how your product makes people feel, as well as what they actually get.  Knowing why people choose your brand makes messaging and content creation much easier.

Question 6 cuts to the core value.  What do you stand for?  If you say Volvo, people think of safety, and this trait has been stated in every marketing message that they produce, to convince us of its truth.  Brands need to  have a purpose.  None of us want to buy from faceless corporations.  What's at the heart of your organisation?

Question 7 tests whether you have a value proposition or not.  It's amazing how even people in the same department will paint a very different picture of their brand, when asked what their company does.  This is hardly surprising since we tend to define a company by our role in it, however, building your brand is about clearly and consistently sharing what you stand for, to position your offering in the hearts and minds of potential customers. If it seems like I've now looped back to the first paragraph in this post, then you can see how this all fits together.

In this age of social sharing, understanding your brand and its values, let's you define and reach your audience in ever more granularity.  Knowing who you appeal to and why, gives you the best chance of return on your marketing budget and there's no longer any excuse to mass market and hope something sticks.   As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you're bound to hit it.

Is your marketing just sales prevention?

I am a 'seasoned' (read, old) Marketer. Decades ago when you wanted to make a sale, you had to first educate potential buyers about your product/service - what it was, what it did and why you'd be mad not to buy it.  Sellers had power and a sellers marketing had significant influence, because these were the days before social media.

Today, potential buyers educate themselves. They talk about your brand, they discuss their experiences, they poll for answers to their questions, reading the blogs and reviews along the way. What the seller has to say is almost irrelevant to the sale.

For marketing time and money to be well spent, you now need to concentrate on helping the buyer make their choice - making it as easy as possible to interact.

Checklist

1. Can they find you when they search? (are you both using the same search terms?) 
2. Does your website answer their questions? (or is it a just a product features pitch?) 
3. Is there an easy checkout/download/try now process? (or is this 10 clicks & all your personal details required?) 
4. Do you know what your current reputation is and are you fixing/building on this with your marketing? 
5. Are you helping them to know that their money will be well spent i.e. do you address all they can expect post sale or is your marketing solely pre sales focused?

Without getting into the minds of your customers, your marketing is likely to be preventing rather than promoting sales.  Would you buy from you?

Marketing Don'ts - the door to door salesman approach

Copyright (c) http://www.123rf.com. 123RF Stock Photos

I'm still surprised that anyone sells anything by going door to door.  Once it was the only way to shop.  It promised innovation, a little treat for the bored housewife, even if it was only an ironing board cover.  It used to work because people lacked both information and choice.  Not anymore.

If your marketing is generic, (no idea who you're writing to), only showcases product features, (rather than highlighting customer benefits) and completely disjoined from your brand, (not in the same colours, fonts or imagery), then you're basically doing a door to door job. Your results will be down to luck and your efforts in the recycle bin without ever being read.

Given the time and energy it takes to produce marketing materials, can you really afford to live on hope?

Generic says "we don't know who you are and we don't care".  Product Features with no context show "it's all about us" and lack of attention to detail is really just laziness.  If you wouldn't be delighted to receive what you're about to post (whether off or online), don't send it.

Your customers are not unknowns waiting behind closed doors. They're yours to learn about, inform, educate and delight. They are at least as smart as you and face the same time/energy pressures, so stop thinking about them as 'them' and start thinking about them as 'you'.

I can hear you crumpling up that flyer.

Should you be interested in Pinterest?

First there was privacy, or at least a degree of everyone minding their own business. Then came social media, subtly at first with things like friends reunited and then in a great rush of tools to make sure everyone knew everything about your world at the touch of a button. Now there is Pinterest, where pictures speak a thousand words, providing users with virtual pin boards to share their thoughts and ideas.

Although 'just' another social media tool, Pinterest primarily seems to be the new hangout of the creative community. Artists, foodies, photographers, designers, have all rushed to set up their boards and create a feast for the eyes. So if your business is one where visuals matter, it could be worth getting onboard.

Where should you start? www.pinterest.com

If you visit the Pinterest homepage you will see a big red button “Request an invite.” Click on that button, type in your email address, and soon, you’ll be ready to go.

1. Create your profile by clicking your name in the top right hand corner. You can then “edit profile” and add your company logo as a picture, with a short summary of your business, and your location (make it easy for potential customers to know who you are and what you do)
2. Click “Add” and then “Upload a Pin” to add photos from your website or browser. There's an iphone app too which lets you pin on the move
3. You're ready to start pinning and creating your own boards, with names that create interest and ideally build your brand
4. Be original in the pictures you post. Each image links back to the website it came from and the description you add to your visuals moves with the picture as its repinned (the main aim)
5. Think of it as a virtual shop front and arrange your images like a narrative. Make it beautiful and dynamic and don't be afraid to add video as well as static imagery (youtube is a wealth of inspiration)

If you think Pinterest might work for your business then there's no harm in donating an hour investigating the possibilities. As always my advice would be to consider who your audience is and how they might respond to this medium before you put any real time or effort in. Shiny things have a habit of being distracting and my guess is that none of us have fully mastered facebook, twitter or linkedin yet.

There's no doubt that Pinterest has already become a household name in the US and it's only a matter of time before we're all pinning (I'm already hooked.  Find my boards at vlindsaymof3). Cameras at the ready ........

Websites, not as easy as they look

I've had a holding page for a very long time now. Not a website, just a link to my twitter and LinkedIn feeds, but enough to show I'm a real person (sort of). Like one of the cobblers children, I never had time to consider building something for myself, while helping others with their marketing and online adventures.

Then [gawr-juhs] came along and behold, I am soon to be a real entity, with an official site. It's a bit like walking in your first pair of heels - you've seen it all before and it looks easy enough but it takes time to walk gracefully. Despite years of experience I'm finding my own website build much harder than I'd expected.

It's definitely a work in progress, so I thought I'd share my journey and what I've learned so far.

Problem #1
Writing about yourself sucks. 

Whether you're a 'solopreneur' or an SME, writing about yourself is tricky and quickly becomes a list of facts and features which might make a CV proud, but will put your customers to sleep.

Solution
I had a friend interview me and summarize what she heard. Speaking your answers saves your vocabulary from business speak and helps you perfect your pitch all at the same time.  Genius.  Finding someone supportive to work through this exercise with, is a great way to test your differentiators and discover whether your unique selling points really exist. (I can highly recommend http://www.aweebirdie.com/)


Problem #2
First impressions count. 

You can generally control what you wear, say and do when you meet a new client in person, but online your website or more specifically the page people land on, can be make or break in helping them decide to read on or bounce. You have approximately 3 seconds to make an impact. Eek!

Solution
Think about the websites that are most appealing to you. How much of the appeal is visual? Which elements of the layout, look and feel, grab you? Now, imagine your ideal client. Think of them in as much detail as you can. What's likely to turn them on/off? It might help to consider alternative websites they could be visiting, so that you can replicate navigation, location of search and any other key elements. I had an excel sheet with 3 columns - sites I like, why I like them, what level of importance my clients might give them.  If you're part of an SME, it would be worth asking several team members to go through the same exercise.

Problem #3
A perfect website is never live. 

In other words, you can spend months 'tweaking' the finer points and remain invisible to the world in the process, or you can work on a 'good enough' policy and refine in situ.

Solution
While your website is an important part of customer perception you can thankfully supplement your efforts via blogging and social media. Remember that different audiences read different media and in my own experience, my RSS feeder regularly delivers information, which lets me by-pass a number of worthy websites.

Good luck to those of you who share my pain .......