Using Pinterest to Build Brand Trust

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Branding, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | 0 comments

May 01, 12

I often write about the importance of personal brandingfor small business owners.  Today I want to share yet another way to help your customers get to know you,

Using Pinterest to Build Brand Trust

the business owner, as a person.  Basically since you don’t have the big bucks like Revlon, Scott Trade, Nordstrom’s, Publix, Starbucks, Glico, etc.…. It can be hard to get your brand noticed when you are offering similar products or services as some of the bigger conglomerates.  These companies use their marketing campaigns to not only get their brands noticed, but also to also build brand trust.

As a small business owner, building trust should be the #1 goal of your marketing campaign

There are many ways to do this but today I wanted to focus on one that isn’t time consuming and can be a lot fun.  It is important that your clientele or potential clientele feel as though they know you and your brand.  The #1 way to do this is by being transparent but everyone knows that right?  Social transparency can really help build online trust and using Pinterest is an easy way to do just that.

Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes, Pinterest is a great way to have a little fun while at the same time building a bit of trust with your potential clientele.  Pinterest is a social picture-sharing platform that allows you to share images of topics of interest to you.  You create categories as boards and then pin images to those boards.   You can upload your own images or share images you have seen online.  Once you start posting you can also search for other images on Pinterest that you might like to pin also.  If you find that a particular person shares a good amount of photos that are of interest to you, you may also want to follow them.  The more images of interest to others that you pin, the more your boards will get noticed, allowing for more repins of your images, as well as gaining new followers.

Now you might be wondering how using Pinterest could possibly build trust with potential clients

Well for starters when you fill out your profile you can include

Pinterest Boards & Pins

information about yourself as well as your business. You can include links to your company website, your Facebook and your Twitter accounts.    Secondly you can share images from your website such as your designs, products, services, or general images that others might like to use on their own blogs. Be careful here because you don’t want your wall to look as though you are only trying to push your business, this site is for social sharing not advertising.  If your images are dull and mundane they most likely will not be repinned which will not bring much traffic to your Pinterest wall.  So if you do share images of your services or products make them fun and exciting, this will increase the potential of your images being repinned to other boards.  Doing this will also drive traffic to your business website where people can learn more about your company.

Social Transparency with Pinterest

Lastly, and more importantly, you should share images that represent you as a person.   This is about being transparent so share images that will give followers a feel for who you are as a person; share your unique style and flavor, have fun with it.  Pinning images that are unique, colorful, and that send a message will definitely get repinned and bring attention to your Pinterest boards.  This kind of transparency is the perfect way to make people feel as though they already know you.  They can now see the interests they have in common with you.  The more a potential client knows about you as a person and business owner, the more comfortable they will feel about spending their hard earned money with your company.

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How to Change the Page / Menu Order in WordPress Sites

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Blogging, Internet Marketing, website navigation, website usability, Wordpress, Wordpress Plugins | 0 comments

Dec 17, 11

Another AriesGDIM WordPress Tutorial

Recently a client of mine asked that the pages on her WordPress Website be in a specific order in the site menu.  Sometimes this function is already built into the Theme you have chosen but when it isn’t… by default, WordPress will set your pages in alphabetical order and will do the same for your default menu.  Alphabetical order just isn’t enough for your sites navigation menu when you need your pages in a specific order.  When you do, you will need to incorporate a plugin to help you get things straight.

I decided to try Drew Gourley’s  “Order Up” plugin “Custom Page Order” and it works great.  You can download the plugin directly from this site, upload the zipped file to your site via the WordPress dashboard and activate it.

Once activated you can view the plugin right in the Dashboard menu.  Once there you can automatically click on each page and drag drop each page putting them in the order you need.

Changing the Navigational Page / Menu Order from the Dashboard

After you have set the pages in the order you need to check the “Enable Automatic Sorting or Queries” at the bottom and then “save” your changes.

All done… I hope this helps you… I know it has helped me when customizing the menu order on my client’s websites.

Drew Gourley also has a “Custom Post Order” plugin as well… just incase you need it.  By the way these plugins are FREE…

If you have any questions about basic WordPress tips… please email me Tami@ariesgdim.com and I will try to help you out.

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How to Upload & Link Documents in WordPress

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Blogging, Internet Marketing, Wordpress | 0 comments

Nov 28, 11

AriesGDIM WordPress Tutorial

Normally we bloggers like to just insert pictures into our blogs and call it a day… but sometimes images aren’t enough and we want to give followers a white paper, eBook, PDF or Word document that users might find useful. Even if you don’t have a blog many have found WordPress to be a highly functional platform to use for static websites as well.

Beginners using WordPress may have been able to figure out how to add pictures to their pages and blog post but are still trying to understand how to upload docs and then link them into your content.  For instance, just recently I was working on a clients webpage and he wanted a downloadable version of his employment application on his employment page.

I’m going to show you just how to upload documents to WordPress and then link the documents to content on your site, allowing your users to download those documents for use.  Surprisingly, it is very simple.

How to upload and link documents

1. Go to your WordPress Dashboard
2. Click “Add New” under “Media”
   

   Add to the media library

3. Upload the document you want to link in your text
   

   Upload New Media

4. Once done, click the “show” link
   

   After you upload click "Show"

5. Look for and copy the URL
   

   Click and copy the URL

6. Now go to your page or post that has the content you want to link this document to for download
7. Click edit
   

   Click Edit

8. Find the text you want to link and highlight it
9. Once you have highlighted click the “insert/edit link” button (see image below)
   

   Insert edit/link button

10. The “insert/edit link” window will open, paste (or ctrl – v) the link you copied above in step 5
    

    Insert URL in the "Edit/Link Window"

11. Click “add link” then update your post or page and your done
12. After you have finished go test your blog post or page to ensure your downloadable link will work

I hope this short tutorial on how to link content to a downloadable document using the WordPress platform is helpful.

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5 Simple tips for building traffic to your WordPress Blog

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Blogging, Branding, Internet Marketing, Wordpress, Wordpress Plugins | 3 comments

Nov 07, 11

1. Use effective blog titles
2. Write blogs that include useful information
3. Use an automatic blog tweeting plugin
4. Make your blog easy to share
5. Make your content easy to scan

Increase your Blog Traffic

I like to get straight to the point… Yes a little intro story is nice but most of the time you guys don’t care anyway… so here we go.

Use Effective Blog Titles

Using effective blog titles can often be your #1 source of increased blog traffic.  Usually users searching the net have a question and are searching for the answer.  Make sure your blog titles either give/hint at the fact that you can provide the answer users are looking for.

Your blog title can also be the “question” users might ask when looking for an answer.  For instance a good blog title might be, “How do I register a new business?”. A few months back I wrote a blog about how Facebook determines the “friends you may know”.  I was researching the answer for a friend who couldn’t understand how people were being suggested to her.  I thought others might be interested in knowing how Facebook comes up with the friend’s suggestions you frequently see in your sidebar.  Due to the fact that the blog title is, How Does Facebook Determine Friend Suggestions or “Friends You May Know?”, you will naturally assume the blog will provide the answer.  This has been one of my highest trafficked blogs.

Using keywords in your blog titles is also very effective.  When writing your blog do some keyword research, then implement keywords naturally in your blog title.  Make sure the keyword or keyword phrase you use is one you want your blog to be found with.  Basically if you are writing a blog about Facebook you want to use the word Facebook in your blog title.   Words that are placed at the beginning of the title are more influential than those placed at the end.  Keep this in mind when placing keywords in your titles.

Write blogs that include Useful Information

Now I would assume everyone knows that if you write a blog it should be useful to your users… If not… well you know now.  Blogs should provide information your readers can actually use. Remember… readers do not want to be sold to.

Research Your Target Audience

It is important to determine your target audience, figure out what they like, do in their free time, and what they find important.  After you have determined and researched your Target Audience begin writing beneficial blogs on their topics of interest.  For instance, if your target audience is mostly small to medium sized business owners you may want to write blogs on how to increase their revenue, new innovative ways to market their businesses, or how to more effectively increase their brand recognition.

Of course you want to stay relevant to your own brand (services, products & overall company persona).  What is the use of building traffic to your site if you are not writing blogs that add value to your brand? If I come to your blog because you write great posts on new Apple products and your company sells shoes.  Well… let’s just say… I won’t be buying your shoes.

Use an Automatic Blog Tweeting Plugin

Tweet your Blog Posts Automatically

Something I love about Twitter, that you can’t do with Facebook, is you can Tweet posts several times a day, within certain time parameters and chances are someone NEW will see it each time it posts.  I use an automatic blog post tweeting plugin to tweet random blogs from my website every 3 to 4 hours.  By doing this I share a good mix of my blog content along with other relevant blogs written by other authors.  Everyday I see my blogs being retweeted by my followers, which means more traffic to my site.

Make your Blog Easy to Share

If you write quality content posts your users will want to share what they have read with their colleagues, friends, and social media buddies.  Be sure to add “share buttons” on your blog for the big 4 social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, & Google+).  There are several social media sharing plugins to choose from.  Search the most popular blogs and see which ones they are using.  Test the “share buttons” to ensure they aren’t slowing your blog down.  There’s nothing worse than a slow loading website.

One good social media “sharing” plugin is “Really simple Facebook Twitter share buttons”.  It’s very simple to set up.  You just check the social buttons you want visible for sharing on your blogs and go from there.

Make your Content Easy to Scan

Add Social Media Share Buttons

Making content easy to scan is done by using number lists, bullet points, headers, and bolded text.  This helps users know quickly if the content in your blog is going to be useful to them.  I have found that the blogs I write with a number list at the very beginning are shared more often and get a great deal more traffic than those for which I didn’t use that strategy. Use headers to separate your thoughts and bolded text to emphasize certain keywords or points you know your readers will be looking for.

In conclusion

This is not an all-inclusive list of SEO tips.  Search Engine Optimized posts need a good keyword strategy, in depth target audience research, website usability testing and a good understanding of web analytics.   You will need a professional to assist you in implementing a solid Internet Marketing Strategy.  AriesGDIM can help you with this (yes I did a little selling… I know, shame on me).

These 5 tips are a simple way to help you start building traffic to your blog site.  It is important to remember that with any organic SEO it takes time and patience but you will see results.

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How do I change the URL for my Facebook Page?

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Branding, Facebook, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | 1 comment

Sep 20, 11

Customizing your Facebook Business Page URL

Facebook used to have a limit on the amount of “likes” you had to have on your business page before you could change the username or customize the URL.  The limitations have been lifted and now you can change the username or custom URL to your Facebook business page whenever you are ready.

If you would like to change the username / customize the URL for your Facebook business page just follow the simple steps below.

1. Go to http://facebook.com/username
2. Select the Facebook business page you want to change.  In my case I have several different pages I manage.  You will see a dropdown list of pages you can change just select the one you want.
   

   Drop Down List of Facebook Pages To Select From

3. Once you have selected the Facebook page you want to change you will see the screen below
   

   Changing Your Username

4. Type in the username you want to use in the field shown in the image below.  Try to stay consistent with your brand name.  In this case the client’s name is Leon Kittrell so we want to use this same name for my clients business page.
5. After you have selected the your username Facebook will let you know that your name is available .
   

   Is the Facebook Username Available

6. When you are done you will see the “Success” Window with your new custom Facebook URL.
   

   Success! You are done!

   Now you are all done.  If you have any questions or would like other help with your Facebook Personal or Business pages just shoot me an email or comment below.

   Aries – Graphic Design & Internet Marketing / AriesGDIM
   Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah
   Creative Marketing Director
   317.345.4182
   Tami@ariesgdim.com
   AriesGDIM.com / AriesGraphicDesign.com
   @ariesgdim – Twitter
   Google+ AriesGDIM

    

    

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How to Manage the New Facebook Lists

Posted by AriesGDIM / Tami Highbaugh-Abdullah in Facebook, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Monitoring | 12 comments

Sep 17, 11

Managing Facebook Lists

Many of us that use Facebook lists regularly thought that our Facebook lists had completely disappeared and we were all screaming our discontent by commenting in groups, commenting on each others walls, and even sending tweets.  Facebook had just made a change that we felt was an #epicFail.  I mean how could Facebook make such a change without asking us first.  The nerve of them; just who did they think they were.  Our nice neat lists categories we had grouped our Facebook Friends in  were no longer nicely listed on the left side of our Facebook profiles and it was totally freaking us out.  After doing a little digging I figured out they weren’t actually gone… they’re still there…  and Facebook has done some tweaking that you will either love or absolutely hate.

Where are my lists?

You can now access and edit your lists in two different places

1. You can go to any one of your friends profile page and access your lists on the top right hand side of the page in a drop down menu.  Now you won’t actually see who is on your list there but you can add your friend to a list here.
   

   Editing lists on profile pages

2. You can now also access your lists on the left side panel of your home screen where it says lists.  You can either click a particular list or you can click the word List and all your lists will come up for you to edit.
   

   Lists panel on the left of your home page

Whats new about the lists?

1. Now you can view a feed of people within in a particular list.  For instance if you click Family as I did in the image below you can see recent wall posts made by anyone set to the family list.
   

   Family List Screen Shot

2. I can edit what posts I see from my family by clicking manage lists.  If I don’t want to see your silly game updates I can uncheck game updates and it will be removed from the List page posts.  Click “Manage list” on the upper right corner of your list page wall > Choose Update types > then select or deselect the options you want to see on this list wall.
   

   Manage Updates

   

   Select update options you want to see

3. I can view those in my list on the upper right side of the list page by clicking “see all” and I can even add more people to the list if I need to.
   

   View those in your Facebook List

4. It is now easier to create new lists.  You simply click on Lists on the left side panel of your home page or http://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/lists follow this link.  There you can click create new list at the top of your lists page to begin creating your new list.
   

   Editing your Facebook Lists

Adding people to your lists can be done in two ways.

1. The first is by going to >account >edit friends.  You will see a list of friends with a clickable button that says friend next to each name.  Click the word friend and determine which list you want to put them in or add new list criteria for that friend if you need to.
   

   Adding people to your Facebook Lists

2. Go to a particular list page http://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/listsand then choosing a list.  After you have chosen a list go to the right side of the page and add friends to the list.
   

   Adding Friends to your Facebook Lists

These new changes have had many of us who use Facebook as a main source of marketing were in an uproar.  We talked about this all night long.  I remember when I used to love a new changes to Facebook but now that we are all so involved, using Facebook everyday to update and engage our users, that when a change comes about that affects us like this one… we all cry the blues.  I hope that these tips help you understand the changes to Facebook Lists.  If you weren’t using lists before I hope that this blog will enlighten you on how you can now use them to your benefit.

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