Monday, February 27, 2012

6 Ways to Boost Your Business with Pinterest

6 Ways to Boost Your Business with Pinterest: I've been exploring social media's latest runaway site – Pinterest*, a  virtual bulletin board that allows users to share images, objects, and  links they find interesting or inspiring. While, personally, I enjoy  pinning photos of stylish outfits, chic MacBook and iPad cases, and  outtakes from home décor magazines, I see the value this platform has  for brands. When it comes to my brand, I’ve taken a thought leadership  approach— just check my "Essential Books" board to see what branding,  social media and marketing books I’m reading.  This user-friendly  platform is already proving to be valuable for businesses.   There’s serious potential to drive sales for business owners. Getting  images of your products pinned and repinned can literally drive  customers to your door step. At the very least, it will drive traffic to  your website where customers can request your service.    Here are 6 ways small businesses can extend their brand and up their revenue using Pinterest:
Share your authenticity     Show your audience who you are. Pinterest allows you to curate photos of experiences, recipes, looks and influential people - anything that you love and want to refer back to.  By being authentic and showing your followers what you’re into, you allow them to get a sense of the person behind the business. The more you can show your customers the face behind the brand, the more they’ll get to know you and connect with your business.
Pin and repin others         Remember...don't make it all about you and your business.  Repin others who are doing great work in your space.     When it comes to your offerings, don't just pin photos of your products. Pin photos that communicate the inspiration behind your product, too. For example, if you’re offering Mediterranean cuisine, pin a photo you took during a trip to the Mediterranean. Get people in the mood to experience what you're offering. Aim to inspire!
Link back to your business         Do you own a restaurant, catering service, cupcakery or other food-related business? Pin professional photos of your dishes and link back to the menu on your website. Pin great recipes you find or recipes you create, but don’t forget to link back to a landing page on your website. Make it easy for your Pinterest followers to become customers by including the website, online menu or reservation section for your cuisine.
Show capabilities     If you have a home decor service or store, pin photos of rooms you have styled or rooms you've come across that inspire you. Those with a furniture or home accessories store can look to West Elm's presence on Pinterest. They do a great job of giving inspiration for home decor while at the same time showcasing their products in an easy-to-see format.     We can learn a few things from their technique. Most importantly, pin actual items from your store with the price to indicate the items are for sale.
Be a resource for customers    If you have a service-based business, consider pinning visually-appealing short tutorials and how-to items. Pin the photos from media coverage or blog posts and link back to the full story.     Remember aim to inspire and connect with others who are on a similar journey. If you have a business-to-business (B2B), you can use the online pinboard to share infographics, charts, slideshows, or even your latest book or e-book cover. Include the link where customers can find or purchase the book, as well as a brief description of the book.  Don't forget that Pinterest is great for accumulating inbound links and search engine optimization, so that's another way you can increase your web traffic and drive business.
Keep it simple     Make it easy for your followers to pin your items directly from your website.  Remember: The more appealing the image, the more likely it will be repined; hence, why it’s so important to use strong, alluring photos on your website or blog.     Get your pins in front of the right audience or an influential pinner, and you may see your products flying off the shelf!

Topo Designs Hip Pack

Topo Designs Hip Pack:

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Don't call it a fanny pack. Topo Designs' Hip Pack is a versatile day bag made from durable 1000d Cordura with a liner made from 420d water-resistant pack cloth. Even more impressive is that for $69 you get a bag that is handmade here in the USA, inside a LEED certified shop in Colorado. Helluva deal if you ask us. Link



Sunday, February 26, 2012

MR Hare Fela Shoes

MR Hare Fela Shoes: RSS Post Image

Instead of creating a loud presence through details, this shoes of MR Hare shine with pure minimalism pushing the premium vachetta leather into the limelight. The leather isn’t specially conserved or protected, thus it’ll acquire a beautiful patina over the time making it your own individual pair of Fela shoes. While the vachetta leather is made to fit like a second skin, you’ll walk on solid wooden soles.


BUY for $632


Mosley Tribes Summer '12

Mosley Tribes Summer '12:

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Mosley Tribes delivers the goods for Summer '12 with a fresh new collection of styles that perfectly captures the brand's mix of luxury and urban styling. New for summer are a brand new array of aviators and retro-modern acetates complemented by colorful frame and lens treatments. Link



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Stop Trying to Do it Yourself and Find a Co-Founder

Stop Trying to Do it Yourself and Find a Co-Founder: business_diversity_pic

Thinking of a great idea isn’t always the hard part, it’s the execution; and where most people go wrong is trying to do it by themselves. Contrary to what you may believe, in the startup world there is no one who can do it alone, so finding a co-founder may be beneficial in becoming the next hottest startup everyone is talking about.


The issue that many people face is not having the skills to do everything that is needed to build a startup, like coding. There are several different platforms online that will teach you how to code in a matter of hours, but do you really want an hour long coding experience to build your company? I didn’t think so. That is when finding an experienced, lean, mean, coding machine to join your team becomes necessary.


Co-founding has become the popular way to start a business. So where do you find that special partner for the long road to entrepreneurial success?


College


Colleges and universities are filled with talented, smart, and young people that can do just about anything. Scope your local college campus for potential founders. Every area of concentration has something to offer, but be sure to visit the business, engineering, and communications schools.


Meetups


Tech meetups are great because it brings a bunch of different people together in one place. Meetups were designed specifically for people to “meet,” hence the name. You probably won’t go to a tech meetup and not find someone who is looking to be part of a startup. These events bring out those who are interested, but haven’t necessarily found where they fit in yet.


Co-working Spaces


As more co-working spaces pop up, they will become a main source for finding people to collaborate on ideas. These spaces are filled with creative minds ready to start the next big thing. Don’t just go to work on your own things, mix and mingle and find out what everyone else is working on too.


Online/Social Media


Social media is the most obvious way. Tweet to your followers you are looking for a co-founder, coder, etc. But there are websites and databases catered specifically to finding founders. Check out Craigslist too, you never know what or who you might find on there.


Spouse/Significant Other


Although it can be risky, going into business with that special someone in your life isn’t that bad of an idea as you may think. Co-founders are support systems, that person who is there for you when you had the worst day ever, so who better than the person you love. It definitely isn’t the move for everyone, but if your relationship can handle it, why not?


Kurt Geiger Shop on Regent Street, London

Kurt Geiger Shop on Regent Street, London:

The new Kurt Geiger store designed by Found Associates definitely has a sexy, boudoir vibe to it. You’d almost expect to see a leather riding crop or some furry handcuffs adorning the lux red walls. Instead, at 198 Regent Street in London’s West End, you’ll find a dramatic red, carpeted “ramp” outfitted in kicks, “visually linking to the red glass walls at the rear of the store.” Shoes multiply in record numbers, showcased on mirrored tables and cantilevered glass pedestals, behind back lit Kurt Geiger artwork. One thing’s for sure, sneakers have never looked so undeniably sexxxy.


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(Photography: Found Associates)


Kitchen Design for Now and When You Are Ninety!

Kitchen Design for Now and When You Are Ninety!:

Disturbed by the way their ninety-year-old ‘Nan’ has to struggle in her current kitchen scenario, Product Tank has designed this compatible Kitchen 02. It’s compatible in the sense that both the sliver generation and the young-guns can use it easily. Like they say, “This is not a Kitchen for a Michelin starred chef, just an old lady who wants to remain independent and cook herself simple meals.”


Features:



  • The kitchen is small to reduce the amount of movement between areas.

  • Everything has been designed so that tasks can be performed sitting down.

  • You can get your legs under the sink to make washing up and preparing food easier.

  • The sink has a shelf to rest things on whilst you clean them and a moveable divider to split the sink into two areas so you can wash up and still have a vegetable prep area.

  • You can remove the divider to have one large sink capable of fitting an oven tray.

  • The prep area is recessed so that if there is a spillage, anyone sat down won’t get wet and all spillages can be swept into the sink to make cleaning easier.

  • There are two boilers.

  • To use one, you simply engage the plug and fill with water directly from the tap.

  • The boiler eliminates the need for carrying heavy pans full of water and the risk of pans tipping over, especially when sat down.

  • Sensors in the sides prevent the boiler from being overfilled or boiling dry.

  • A light cage holds and drains the food being cooked, or the boilers can be used as steamers.

  • The boilers are easy to clean and trash eaters take care of any loose bits of food. Taking pots and pans out of the equation is not only a safety feature, but also reduces the amount of storage needed.

  • The controls are angled to make them easy to read and it’s easy to see if they have been left on from a distance.

  • The dials are easy to grip and the numbering is high contrast.

  • A bold graphic makes it easy to see which dial relates to which cooking element, without having to look at small awkward diagrams.

  • This model includes a frying plate and an induction hob for soups and sauces.

  • These elements are plug and play and can be quickly changed for a variety of options and easily removed for cleaning.


Designer: Product Tank










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(Kitchen Design for Now and When You Are Ninety! was originally posted on Yanko Design)




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