Personal Branding Weekly
Editor’s Note: From a week of family and gratitude to a week of goal setting and celebrations, this time of the year tests all of us and our ability to focus.
Perhaps during a quiet moment today and on Monday you can review this list and find something that will help you in being focused and driven as you begin 2013.
Please share what your “big goal” is for 2013 in the comment section below. We would love to know where you’re headed and what you’re focused on as you begin the new year.
Here’s what we shared this week:
- Traditional Principles + New Media Practices = Sales Leadership by Deborah Shane
- Use Your Time Intelligently by Jun Loayza
- Give the Gifts You Have by Nance Rosen
- Develop Today’s Relationships into Business Next Year by Elinor Stutz
- Is 2013 the Year YOU Start MAKING Things Happen? by Skip Freeman
- Unexpected: What Happened 6 Months Since Publishing My Ebook by Manoush Zomorodi
- How to Start the New Year Strong by Jeff Shuey
- What I Learned When I Lost My Job by Erik Deckers
- A New Year, A New Job: Make 2013 Your Lucky Year by Michael Spinale
- Understand Thank You Notes to Prevent a “No Thank You!” by Beth Kuhel
- Get More From Your Brand. Highlight Only the Exceptional. by Rebecca Rapple
What’s coming this next week? An introvert’s guide to interview success; how to transform appreciation to returning clients; how to start the new year strong and how you can use the holiday to boost your brand. Looking forward to your feedback this week and to hear what your big goal is!
Pinterest sharing is word of mouth
Using a social networking site is one of the best ways to share your content and perhaps the best way to get your content shared. Different sites offer different attributes, each requiring that the user apply a specific marketing strategy to their particular brand.
Promote Your Brand Effectively in Pinterest
When it comes to the social network site called Pinterest, sharing is only a click away. This site is visually appealing, making it a great opportunity to gain visibility and relate to the audience.
For the most part, the focus is generally on the visually appealing aspect of graphics, memes, and condensed infographics. These can say a lot about your brand. But, the trick is to use those visual aspects to your advantage.
Exhibit your brand’s personality
Selling your brand doesn’t mean that you have to sell your brand. What makes the sale is the sharing that is done because the audience can relate to you. Start by simply creating boards that aren’t trying to sell merchandise and instead focus on content that represents the brand. What drives you? What imagery represents your brand? Pinterest is best used when you can associate yourself with the audience rather than simply talking to them.
Your task is basically to engage the Pinterest community as a part of it. As you interact on a community level, which includes sharing of your own material as well as providing new material, you build trust between the audience and your brand. Just be sure that you embed sharing options in your content (such as links back to your sites and blogs).
Another good practice is to use your Pinterest pictures as part of your blogs. Rather than simply limiting your blog material to the blog itself, create a board dedicated to your blog photos.
Ask to share
Remember: Just because you post an attractive photo doesn’t mean that it will get shared. Be sure that you encourage sharing.
Social sharing at its core is basically word of mouth marketing. (click to tweet) [tweet this].
And, it speaks louder than your brand alone can. “Like it? Pin it!” you can give the audience the extra push they need to share your material with their own networks with this simple call to action.
One of the most important things you can do is simply to remain active. Don’t neglect your account, especially since your account actually reflects your activity. The more active you are the more authentic your brand will appear to the audience and the more likely they will be to engage your brand.
Pinterest might be a site dedicated to pictures and photos, but pictures say far more than you can in a single sentence. You need to share the right material with your audience and promote your brand as approachable and something they can relate to. When you do that, your audience will want to share more than just your Pinterest pins.
Author:
Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks.com – a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is co-founder and moderator of #brandchat – a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.
