Pinterest: Beneficial Tips for Businesses

I got the topic of Pinterest for this blog assignment. Two successful woman who use Pinterest share their stories and tips on how to expand and grow your business using the website. Here are the answers to the following questions we were asked to complete.

1) Q: Who are the publishers and their companies they work for? A: Social Media Examiner is the sponsor for this article, but the authors or "instructors" are Ana White and Kelly Lester. They work for themselves as bloggers, homemakers,  and are stay at home moms.

2) Q: Who is the author of this paper?  A: The authors are Ana White and Kelly Lester.

3) Q: The date of publication? A: There is no specific date said, however I do know that the year was 2012. 

4) Q: What are 5 key points in the article? A: Five key points in the article were that Pinterest is a growing website. It launched about 25 months ago and already has 12 million users. This is more than Google, Youtube, and LinkedIn combined! I learned that when Pinning things, do not just pin about yourself, it is more useful when others pin about you because it does not make you look desperate and it shows that people are using and liking your product. I also learned that when you type in Pinterest on the Pinterest search engine, tons and tons of articles and links come up on how to actually use and be successful on Pinterest. This is where these two ladies learned the most on using the website. When posting pictures on Pinterest, add words. Words are very important and are informative, and pictures are fun and exciting, so the combo of the two is very eye catching and appealing to the viewers. Lastly, I learned that you can put a Pin It button on your blog or webpage! This is neat because then others are promoting you. Ana White had no idea why her business sales were booming until she found her products on Pinterest. Others were interacting with her product and advertising it for her!

5) Q: What are 5 new terms you learned? A:Pin: A pin is an image added to Pinterest. A pin can be added to a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload it from your own computer. Each pin added using the Pin It button links it back to the site it came from.   Repin: A repin is adding an image you find while browsing Pinterest to your own board. When you repin an image, the user that first pinned the image will also get credit. A repin maintains the source-link of the image no matter how many times it is repinned.  Board: A board is a set of pins. A board can be created on any topic, such as cool posters, recipes for dinner, or wishlists. You can add as many pins to a board as you want. ShareAsImage: Let's you highlight text anywhere on the web and easily convert it into an image. With the PRO version you can choose fonts, colors, and text size. Once you've created your quote image, you can share it on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter. Watermark: A watermark is a visible embedded overlay on a digital photo consisting of text, a logo, or a copyright notice. The purpose of a watermark is to identify the work and discourage its unauthorized use. Though a visible watermark can't prevent unauthorized use, it makes it more difficult for those who may want to claim someone else's photo or art work as their own.

6) Final Thoughts: After reading this article and using the website only for fun, I realized that it is a useful tool for many businesses. You can have your work discovered and advertise for your business. It is such a well known site and there are so many users constantly using the website. For the two ladies, it got both of their businesses booming and expanding. For my project, I do not think that it would be a useful tool only because mine is a shopping website. I mean I could pin a picture that leads to the website, but I doubt it would get many repins or be successful. For small business owners however showing your work and pinning photos of accomplishments is a great way to broaden your business! Aside from business it is also a useful tool for finding information and tools and ideas. For instance, I found my definitions using Pinterest by searching their search engine. Also, it has great make up tips and hair ideas for going out. It has all sorts of categories and interests for the public. It is definitely a fun and addicting website! I suggest everyone use the site because it is fun and very easy!

Sources : http://pinterest.com/about/help/   http://pinterest.com/pin/209769295114601613/

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossary/f/watermark.htm 

Businesses on Facebook

Businesses are finding it more useful nowadays to promote themselves using Facebook. However, are they doing it correctly? Do the administrators of the business page know what they're doing? Maintaining and having a successful Facebook page is not easy to do. Some companies do it better than others. Let's take a look at some businesses and organizations that took a stab at using Facebook and nailed it.

UNH Manchester, what a perfect place to start. UNH Manchester is a commuter college located in Manchester which is a branch off of the bigger business, UNH in Durham. UNH Manchester's Facebook page is put together well. The cover photo is appropriate along with the default picture. The page is updated regularly and well managed. The page is easy to find when searching in the search bar. You simply write UNH Manchester and poof there it is. There is approximately 1,000 likes which is not bad considering it is a very small school. There are a numerous amount of photo albums with pictures including events from commencement to barbecues, from a day in the classroom. It is nice seeing familiar faces on the page because it makes you feel like a part of something. To me, this is a well done and managed Facebook page. It is up to date, has a lot of pictures, a lot of news and information, and reaches out to students. 

Now, lets take a stroll down the street to the Manchester Monarchs! The Manchester Monarchs are a professional hockey team in the AHL  who play out of the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Manchester Monarch's have a great Facebook page! Like the UNH Manchester page, it is very easy to search on Facebook. The picture is of the Monarch logo, which obviously is appropriate. They post events, contests, clubs, activities and so on. They have 15, 187 followers which is a decent amount of fans. They also have tons of fun photos. They have players with Max, the mascot, pictures of kids with their favorite players, and so many more. The pictures make the team looked loved because their fans are all decked out and extremely happy looking. This Facebook page is definitely done correct and is effective for their business. 

Lastly, let's go for a crazy ride. Canobie Lake Park is an amusement park in Salem NH. There Facebook page is easy to search for and pops up right away. There are 142, 781 fans. That is an excellent amount of followers I'd have to say. NH is not that big of a state, and to have that many people supporting their page is really a great accomplishment. They have updated posts regularly. They consist of updates such as Screemfest, coupons, Job Fairs, New Rides, etc. The updates however do tend to die off during the off season, which is normal, because who wants their Facebook to be bothered with a business who is not open currently. Again, lots of photos on the page. People enjoying rides, Screemfest, food, shows, and much much more! It shows that the atmosphere is fun, and that Canobie Lake is a great family place to be!

All in all, maintaining and running a Facebook page is not easy. For my project, I am aiming for only 30-60 followers. Getting people a part of your business is not the easiest thing to do and to keep them interested is even harder to do. These pages are good examples for me to know how to run an effective, successful Facebook page. 

Mission Statement

Mission Statement for Market America:

Promote a healthy lifestlye.
Bring awareness to the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
Educate people about the importance of health.

this is me! :)

Facebook Fans

Getting Facebook friends is simple. You add people you know, they accept you, and you go about your life with no one really being affected . Getting Facebook fans however is a whole different story. It is almost like fishing. You need to hook, line, and sink. You need to target who exactly you want your audience to be. Depending on the business, it will vary. Then once you have decided upon your target audience you need to reel them in, like a fish. Sell your product. Get the reason out there as to why your business would interest them and why it is the best for them. 
Your Facebook business page needs to be entertaining. Nobody likes going to a Facebook page that's more plain that vanilla ice cream. You need to accessorize. Throw some rainbow sprinkles on it! Add pictures, updates, facts, give a ways, contests, jokes, etc. Whatever it takes to attract your audience and have them keep coming back for more. The more times your Facebook page is clicked, the more likely your consumers will want to use your business.
Businessinsider.com gives 6 helpful tips on how to get people to "Like" your business page. They are:
1) Make people want to click the "Like" button. 
2) Increasing the number of posts doesn't necessarily correlate to the amount of interaction on your page.
3) Promote your page but not TOO much
4) Use EdgeRank to your advantage
5) Be authentic
6) Don't sell, compel
What is meant by all this? To get people to actually hit the "Like" button, you need to talk to your customers rather than at them. Make them feel like they are being directly spoken to and are not just another face in the Facebook crowd. Also, don't just post something for the sake of posting something. It has to be relevant and relate to the business. Timing is also key. You do not want to post important information at 10pm at night. No one is going to see it nor be interested. Do not push your customers by constantly shoving your product down their throat. Throw it out there, and let them come to you.Give them a reason to want to use your business or buy your product. EdgeRank is also a good tool to have when using a Facebook business page. "EdgeRank is Facebook's own algorithm which determines which posts are viewed most frequently and at a higher priority. "If a user understands how EdgeRank works, he or she will be able benefit greatly from the algorithm. A brand can see how often its target demographic visits a page, and which times are better for posting, in order to achieve the highest response rate. With EdgeRank, a business can see which content is most engaging and which content they need to improve on." (www.businessinsider.com) And lastly, be yourself. Use one voice, and make it your own. This will make customers feel comfortable with you and create a trusted bond between business and consumer. 
Most importantly I think is to have fun with it! A serious Facebook page is never one that people visit a lot. Just because something is fun doesn't make it unprofessional. You are more likely to create more fans by being outgoing and spontaneous than boring and "business like". Facebook is about creating relationships, and to create relationships you have to be outgoing!

Sites:

• http://www.businessinsider.com/five-tips-on-optimizing-likeability-on-your-facebook-business-page-2012-6 
• https://blackboard.unh.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_19_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_137925_1%26url%3D

Internet Usage Among Age Groups & Gender

      In the two articles I read, "Older Adults & Internet Use and Pew Internet: Social Networking" I was not shocked at all with the statistics and data found. I have aunts and uncles of all different ages up on Facebook or at least with an e-mail account. Both of my parents have a Facebook and Linked In that I know of, and my aunts and uncles along with my dad's uncles have a Facebook and keep in touch with me through the social networking site. I find that with the elder age groups, they have a lot of spare time and Facebook is a fun spot to burn that time. My dad's uncle who is in his mid 60's plays games using Facebook, for example he can play Words with Friends using Facebook and I play him using my phone. None of my Grandparents however, have a Facebook, only e-mail.
     Families move and only get to see one another every so often during the year. Facebook is a great way for grandparents to watch their grand children grow. They can see photos and updates about their lives on a daily basis. A lady I work for has Facebook, but also recently got an I Pad so that she could Skype with her granddaughter. She does not like it though, and complains constantly how it is a pain in the butt to work. For me on the other hand Skype is literally the click of a button. Skype is another website I feel like older people use for means of keeping in touch and communication.
     It does not surprise me at all that people over the age of 65 drop off the spectrum for Internet use.It did surprise me however that so many elders own cell phones. My Memere has one but she is so clueless when it comes to technology. It took her a while to learn how to send texts on her phone, and it still takes her quite a bit to send the simplest of a text. I feel as if the technology is too overwhelming for them and they just don't have the patience to sit down and figure it out. I can't imagine myself in 50 years sitting down to new technology and having the patience or care in the world for that matter to learn how to use it. There comes a point where it becomes more of a hassle than a luxury.
     The reason I believe that the Internet usage numbers are going up in the older age group is because it is a part of the new world. These websites have now been brought into the work field and are a way of getting a company or product out there for the world to see. People are not retiring as young as they once did, so taking into factor that they are still working, they need to know how to use these social media websites in order to keep up with their job. It is very important.
     Lastly, when the article started discussing the use between genders and Facebook that sounded about as accurate as I believed it to be. My boyfriend is constantly telling me I spend too much time on all these sites. He never goes on his Facebook account or checks it and claims he is going to delete it because of how dumb it is. I tried to delete mine and I only lasted a month and a half. I felt like I was no longer connected with my friends and that even though I still saw them everyday that I was missing out on the virtual world friendship. It is really sad the power that these sites have on an individual. I feel like for girls it is a more enjoyable site because we are the more social gender and love gossip and taking photos and letting everyone know everything about them where men are more conserved and keep to themselves.