Jump on Pinterest to Promote Your eBusiness

June 29, 2012 by

Do you run an eBusiness that specializes in a particular niche? Are you interested in promoting and marketing your website to a massive audience, which can translate to increased traffic and revenue? You may already understand the importance of promotion through social media in the world we live in today. A hugely popular social networking tool that can help propel your eBusiness to new heights is Pinterest, the fastest growing website of all time, according to Fortune magazine. Take a minute to digest that fact. Pinterest has exhibited a rate of growth and expansion that surpasses the likes of social networking powerhouses Facebook and Twitter.

Blog Image, Logo: Pinterest is beating Google+ and is now the 3rd largest social network © by MRBECK

So, what exactly is this Pinterest? It is virtual photo-sharing community that allows its users to organize, share and disseminate fascinating and appealing multimedia content. Pinterest users can create their own virtual pinboards that are organized by various categories, such as beauty and fitness or weight loss where you can learn bout the best weight loss supplements. “Pinners,” as they are called, can then “pin” images to their various boards. If a user sees a truly inspirational image either on Pinterest or anywhere on the Internet, he or she can pin this image to their inspiration board. Pinterest deserves a great deal of credit in that it has created a virtual community atmosphere. Pinners can follow other users who share similar interests and tastes to keep track of their boards and content. It is possible to leave comments on boards, which can initiate a dialogue among users. The most popular content themes on Pinterest include beauty, fashion, dress similar to this long pink prom dress from Peaches Boutique, fitness, recipes, home decor, arts and crafts and inspiration.

Now, let’s get to the part that will interest you. How can you tap into Pinterest to promote your eBusiness? Read on, brave explorer…

Dig Deep into the Heart of Your Niche

In order to develop an understanding of whether or not your eBusiness can truly tap into the full potential of Pinterest, you must consider your niche. Does any aspect of your eBusiness appeal primarily to women? The reality of Pinterest is that 80 percent of its users are female, which should make sense given the most popular content themes on this photo-sharing tool. If your eBusiness involves selling beauty products or quality women’s clothing, for example, you can absolutely utilize Pinterest for marketing and promotional purposes. It is easy to create a company or brand profile on Pinterest and you can get started right away.

Variety is Key on Pinterest

If you do reach the conclusion that Pinterest is an appropriate tool for you to use and have created a profile for your eBusiness, it will be highly important that you follow and connect with a variety of other users who are interested in the niche you are targeting. If your eBusiness is selling a fitness product, you can easily connect with other pinners who are fitness enthusiasts. As you imagine, this can help generate sales. You should also connect with other companies on Pinterest that are targeting the same general niche as you.

Additionally, variety will be key in terms of the multimedia content you choose to add to promote your products or services. It may be in your best interest to hire an expert digital graphics designer who can help create eye-candy images for you that can then be shared on Pinterest. These types of visually appealing pins tend to dominate Pinterest. Also, you can even create video and text-based pins to share. You may want to consider create a video pin that features a satisfied customer using one of your products. You could even convert a positive customer testimonial into a text pin. Pretty cool, huh?

Add a “Pin-It” Button to Your Website

As your eBusiness develops a strong presence on Pinterest, you should add a “Pin-It” button to your website, which can be done easily especially if you have a WordPress-based website. This will allow pinners who frequent your site to have the ability to easily pin images to their own boards. This is excellent for you because it increases the chances that your images will be re-pinned on Pinterest. As you can imagine, this “Pin-It” button will begin to work for itself in no time.

Closely Monitor Analytics

If you are running an eBusiness, chances are good that you have a strong business mind and understand the importance of analytics and number-crunching. You can easily track where your traffic is coming from through Pinterest by using such tools as Google Analytics. This can help you adjust your strategies as you understand key metrics. Of course, you should do more of what seems to be working for you.

Your ability to successfully tap into Pinterest for marketing and promotional purposes will depend largely on your niche and the quality of your pins. Pinterest drives more sale than any other network. It is in your best interest to seriously consider adding this powerful networking tool to your social networking arsenal.

Jamie Bush is a freelance writer, web content coordinator for BabyChangingStation.com. Jamie is also an avid “pinner” who enjoys using Pinterest to find recipes and home decor tips.

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tips to Help You Start an Ecommerce Business

May 14, 2012 by

So, you’ve decided to start an ecommerce business. Here are some things you should consider doing next:

Stick with what you know – What industry are you in now? If you work for a jewelry-making company, for instance, and you like making jewelry, it’d probably be a good idea to sell jewelry online. Figure out what you have background knowledge about and assess your hobbies. Make a list of things you could sell, and talk to people about your ideas. If there seems to be a good amount of interest in the ecommerce business ideas you’re proposing, you can begin to move forward.

Decide whether you want to carry inventory of dropship – Dropshipping is a rather new form of ecommerce. It involves partnering up with manufacturers and selling their products on your ecommerce site. With dropshipping, you don’t hold onto any of the inventory yourself. The manufacturer holds onto it and ships it to the customer. You receive a cut of the overall profit made from any sales, and so does the manufacturer. The alternative to dropshipping, of course, is purchasing or making all the inventory you need. If you’re just starting out and don’t have much funding, dropshipping can definitely be more affordable. Put simply, inventory ties up your money. If you’re making your own products, however, it’s a whole other story. Figure out which kind of arrangement best suits your business.

ideas © by Sean MacEntee

Work on your website– Once you’ve decided what you’re going to sell and whether or not you’ll carry inventory or start a dropshipping arrangement, it’s time to put your website up. If you’re selling things you’ve made, you may want to think about creating a webstore on a site like Etsy, which will allow you to easily upload pictures of your products and start selling. Alternatively, it may be to your advantage to register a domain name and run your own site. If you decide to do this, it’s generally a good idea to hire a graphic designer or website designer to help you get your site up and running. Paying for someone to create an easy-to-use, attractive, and professional looking website will cost you a little in the beginning, but it can pay off a lot in the end by making your life easier and making your ecommerce store look more credible.

Get some order management software – Unless you want to keep track of all your orders in an Excel spreadsheet, consider investing in some order management software. This type of software will help you keep track of your orders and help you ensure that you stay on top of orders and get everything to customers on time. Customers who have good experiences with your ecommerce store will keep coming back and tell their friends about you, which is essentially how you’ll build your business.

These are just some of the most important things you should do as your starting out as an ecommerce business owner. Laying down the proper foundation for your ecommerce business is one of the most essential things you should do, and your success in the future will depend upon it. So, consider following the tips above, and make sure to mentally prepare yourself too!

Author’s Bio: Carolyn is a guest blogger on the subjects of small business management, ecommerce, and order management software that syncs up with Shopify, 3dcart, and BigCommerce.

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: , , ,