“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Walt Disney Company
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.
As the year comes to a close, I reflect on all the opportunities there are for small businesses when it comes to branding, storytelling, and marketing both online and off. One of the biggest areas I continue to see is how we present our images on social platforms.
Image matters. Both online and off. Cut off logos, blurry pictures, cut off pictures, etc are not helping our image. But there is a solution. Finding a designer that can help size your images can make a big difference in how your brand is seen in the eyes of the customer.
While there are always exceptions and variables and the platforms seem to be changing almost by the day, these templates are a great place to start.
Facebook Profile Art (and almost every other social platform profile pic)
If you are using Facebook for business, your logo goes here. Not a promotion or fancy image. Save that for the Cover Image or a post.
Facebook Cover Art
This is an awesome place to show your business, your work, a feature program or promotion. Make the space count and change it up just like you change-up your marketing calendar. When creating this image, be sure to leave space for the Profile pic in the lower left hand side.
Facebook Event Art
If you are big on posting events such as fundraisers, girls nights, grand openings, etc, this can be a highly engaging part of your Facebook biz page.
Facebook Post Art (also Instagram)
When creating art for Facebook and Instagram posts, this is a good template to follow. When you post images taken from your phone or tablet, Facebook and Instagram almost always “re-size” it for you when uploading.
YouTube Channel Art
If you have not noticed, YouTube changed their channel layout, and thus, the need for creating new art. It’s a tricky one, but important none the less if you have a presence on YouTube.
Pinterest Pin Art
Image is everything on Pinterest. Be sure to invest the time, money and energy to present compelling and powerful images if Pinterest is part of your social strategy.
When in doubt, always go to the HELP section of any social platform. There is almost always help available on sizing, dimensions, etc. Are there any platforms you would like to see a cheat sheet for? Share your thoughts in the comments below or reach out directly to me, I’m listening.
As 2013 comes to a close and plans are being made for 2014, it may be a good idea to add a review of all your social pages. Do they reflect your image, message and brand? Are all the links updated and working? Is your About section current and relevant. Those are just some of the questions to ask yourself as you do your year end review.
“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Walt Disney Company
We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, and on your social pages, a picture can be worth a thousand likes, comments and shares. This is a pretty simple one. Images evoke the highest engagement on social platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and of course Instagram. But what is important to take away from this super cool infographic is the types of images and the context in which we post them that makes all the difference.
Self-promotion and hard selling is NOT what the social web is about. What it is about is creating value, engaging, listening, sharing, two-way communication and building relationships. So instead of posting an image of a product you have for sale, think about posting a super cool hair image created with the product or client or team member using the product. See the difference?
Understanding these simple “rules of engagement” can transform your content on your social pages and dramatically increase engagement with your community. Awesome.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“The artist lives to have stories to tell and to learn to tell them well.”
Criss Jami
One thing we can always count on in the social + digital world is change. For those of you who are addicted to Pinterest and are using it for your business, you will be happy to know that Pinterest just launched Business Pages.Here is a super easy step-by-step for you.
Step One
Go to business.pinterest.com. If you want to change your existing page, select “Convert Existing Account”. If you want to start a new business page, select “Join As A Business”.
Step Two
Fill in all of your business information. If you are converting an account, it will look different. We will get to that in the next step.
Step Three
If you are converting an existing account, this is what it will look like. First, you select your business type, for salons, choose local business. For session stylists, beauty bloggers, etc choose professional. You now have an opportunity to edit your profile, change your business name, About section, user name etc. HINT: User names are your unique URL, so we suggest if possible, it be the exact name of your business. This helps with becoming more discoverable on the web, big time!
Step Four
We now have the opportunity to “verify” our websites. This allows for your actual website URL to be featured on your page. HINT: We highly recommend you have a super smart person do this, or what some people call the “IT” guy or girl. For those of us with WordPress blog sites, there is a way to verify, but again, its takes a IT person. We have our IT friends doing ours this week.
Step Five
While you have your super smart IT guy or girl, have them add the “widgets” you want to your website. Pinterest has added some cool new ones. All of these widgets are designed to increase engagement and connections. Super cool.
Step Six
Celebrate and keep pinning your passions! And be sure to thank your super smart IT friend for the help.
If you want to learn more about Pinterest, check out our webinar posted on PassionSquaredTV.
We also offer one-on-one mentoring in the world of social, digital, marketing and branding. If that sounds like your thing, click here to connect with us.
“Think left, think right and think low and think high. Oh the thinks you can think up if you only try!”
Dr. Seuss
Why Pinterest?
With all the social platforms available for us to engage on, Pinterest is one that has not taken off in our industry as much as others. Yet Pinterest is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website or blogsite and to become more discoverable on the web, just by being creative. And more traffic to your website can mean more new clients. Hmmmm.
Hair + Beauty Rule
What is alarming, very much like we see on YouTube, is some of the most popular boards on Pinterest are Hair & Beauty boards, NOT created by beauty professionals. Just people passionate about hair. Hey wait, isn’t that you? Well yes, but if you are not on Pinterest sharing your passion for hair, then how can you become discoverable? Think about it.
Two of the top 15 most popular pins ever on Pinterest are nails and hair. One mom, Elizabeth Van Essen , who is not a hairdresser, had one of her how-to hair videos liked 7341 times, repinned 32,620 times with 99 comments. She has an entire website called Babes In Hairland dedicated to hair how-to’s. It may be something you want to take a look at if you are interested in Pinterest for your salon.
Is Pinterest for You?
Are we saying everyone should be on Pinterest? No. But what we are saying is if you have specific goals and want to drive more traffic to your website, to become more discoverable on the web to attract new clients, this may be the perfect platform for you to engage in.
Of course, when they get to your website or blogsite, you must be sure they can easily take some type of action. Such as the ability to see your salon through pictures, browse your services and prices, and most importantly, can they make a reservation online.
If you are looking to better understand the Power of Pinterest for your salon or business, we have a super cool webinar recording on our YouTube channel PassionSquaredTV. If you are currently on Pinterest, we would love to follow your boards. You can follow us by clicking here.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“I realized the importance of having a story today is what really separates companies. People don’t just wear our shoes, they tell our story.”
Blake Mycoskie, CEO, Tom’s Shoes
What an awesome illustration of the power of social platforms and how, through pictures and videos, we can tell our stories. Something to really think about when we create and curate content for our business on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc…
How are you telling your brand, salon, company stories through pictures and videos on the social web?
We offer one-on-one mentoring to help you shape your story and develop your brand. Click here to share your goals + challenges with us, and to see if our mentoring program is right for you.
(discovered on Pinterest and shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening. Enjoy.
