As a relatively latecomer to pinterest, I was surprised to find that my invitation request to join the site was delayed for a close to a week. While waiting eagerly for my invitation from pinterest to arrive in my inbox I pondered, what could be taking them so long? After a little bit of investigation I concluded that its 10 million monthly visitors and the fact that pinterest has grown over 4000 percent since its beginning days might have something to do with the delay.

With a new addition to the social media world it seems almost every day, it’s a wonder that any site makes their debut to the net with little more than a flicker of public interest. But pinterest has managed to step out of the social media crowd and capture the attention of millions of web users in only a short amount of time. It is without a doubt the fastest growing social network site on the internet.

As a marketer, it leads me to wonder what does this latest phenomenon mean for business. How can a scrapbooking site enable business owners to best leverage their service or product? Well for those business owners that actually sell a physical product, there is obviously an advantage. Pintertest is a predominantly image based site, whereby users can upload images and pin or repin these to a serious of categorised boards. Once users view boards, the origin of the product or site is displayed and here is the obvious marketing appeal. Pinterest works in a similar way to twitter or facebook, where the more people you follow the more followers you will receive. There is also the technology available now to track if and who is pinning your products. Once you know who is pinning your products, it’s important to interact and engage with these users.

Like any social platform pinterest offers businesses the ability to connect with its clients by liking, repining or mentioning other pinterest followers. Social media coach, Eydie Stumpf, writes in her article “ADVICE: Pinterest offers benefits to small business owners” published online at “The Press-Enterprise” (http://bit.ly/HYq33o) that pinterest offers a great way to engage and foster online relationships with your clients. But the real charm of pinterest lies in its ability to teach consumers more about your brand, not just through your products but through your interests.

By being creative with your boards, Stumpf says that company’s can consider what topics best convey the personality of their brand. Along with consumer products, pinterest users can pin news articles, artworks, videos and websites onto their boards and give consumers an insight into who and what they are about. And given the sheer volume of consumers signed up to pinterest, this may just be a very valuable and might I add free…

So while pinterest may not be for all business owners Stumph argues, it’s certainly worth a try. And after becoming totally hooked myself, I couldn’t agree more. In today’s social media saturated world I suggest business owners step onto the pinterest train while it’s running. You never know what social media site is hot on its trail.

Kiri White

I am often asked, ‘what are your key insights and advice for other entrepreneurs considering starting a business?’. Putting pen to paper, here are my top 10 tips for starting a business:

1. Be passionate about what you plan to do in your business, but also make sure it is a sound business idea and that there is a market for your products/services.
2. Do your homework! Talk to potential customers, research your competitors and talk to other small business owners to find out firsthand what it is like running a business – make the transition with your eyes open.
3. As part of your homework, develop a business and marketing plan. Have a clear direction of where you want to go, with keeping in mind that you need to be flexible within this plan and move with changing times and market conditions.
4. As part of your early research, look into domain names, twitter names, face book etc. It is important that you develop an online presence around your business name or key tagline, so this is a vital part of the early business planning process.
5. Be in a position where drawing a regular weekly wage isn’t necessary for your immediate lifestyle and this might involve forward planning of saving to fund your expenses for when first starting out! Transitioning from a corporate paid position to working for yourself where income can be sporadic is a change that you need to be prepared for.
6. Join small business groups – either online or face-to-face networking groups. This is invaluable for when first starting out and you can learn so much from other business owners. Surround yourself with like-minded people who can be part of your network. It can be lonely at first in business and having other small business owners as part of your network can offer you great support.
7. Make sure you have any necessary legal documentation (terms and conditions etc) in place when starting out along with the right insurances.
8. Be protected! Don’t assume that everyone will be like you in business. Even when doing business with people you know or friends, you need to protect your business with proper contracts an T&Cs in place.
9. Talk to your family and close friends about your decision. It is great to have support from loved ones as this is vital when starting out and working on your own. You will frequently need a sounding board.
10. Be prepared – having your own business is not a walk in the park. It is hard work that requires long hours and dedication. It is worth it though as being your own boss and the maker of your own destiny is very satisfying.

Gemma Manning

People who know me well, know that I am passionate about the role women play in business. My passion for what I do and determination about making a difference stems from before beginning my career. It might have to do with the fact I went to an all girl’s high school where our motto was, ‘Facta non Verba’; deeds not words, and where it was drummed in that women can succeed and make a positive difference in the community and in business.

It might also have to do that I have an inspiring and strong mother who raised me to believe in myself, my abilities and that if I set my mind to it, I can do anything.

So, I started my career thinking that women can change the world! Needless to say, I was deeply disappointed to learn that it wasn’t all hunky dory for women in the workplace. One of my first jobs was for a Japanese paralegal company. Despite speaking Japanese and having entered the workplace with sound work experience, I was told very clearly that my role was making tea and that is all it would ever be! True story…

A couple of years later, I then realised that I had chosen a career that was still largely undervalued in workplaces – marketing is all about the right giveaways at the trade show, right? In some of my roles, I was not only fighting the gender battle, but also the battle of educating people about marketing  (a battle that is still ongoing and experienced by many marketers!).

From being called Miss Marketing (I don’t think my male colleagues in marketing where ever referred to as Mr Marketing!), to being at the centre of a bet by some senior male colleagues about whether or not I would return to my corporate marketing job after my maternity leave, I have experienced through my career some of the challenges that still exist in the workplace for women. And yes, time and time again, I come across people not taking working mothers with a young family seriously. Did someone forget to tell me that as soon as you become a mother you are no longer a committed or dedicated worker as you have a family? Ooh, how my blood boils at times.

To top things off, only today I read an article about the significant pay differences still experienced between men and women in similar roles.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a wounded female marketer!  My point, however is that there is still a long way to go for women in the workplace and that is why it is so important for women to support one another.

I have never been happier since starting Manning & Co. I love the culture that we have created here, as it is not one that I personally have ever experienced working for someone else. I encourage the team to be challenged, to be creative, to be innovative, to do well - and have fun at the same time.

So on the eve of International Women’s Day,  thank you to my M&C team for your dedication, hard-work and commitment! And to Brent, don’t forget to say happy International Women’s Day to your mum and girlfriend tomorrow!

And to all of the inspiring women out there who juggle work and a family, you deserve a gold star! It should not be under-estimated the pressure and workload of the modern working mother. There are many women out there who work around the clock so they can be there for their children while managing a busy career. It is not easy, so it is even more critical to support each other.

Gemma

We have the ‘social media’ conversation with our clients all the time, and many are skeptical of using Twitter for business. Many business owners ask,’ how can I use Twitter as part of my business strategy when I can only see it damaging my brand’? The brutal fact, however, is social media is here to stay. So, how do you make Twitter work for your brand? Here are our top tips for getting started and maximizing Twitter:

Create an account now even if you don’t use Twitter straight away. There are more than 1 million people registered with Twitter in Australia and it will get harder to find appropriate account names that are related to your business (just like domain names). Setting up a profile is free and very easy. Doing it now ensures you get the best account name that suits your business. If you can’t get your business name, create an account that describes what you do – i.e. if your company is called The Cupcake Factory, you could register a name such as @sweetcakes or @tastycakes, for example, if you can’t get your company name or something close to it.

Be creative with who you follow. Follow you clients, your suppliers, media, journalists, industry associations, your potential market and other people/companies that inspire you. Don’t forget that you can also use Twitter to retrieve useful information for your business as well as to share information and raise your profile.

Engage with your tweets. Remember social media is not about ‘pushing’ your product or service. People see through this very quickly. Twitter, like other social media platforms, is about engagement, sharing and dialogue with your network. Every once and a while announce that you have a 50% off everything sale; however don’t make your Twitter strategy about advertising. Tweet about interesting articles, new content on your site, announce news, call out for help with recruitments, business surveys etc . Engagement through Twitter will drive your brand forward.

Measure the effectiveness of your tweets. Use a tool like ‘bitly’ (http:bitly.com) to not only shorten links but to measure your link activity. This way you have visibility of how many people have clicked on links that you send out.  Take note also of what tweets are re-tweeted to gauge what your network are interested in and then give them more similar content.

Promote and integrate your Twitter presence with other initiatives. Get the word out there that you are on Twitter. Add it to your email signature, to your business cards, to your website. Make sure it is easy for people to share content of your site through a range of social media platforms including Twitter.  Also, don’t forget to monitor referrals to your website through Twitter via your Google analytics report. This is a great way to see your Twitter strategy working.

Forums are a great way for a business to establish thought leadership in their area of expertise. You can use forums in two different ways to support your marketing and thought leadership strategy:

1. Initially select 2 – 3 forums relevant to your business. Actively participate in these forums, sharing your thoughts, insights and expertise on a number of areas.

This is a great way to build new relationships online, while establishing yourself as a thought leader in particular areas. This automatically brings you and your company credibility and trust.

It is important to make sure that the forums you choose are high traffic with lots of new comments, topics and threads daily. Once you join a forum, ensure that you have a completed profile with an effective signature that links back to your website. Then, participate regularly! By commenting and participating in online discussions, you not only generate extra traffic to your site – you can boost your search engine ranking and enhance your personal brand.  

Commenting on articles and discussion boards also boosts your search engine ranking – especially if it is a site/discussion board that already rates highly with a search engine like Google for example.

2. Leverage an online forum in your marketing strategy by creating your own forum and using it as a way to further increase brand awareness and to develop brand credibility and differentiation.

This requires thought and planning and must dove-tail into your broader marketing strategy.  There are lots of different types of forums online today and the key to launching a forum is to do your research: what is out there and what is missing? Where is there a gap, and can you sponsor a forum to fill that gap?

Your forum must champion a cause and have a dedicated purpose.  For this kind of strategy to work, you need to ensure that the forum is not another advertising platform for your business. You will get the business benefits from being the founder of the forum. You will establish a thought leadership position when your forum becomes a success. Your brand will always be associated with the forum and this can do wonders for your personal and company brand credibility.