TIPS FOR CREATING PIN-WORTHY CONTENT

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Pinterest can take a website from unknown to super successful with a single pin. However, up until now, finding the secret formula for content that will take off and go viral has been largely based on trial and error. Marketers have been scrambling to find a way to reach the largest market possible using Pinterest as the medium. Using the right combination of content, images and infographics seems to key. Follow the tips below to create pinnable content that meets or exceeds your expectations for the network while reaching the largest audience possible. Whether your brand creates and sells a single product or an entire line of retail goods or services, new content is a necessity. If a pin is not a success the first time, it can’t be relied upon over and over again. Instead, new content should be produced on an ongoing basis and regularly pinned to the brand’s account. Using SEO keywords and images that speak to the content that has been created are a must. Think of information that matters to your target market; what are they searching for? What questions do they ask? What news stories pertain to their interests? Use these as inspiration for content creation. Think about lists and actionable ideas that Pinterest users may be interested in. In most cases, those who use Pinterest on a regular basis are looking for projects and recipes—you can provide these easily. Many Pinterest users have entire boards of images: images that speak to them, images that are dynamic, images that are humorous and so on. Visually appealing pieces of information attract users on all social networks, Pinterest operates in the same way, maybe even more so. This is also a great way to supplement content creation. Snapping a photo takes a few seconds and can have a huge impact in driving website traffic. Marketers looking to create pinnable content should focus on blog posts, images and infographics. It only takes one sharable piece of information to make an impact.

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- jessie may -

QUINOA, ROASTED FENNEL & PARSNIP SALAD

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- quinoa, apple and roasted fennel & parsnip salad + raw honey vinaigrette -

INGREDIENTS

- for salad -

1 1/2 cups dried quinoa, rinsed, 1 medium fennel bulb, cored & cut into bite sized chunks, 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 1" chunks, 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, 1 firm, tart apple, cut into 1/2" chunks (optional), 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sprouts like sunflower or alfaalfa, 1/4 cup tamari roasted or plain pepitas, 1 small shallot, shaved or sliced thin, 1/2 cup crumbled feta, 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

- for vinaigrette -

zest of one lemon, juice of two lemons or 1/4 cup, 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup raw honey (or to taste, sometimes i use as much as 1/3 cup), a three finger pinch of kosher salt (or to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. heat the oven to 450°f (~225°c). toss the fennel and parsnip with the olive oil on a sheet tray and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. set aside while until the oven comes to temp, then roast 25 minutes, stirring half way through, or until veggies are browned and tender but not mushy. you want them to hold up in the salad and still have a little bite. if they're tender but not yet brown, pop them under the broiler for a minute or two to get color on them and avoid over-cooking.
2. meanwhile, cook the quinoa. in a medium pot combine the quinoa with 3 cups of water. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes until the water is absorbed. remove from heat, let sit an additional five minutes covered, and then fluff with a fork.
3. while the quinoa is cooking, make your five minute eggs. cover eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, immediately remove from the heat, cover the pot, and allow them to sit for five minutes. while they sit, prepare an ice bath. gently remove the eggs to the ice bath after the five minutes and peel once cool. slice in half and sprinkle with a bit of course salt and set aside.
4. make the dressing. combine all ingredients except for the olive oil in a bowl and then slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify.
5. once the quinoa and vegetables are cooked, allow them to both cool to room temperature and then combine them in a bowl. toss in the apples, if using. pour the dressing over the salad and stir to combine thoroughly. taste and add additional salt or lemon juice if desired.
6. top the salad with the sprouts, pepitas, feta, shaved shallot, chopped parsley, and eggs. serve at room temperature.

- recipe from local milk -

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Keep checking back for more of my blogging favourites…

- jessie may -

TOP 5 DESIGN BLOGS

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Design Love Fest - "Bri Emery is an art director and the Los Angeles-based founder and editor of designlovefest, a lifestyle blog with an eye for design in style, DIY, food, travel, entertaining and more. With an enticing and recognizable aesthetic, Bri’s styling, creative direction and design has transformed the designlovefest studio into an arthouse creating original concept campaigns for countless brands. Bri has been featured in publications such as Elle Décor, Apartment Therapy, HGTV, Lucky Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Los Angeles times and more, and travels the world teaching photoshop to bloggers with her BLOGSHOP brand, founded in 2011."

Breanna Rose - "Breanna Rose is a graphic designer and art director living and working in Minneapolis, MN. She began her own design studio, Rowan Made, directly out of school and continues to focus on thoughtfully refined design for passionate creatives all around the world. Recently, Bre also co-founded Be Free, Lance, an online workshop for creatives looking to boost their freelancing game. And to top it off, she also curates this blog, sharing a unique behind the scenes look into both her personal and working life."

Jessie K Farris - "Currently working as a visual designer for IBM's Mobile Innovation Lab in Austin, TX. When not pushing pixels at her day job, she can be found blogging at By Jessie Kay or working on a freelance project. She's an avid distance runner and lover of the outdoors!"

Canary Grey - "Canary Grey Photography was launched in 2010 as an extension of the creative pursuits Wing has been passionate about since childhood. The result is a business that specializes in the lifestyle and wedding industry with a fine sense of style that isn’t afraid to go outside the lines in order to capture something truly authentic. Along with photography, Wing also partners with clients on art direction, styling and creative brand strategies."

Jenna McBride - "Jenna is a graphic designer living and working in the great city of Philadelphia. She has a BFA in Graphic and Interactive Design from Tyler School of Art. She loves to take inspiration from long walks down tiny streets, travel, parks, old houses and buildings, and vintage ephemera. She's a self-certified old-timey enthusiast. 

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Keep checking back for more of my blogging favourites…

- jessie may -

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES

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After deciding that social media marketing was the avenue for my graduate career, I have been delving into the ins and outs of varying social strategies. These two categories of social media strategy can be called “outbound” and “inbound”. They shouldn’t be confused with inbound or outbound digital marketing strategies. In the case of these social media categories, we’re being a little more straight forward than that. An outbound social media marketing strategy is what most who believe in social media want to achieve. They feel that social media is a venue through which to reach people, communicate, improve branding, and expose the company’s messages. Its goal is to be aggressive and take advantage of the fact that the masses are using social media regularly. In many cases, customers are spending more time on social media than any other digital activity. It’s about returning on investment, creating revenue and becoming a leader in social marketing. An inbound social media strategy is very different from a pure inbound marketing strategy. It can be viewed as a defensive posture, a way of covering social media without much time or effort. It’s about checking off the social media task box with little effort and costings. This is the type of strategy that a business should employ if they either do not believe in social media as an appropriate marketing venue or they do not have the time and/or budget to put a true effort towards an outbound strategy.

The strategies in more detail:

• Outbound Social Media Marketing: This is an “all in” strategy. It focuses on the beliefs that lots of people are on social media, that sites like Facebook have the data that can be used for targeting them with the right messages, and that either ideas or website clicks can be driven through an aggressive advertising component.
• Inbound Social Media Presence: Less aggressive than the latter, hence why I did not call it “marketing”. With an inbound strategy, a business is simply creating and managing a presence so that they are there without putting in much effort. It’s not a defeatist strategy by any means. For many, they have not found the benefits of social media or they’re not ready to invest what it takes to have a strong marketing strategy, so they simply get their social media covered.

This is important because people will visit pages and profiles. Most businesses have buttons that lead to their social media profiles right there on their website. The search engines will often rank social media profiles and pages high on search results for the business by name. Making sure that pages have an ongoing flow of content is important while not being too time consuming or expensive.

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Keep checking back for more on social media marketing...

- jessie may -

for further reading head to - soshable

BREAK FOR PERSPECTIVE

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I’ve been thinking a lot about my future lately, and how different it looks and feels from just a few years ago. I used to fall into this go go go mentality… Something that over time, tired me out. Completely. After the realisation that this particular lifestyle wasn’t sustainable, I pulled back and focused on getting myself into a healthy lifestyle and back into a more stable routine. As I now approach the end of my three years at university it feels like the end of an era. Although I am excited for the next steps I again find myself in limbo, debating which path to take. I am a recovering perfectionist and have so many ideas buzzing around in my head, that it’s become overwhelming to actually take that next step. And then, just like that, an opportunity arose in my current career as a Social Entertainment Writer. A position became available for when I graduate to become the Global Social Media Co-Ordinator for the business and that reminded me that it’s okay to focus on just one thing for the time being. By doing so, i've put my heart and sole into one goal instead of spreading myself too thin.  When I graduate I will do so knowing I will fully enjoy my time in the role and with the company i've admire since I began in August. Then, when the time comes, my (fresh) focus will shift towards a business goal: streamlining. AKA, niching myself even more and making my process as a social media coordinator and designer more intuitive. I’m hoping to share more about what I learn and decide along the way, as I myself always love seeing how other individuals handle their own routines as well as business. 

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Keep checking back for more life updates...

- jessie may -