Pinterest is officially the fastest growing stand-alone site of all time, surpassing 10 million users in 9 short months. It’s without a doubt the hottest social network on the block, but should your business be on it?
First, let’s explain what Pinterest is: A social media website that users post images and video instead of typed content. Users “pin” their interests (images or video) onto their virtual bulletin board. Their followers can see the pins and repin it onto their board, and/or like it to facebook.
Users can also organize their pins into multiple boards, allowing you to categorize your pins anyway you see fit. Currently, women are the largest participants, accounting for 87% of the entire user-base. One look at the site and you’ll see why. It’s visually stunning and many of the user boards I’ve seen are labeled categories like Wedding Plans, Decorating Ideas, Too Cute and Favorite Products.
So how do you know if you should be using Pinterest to promote your business? The first factor to consider is can your product or service be represented visually? It’s easily done for a Furniture Store, but this proves to be a greater challenge for a Financial Advisor.
Next you’ll need to consider if you have the resources to create images worthy of sharing. You’re going to want to post these images to your website, typically on a blog post. This is where the power of Pinterest comes in. When someone pins the image on your site, it includes a link back to you. So when people see that beautiful end table that Cindy pinned, they can click through to the website and buy one for themselves.
Finally, you’ll want to consider the demographics and engagement levels to determine if Pinterest fits your marketing strategy. Here’s an infographic that can help.
![Marketer's Guide To Pinterest: Pin It To Win It [infographic by MDG Advertising]](http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/infographic-marketers-guide-to-pinterest_475.gif "Marketer's Guide To Pinterest: Pin It To Win It [infographic by MDG Advertising]")
Infographicby MDG Advertising
One of the more obscure autumn-time fruits that have been gaining in popularity over recent years is the “Persimmons” There are two primary varieties that are marketed in the United States. They are the “Hachiya” and the “Fuyu”.
The Hachiya is a beautiful fruit about the size of a medium peach, acorn-shaped with a shiny bright orange skin. It is strongly recommended that you each this variety only after it is fully ripe. If you eat it prior to the fruit being completely ripe, the taste will be very bitter and have an astringent
flavor. When ripe, the fruit has a sweet creamy taste. This variety accounts for about 20% of the persimmons sold in the United States.
The Fuyu, which makes up 80% of the U.S. market, is a squattier and rounder piece of fruit, almost like a tomato. It can be eaten almost immediately. It has a sweet, mildly spicy flavor.
China is the largest producer of persimmons, followed by Brazil, Japan and Korea. The United States grows very few persimmons compared to the other countries but virtually all the domestic crop come from California. Supplies are ample from October through December.
So be sure which variety you have before you take a bite. It could either be one of the best or worst experiences in expanding your fruit horizons.
Steaks can have many marinades and rub to enhance flavor. for a twist try rubbing this espresso mix on your steak before you grill or broil it.
ESPRESSO RUB
Print recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons Ground Black Pepper
- 6 tablespoons Kosher Salt
- 2 tablespoons Paprika
- 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
- 6 tablespoons Ground Expresso
- 1 tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
Directions
| 1. | Combine All ingredients in Mixing Bowl and place over a double boiler and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. |
| 2. | Remove and allow to cool |
| 3. | If rub becomes clumpy, place in a food processor and pulse until granulated |
I often get requests from clients to help in writing a slogan for their company. It makes perfect sense: It seams everyone has a slogan and the right one can do wonders for your branding. But don’t do it just because. A slogan can do just as much harm as good if it’s poorly conceived.
Consider the slogan for Ryan’s Patio: Big Or Small, We Lay Them All. Sure it’s kind of funny, but their target market is homeowners. Is this the right slogan to entice a mother of three to call for a quote? (And good luck sponsoring a church event). What do you picture the crew is going to look like when they show up? How do you think they will behave while working in your back yard?
Writing a slogan can be an exiting endeavor, and as an ex-copywriter I’ve had my fair share of slogan assignments over the years. Oddly enough (insert sarcasm here), these assignments coincided with many sleepless nights. It’s probably because a good slogan is exceptionally hard to coin.
According to the top authority, the late Timothy R.V. Foster, a slogan should:
- Be memorable
- Recall the brand name
- Include a key benefit
- Differentiate the brand
- Impart positive feelings for the brand
- Reflect the brand’s personality
- Be strategic
- Be “campaignable”
- Be competitive
- Be original
- Be simple
- Be neat
- Be believable
- Help in ordering the brand
…and it should NOT:
- Be in current use by others
- Be bland, generic or hackneyed
- Prompt a sarcastic or negative response
- Be pretentious
- Be negative
- Be corporate waffle
- Make you say “So what?” or “Ho-hum”
- Make you say “Oh yeah??”
- Be meaningless
- Be complicated or clumsy
And of course…
- You should like it.
That’s a lot to accomplish with only a handful of words — and it’s why there are so many bad slogans. A few of my favorite bad slogans include “The car in front is a Toyota”; “Chevy runs deep”; and BMW’s “Is it love?” (by the way, it’s not a coincidence that they’re all automotive).
These slogans define Foster’s don’t list to a tee. So if you’re considering adding or changing the slogan for your company here’s my advice: Unless you can come up with something no-one else can say—and do it without drifting onto the don’t list—consider using the space below your logo for your web address. After all, this is prime real estate and your website is a more powerful tool for converting prospects then “Is it love?”
Next time you want a delicious snack, try a few stalks of crunchy celery. It is excellent when eaten raw or with vegetable dips. There are 2 main types of celery: Pascal and Golden Heart. Pascal, also know is green celery is the more popular in the United States.
Celery has been commercially grown for over 120 years. California produces most of the U.S. crop, accounting for 75% of the crop. Florida is second in production. Celery it is also grown in Michigan, Texas, Arizona, and Washington makings it is available year round. Currently the supplies and the quality are excellent. Now is a good time to promote.
Celery is good source of vitamin C. Two stalks have enough vitamin C to give us 15% of the daily-recommended allowance. Those same two stalks also provide 10% of the potassium-needed daily and account for only 20 calories.
Celery is excellent in stir-fry, salads, soups, and with a scoop of peanut butter. It’s great for the beach, school lunches and for picnics. So crunch and munch away!
