5 Steps to Creating the Perfect Pin

Blueprint.Inc | StyleBlueprint

Chances are, you’re well aware of the impact that using Pinterest can have for your small business. With 200 million active users each month, the platform can be instrumental in generating awareness for your brand, increasing brand engagement or driving direct conversions on your products or services.

At the heart of this social media giant is the Pin, a 238 pixel space from which to inspire Pinners to engage with your brand. But, creating high-performing Pins can be a daunting task. Fortunately, we’ve compiled some tips and tricks to make this process simpler for you.

1. Enhance the Visual: Pinterest is a visual platform, so it’s vital to create Pins with aesthetically compelling images. Always use high-quality and high resolution images, and apps like VSCO and Afterlight make editing a breeze. Colorful, non-busy lifestyle shots perform best.

2. Optimize Image Size: According to Pinterest’s spec guide, ideal Pins are vertical format, 600px wide and 900px high. Vertical Pins occupy the most space on feeds and look best on boards.

3. Capitalize on Captions: Pinterest allots 500 characters for Pin descriptions, so use this space to give clarity or context to your Pin. Include search terms relevant to your Pin and direct Pinners back to your website.

4. Incorporate Branding: Pins are a great place to subtly promote your brand, but don’t overdo it. Pinterest suggests either posting images of your products OR using styled images with your brand/logo added in a text overlay. Branded Pins should look seamless with your boards and feed.

5. Keep Mobile in Mind: 80% of Pinterest content is consumed on mobile platforms, so the best Pins are designed with mobile in mind. Pinterest suggests that businesses upload their Pins to secret boards first, and check for mobile compatibility before publishing them publicly.

Interested in more Pinterest tips and tricks? Your StyleBlueprint team would love to advise you. Contact us today for a consultation.

*All stats sourced from Pinterest here.

Why Every Complaint is a Gift

Blueprint.Inc | StyleBlueprint

We are big fans of customer complaints at StyleBlueprint. Is that surprising to you? To clarify, we don’t enjoy when our clients are upset, but we do appreciate the fact that they’re telling us why they’re upset and providing us with the opportunity to fix the problem.

When a customer complains, they’re dropping honest feedback right in your lap — without any effort on your part. Since 96% of unhappy customers don’t complain, don’t waste the opportunity to fix things with those who do!

Here are a few tips for turning negative feedback into a positive experience for you and your customers:

1. Don’t take it personally. First, take a step back from the complaint and make sure you’re able to assess it from an objective point of view. It can be hurtful to hear negative feedback about your business. Make sure you’re able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes before replying or resolving the issue.

2. Respond, respond, respond. No matter what the issue is, you must respond! If you don’t abide by the mantra that the customer is always right, then at least let the customer know why their review was unfair. Offer a way to resolve their issue or to come back in and experience your business again. If the customer is rightly complaining about something, then own the mistake and offer to make things right immediately.

3. Take action. Depending on the complaint, you may need to take action to rectify the problem. Don’t just solve one person’s issue — take the learnings and communicate or apply them to your company as a whole.

4. Follow up. Do you want to really impress your unhappy customers? Follow up with your customer to get more feedback after the issue is resolved.

5. Ask your customers to leave you reviews. Don’t be afraid to ask for honest feedback! Send a survey or post on social media to ask your followers what you can improve. You may be surprised by what you hear!

RELATED: Why Online Reviews Matter

Speaking of asking for honest feedback … do you have any issues, thoughts or ideas that you want to chat with us about? Feel free to send them to [email protected] and we’ll follow up with you!