The Power of Pinterest

Hello, my name is Erin Stephanie and I am a Pinterest addict.

Okay, I have finally admitted it long after everyone else around me knew I was addicted to the website – I didn’t receive the title “Miss Pinterest” at my sororities annual awards last year for no reason. Besides my love for the social media site, I have become a big advocate of brands using Pinterest as a way to engage with their target audience.

As an early adopter of the phenomenon that is Pinterest, I have begun to see a rise in consumer focused companies tapping into the Pinterest potential within the past year. Brands such as Whole Foods, Etsy, Modcloth, Southern Living Magazine, and Mashable have been successfully using the platform to engage with their audiences and not only promote their products, but tell their brand’s story. While Pinterest is sweeping the nation and quickly joining the ranks of Twitter and Facebook, the idea of it being used as a marketing tool is still in its early stages.

It is important for a brand to understand that success on this newer platform lies in the ability to fully understand the purpose, audience, and topics.

For those unfamiliar with the website, Pinterest users collect, organize, and share content they find visually interesting to boards within a specific category. This is done through pictures that link back to websites, blogs, or other social media sites, such as Tumblr. Essentially, Pinterest is a virtual one stop shop for organization. The website is user friendly and unlike Facebook and Twitter users, Pinterest users are not as involved in conversation – most of the activity is “repinning” pictures to pinboards.

Here are some quick stats on the average Pinterest user:

• 28 million users per month
• Ages of 25-54
• 79% of users are females
• 57% of users have incomes greater than $50,000

While there may be an abundance of categories on Pinterest, the following are the top 10 most popular categories, according to Mashable: home, arts & crafts, style/fashion, food, inspiration/education, holiday/seasonal, humor, products, travel, and kids.

It is important to note that Pinterest is not a stand-alone marketing tactic, it needs to be used in conjunction with your pre-established social media plan. If you are considering using Pinterest, check out these stats on how Pinterest can help boost your brands social media image:

1. High referral rates

According to a study conducted by Shareaholic, Pinterest rivaled Twitter in referrals to a company website and overpowered the likes of Youtube, Reddit, Google +, and LinkedIn.

2. 70% of brand engagement comes from users not the brands

In fashion and retail this number jumps up to 82% community driven content; the PR girl in me is excited to see this statistic. When I pin on Pinterest, I am saying that I endorse this product, idea, or project. I am showing my followers that this is something to take note of. According toBlogHer, a whopping 81% of users trust the advice and information that they get from Pinterest – significantly higher than Facebook and Twitter users.

3. Pinterest users spend more money

On average Pinterest users spend more money and make more purchases than Facebook users, often spending more than double the amount than Facebook users per transaction.

Before jumping onto the bandwagon and adding Pinterest to your social media marketing plan, consider the following necessary criteria:

• Do you have visually interesting photos to use?
• Do you know your brands story? Brands are not one-dimensional and cannot be treated as such. Accordingly, your pins should consistently tell your brands story.
• Who will manage the account to ensure interaction and compelling content creation?
• Do you have any interest in the demographics of Pinterest?

If done properly, and in conjunction with your established marketing efforts, Pinterest could be a nice addition for your brand!

Happy Pinning!

Originally posted on colesandcolomy.com

Smiling.

Today I smiled.

Like, really genuinely smiled.

Some of you know,many don't, but this past year has been hard. Medical problems which drained me of energy and joy, to the stress of graduation, finals, school bills and sorority stuff. It was overwhelming. I lost my smile somewhere in the mix of it all.

But today, I smiled.

It felt good to finally be happy again. To realize that I had survived this past year, these past five years of school really. I walked away with a degree, a few scars, surgery, and bruises along the way, but I did it. I didn't give up. I walked away victorious.

I left Portland not really knowing what the future was going to hold. I like to plan, so of course I had a vague notion of what the immediate future was going to hold, but not long-term. For me, Portland represents a time of growth. I experienced love gained, love lost, new experiences, best friends, laughter, trials and tribulations, and even some "eventful" college nights where we felt young, alive, and carefree. Portland will forever be that moment in time, frozen in the files of my mind, stories one day to be told to others and laughed about at reunions.

While going through an old memory box, I came across a letter from an old friend. The card read "Sending you a smile...to say have a great day." Inside he wrote, "I saw this card and immediately thought of you - maybe because you've always had such an amazing smile. I miss seeing that smile." I missed that smile as well, but didn't realize just how much. Until now.

It took me a while, but I have that smile back and it feels wonderful. I am beginning to feel like Erin again. Without the stress, without the heartbreak. Happy Erin. I like that feeling.

I don't want to lose that smile again. That feeling I had when I stopped to reflect how great it felt to genuinely smile reminded me why it is so important to our very core to simply smile.

The winter has passed and the sun is shining. It is now time to focus my energy on finding those moments in life that make me smile.

We all should be doing that.


xoxo-E

Mastering the Phone Interview

It wasn't completely expected, but here I find myself with doors opening up with companies outside of PDX. I suppose I had always imagined doing interviews in person, so the idea of the phone interview seemed a bit daunting. How would I make myself stand out? How could I make myself competitive with those interviewing in person? Ultimately I learned that while the the thought can be quite disconcerting, a phone interview should not be something you are afraid of.

A phone interview should be treated much like an in-person interview - with some advantages.

1. Always, always treat your phone interview like an in-person interview. If you dress up to go to an in-person interview, then you dress up for your phone interview. Do your hair, brush your teeth, and check out my fashion for PR girls for outfit inspiration. If you look your best, you will be more confident. This will translate through the phone.

2. Make sure you have a high quality signal on your phone. The last thing you want is to have lousy connection that may result in a dropped call. If possible, try using a land line for the interview. On a side note: make sure you are choosing a location for the interview that is quiet and secluded. No noisy siblings here please!

3. Try using a simple introduction when you answer your phone. Don't simply say hello, try something a bit more professional, such as "Hello, this is Erin." This will let your interviewer know they have reached the correct person and you come across as being professional.

4. PREPARE, prepare, prepare! I really can't stress this enough - you must come to this interview well-prepared. Do your research on the company and create a fact sheet you can have next to you during the interview. This is definitely where a phone interview can have its advantages. You will not have to struggle to recall company information when you are nervous like you would in an in-person interview!

5. Keep a copy of your resume next to you, but do not use it as a crutch. You should know your resume inside and out. This is your story to tell. Know it.

6. Have questions about the company or job ready to go. Craft creative and reflective questions during your research on the organization. Need some ideas? Check out this article on PR Daily. Want to really blow your interviewer away? This is the time to do it.

7. Just like an in-person interview you must find out what the next steps in the process are. Don't forget to ask this at the end. Follow up in an appropriate manner after the allotted time given.

8. One advantage of a phone interview is your ability to take notes. Have a pen and notebook handy and jot down ideas you find intriguing or aspects of the position company you would like clarification on.

9. Smile. Be enthusiastic and don't forget that you can hear a smile over the phone. Smiling can also help calm nerves. So paste on your smile and let those pearly whites shine.

10. Last, but definitely not least, send your interviewer(s) a thank you note. Since my phone interviews have been with companies far away, I have opted for an email thank you note (if you can, a handwritten note is always best). Make sure to highlight certain conversation topics and reiterate key traits that make you the perfect person for the job/internship.

Best of luck to you in your job search!

Have ideas you want to share? Leave a comment below!

xoxo-E


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Graduating College. Now What?

As college graduates we have a lot on our minds. From ordering graduation announcements to making sure all of our academic requirements are met, the stress tends to pile up. Add to the list trying to figure out a game plan for after graduation, you have the recipe for an uncomfortable last few months of school.

You could push the reality of the situation to the back of your mind, but it is important to create a game plan. While the urge to freak out (trust me it will happen at some point) may come around a few times, try to remain level-headed and realistic throughout the whole process.

Here is my handy, dandy checklist of things to do before you graduate:

• Meet with your academic advisor to make sure you are on track
• Research/Apply for internships or jobs (either for spring term or summer)
• Update your cover letter, resume and portfolio if needed
• Meet with your career center 
• Create a LinkedIn profile and join professional groups
• NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK - order business cards
• Purge your dorm room - get rid of all unnecessary paperwork, supplies, clothing, etc...
• Clean up your Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and other social media outlets
• Start reading blogs/news about industries that interest you
• Follow thought leaders on Twitter - interact with them
• Start reading national/global news
• Start planning your financial future - if you haven't learned how to budget, do it now
• Go for a walk, yoga class, or anything that will help you relax
• Start waking up at a normal time
• Start wearing more professional clothes

And finally - remember to cherish these last few months. Take time to hang out with friends and create more memories; these days will soon be long gone!

It is OKAY to not have it all figured out, but having short term goals to work towards will help keep you motivated when you are feeling down about the big changes happening in your life! You have to be ready to work hard and go along with the changes that will happen over the next few months. If you have a solid game plan in place, it will make the whole process easier.

One last thing...

I am a big advocate for being up-to-date about current employment trends. This affects you now and it is smart to understand that finding a job after school is more difficult than ever before. Here is an article about the reality of the job situation for those who are graduating in the next couple of months. It is a MUST READ for any soon to be college grad! While it is eye-opening, I hope that this serves as a motivator for you to do all you can now in order to give yourself a competitive edge later! Thanks to the PR Girl for posting this article!

Do your research and know that it is going to take time. Patience and perseverance are key to success.

xoxo-E


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Welcome to my new blog!

Pearls, Curls & A PR Girl: Musings on Life & PR is meant to be a place where I can share my ideas, not only on PR, but also on fashion, sorority and life beyond college, including the job/internship search. My goals for Pearls & Curls are simple. I want to teach about public relations and share the next adventures as I move on from my college years. 

Starting a blog has been something I have wanted to do for a while; I just didn't have a clue what to write about. I couldn't find my niche. It dawned on me one night - I should be writing about what I love! What exactly is that? PR and all things girly. It seemed like the perfect choice. All I had to do was add my own "Erin" flair and voilà a new blog was created!

Why Pearls, Curls & a PR Girl? I mulled over the perfect name for my new blog for a few days. It wasn't until I was curling my hair for work that the name struck me. As I looked in the mirror, I saw a future PR pro who just happened to be wearing pearls with curled hair! It seemed right and so it stuck.

Over the next week I will be establishing my different sections/pages. Things to look forward to: interview tips, cover/resume letter tips, personal branding, thoughts on social media, PR terminology, and a fun little section I will be calling "Pearls of PR" (pearls are little inspirational quotes and advice for aspiring PR pro's - because well, we all need a little inspiration every once in a while). I will also be starting a section called Girl & Book - must reads for every PR girl!

I hope that you take the time to comment and leave your thoughts! 

xoxo-E