Here are some tips on how to use Pinterest for business:

* Create community boards and invite your readers/customers to post their pins to your boards. Babble has done a great job with this. It makes your audience feel special and gives them an opportunity to connect with other like-minded folks. Here’s their ‘Tis the Season for Eating community board, which they added me as a member. It’s a lot of fun!

* Follow colleagues in your industry and repin or like their work.

* Use the 80/20 rule when pinning: 8 out of 10 pins should be other people’s work, 2 out of 10 pins can be your own. This equation may shift if you have an internationally recognized brand name.

* Add a Pinterest badge to your website. You can grab the general Pinterest logo badges on their site or you can have a designer create one to match your brand.

* Think outside of the box when pinning: in addition to photos, pin Infographics that relate to your business, book covers and magazines that are helpful to your particular audience, relevant music, relevant products.

Some things to be mindful of when using Pinterest for business:

* Don’t spam followers by commenting on their pins with links to your site.

* Create a brief but firm social media policy that includes how you will respond or not respond to negative comments on your Pinterest boards, the type of content you will or will not allow on community boards, etc.

As a strategist, one of my favorite things that I geek out over is watching a new form of communication enter our lives and see how businesses can use it to help get their message across. Pinterest is an incredible, visual tool that can do this if used wisely. Happy pinning, businesses!

Do you use Pinterest for business? If so, what are your tips, your do’s and don’ts?

Follow my Pinterest boards here.

365 Days of Social Media™ is a basic social media networking online bootcamp from graphic design & social media strategy studio Urban Bliss Media. Each day, the Urban Bliss Life blog will feature a quick tip, tactic, and inspiration to help you maneuver the wacky world of social media with confidence. 

Here is a small roundup of some beautiful ideas for Valentine’s Day sweet treats which I found via Pinterest (hello! LOVE Pinterest!) and then also one of my own recipes.

Brown Sugar Blondies from Baked Perfection

These beautiful Cherry Blossom Macarons from Canelle Et Vanille via Martha Stewart Weddings

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod

And my own Valentine’s Day version of my mom’s after-school snack: Chocolate Coated Peanut Butter Crunch Sandwiches

Are you baking any special treats for Valentine’s Day? Please feel free to share and link up in the comments!

I have no idea how other people get things done, but here’s a general look at my life philosophy to maintaining efficiency and productivity:

Eliminate unnecessary meetings. Most people who have known me for more than 5 minutes know that one of my biggest pet peeves is the request of an unnecessary meeting. Meeting for meeting’s sake is ridiculous. Before you book a meeting, ask yourself: WHY do we need to meet in person? There are many reasons for meeting in person: team building, morale building, discussing controversial or sensitive topics, discussing issues that require group input. The majority of meetings, however, don’t fall under these categories. Can it be done over email or phone, even Skype or iChat? Remember that a meeting is never “just 15 minutes” — there’s prep time, drive time, return time, then the 20 minutes it takes you to get back into the swing of the important stuff back at the office.

Think before you send an email. I’m totally guilty of doing this: sending an email and immediately sending another one because I forgot to add a detail. But there are people who do it all the time. Before you hit send, condense your thoughts, organize them, stop with the written diarrhea.

Don’t respond to every email. That’s right. I get hundreds of emails a day, thousands of emails a week, and I don’t respond to every one, only the ones that require a response. No guilt.

Don’t respond to Facebook messages. I don’t read most of my Facebook messages. I get so much spam and ridiculous group messages that it only makes me angry to even open my FB inbox, so I try to avoid it all together. I have 10 different email addresses that I review for necessary communication so I figure if it’s really important, people will email or call.

Eliminate unnecessary paperwork. A certain degree of paperwork is necessary, and I love spreadsheets as much as the next nerd, but sometimes there just doesn’t need to be a paper trail. In many cases, it only leads to confusion, anxiety, additional work, and wasted time.

Understand that everyone works differently. Just as I am not a fan of the forced 40-hour work week, I am not a fan of forced protocol. Certainly there are procedures and processes that need to be put in place to run a committee, organization, company smoothly; however at the end of the day, as long as the work gets done, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?

Stop over-anayzing, over-thinking, over-discussing. In most cases, you know what needs to be done, so just stop talking about it over and over, and just get the shit done already. The end.

There you go.

What about you: how do you get it all done?

It’s okay to take a day off every once in a while. Truly, it is.

Let go of the guilt. Don’t bother with a “I probably won’t tweet tomorrow” update. Just take a day away from social media.

It will be here when you come back, I promise.

365 Days of Social Media™ is a basic social media networking online bootcamp from graphic design & social media strategy studio Urban Bliss Media. Each day, the Urban Bliss Life blog will feature a quick tip, tactic, and inspiration to help you maneuver the wacky world of social media with confidence. 

Facebook Lists is perhaps my favorite tool of all. In 2011, Facebook changed posting abilities to include the option of editing who sees each individual post (whereas before you would have one main setting in your Facebook Privacy settings for all posts). One easy way to ensure each post is only seen by appropriate audiences is to set up Facebook Lists.

How to set up Facebook Lists:

1. In your account, along the left sidebar navigation, scroll down to Lists. You will see that Facebook has already created some for you based on the information in your profile. For example, you likely already have one for your current or most recent employer, your hometown, and your high school and college. Note: Facebook creates these automatic lists only if you choose specific schools, cities, employers while editing your profile.

2. Click the “Create List” at the top right corner.

3. A box will appear where you can create the name of your new list. Type on that name, then click “Create.”

4. You will now be given the option to Add Friends from your current friends list to this new Facebook List.

You will now have the option to add friends to this list, remove friends, and select this list to either see specific posts or be prohibited from seeing specific posts.

To select specific lists for individual posts:

There are actual three different ways that I know of where you can select specific lists to see individual updates. This one is the easiest and fastest, in my opinion.

1. From your Facebook feed page or your profile page, click “Update Status”

2. Type in your status, and then click on the settings button with the icon of the gear. Your individual settings will be different from mine (mine are always set to Custom), but click “Custom.”

3. From here you can choose to either only show this update with a specific Facebook List, or you can choose to only share with Friends and then hide the update from a specific Facebook List. In the example below, you will see I have chosen to share this update with Friends only, except for those on my Restricted List and once I started typing in “365″ my “365 Days of Social Media” list popped up and I clicked on it to select. Now click “Save Changes” and when you share your post it will only be shared with Friends except those on the Restricted and 365 Days of Social Media list.

The beauty of Facebook is that there are many different ways to set up your privacy and to customize your share options. I know it can be overwhelming, but taking a few minutes to set up appropriate Facebook Lists helps keep your Facebook feed focused.

Do you have Facebook Lists set up? How do you filter through your Facebook posts, or do you prefer to keep your feeds open to all of your friends, all the time?

My kids are not huge vegetable fans. They like corn, peas, and carrots — you know: the three basics. Beyond that, it’s an uphill battle to try to get them to eat other veggies.

Enter the Alien Green Goo.

I made this green smoothie one day during my “hey, it’s January! Maybe I’ll try to get healthy or something this year” 2-day experiment, and BAM! My 7-year-old son tried it, his eyes widened, and out of his mouth came the words “MMMM! This tastes GOOD!”

The best part? He knows it has vegetables. He has helped me make this very smoothie several times now. He sees the kale. He sees the cucumber. And still, he drinks. He gobbles it up like there’s some sort of magical sugar crystal inside and he can’t stop until he’s inhaled the last bit.

And then, he asks for more.

I kid you not, this green smoothie is a miracle in my house, and I bow down to the Smoothie Gods each day for presenting an option which feeds more good nutrients into my kid’s belly.

handful of kale, chopped or ripped into chunks- about 3 good sized leaves should do

1 cucumber, peeled and cubed (English, standard – whatever your preference)

1 medium green apple, peeled and cubed

1 bunch of green grapes (anywhere from 1-2 cups; more if you want it sweeter, less if you don’t want it as sweet)

1/2 cup water (add more if you need it)

Optional items:
-1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh ginger (totally optional but if you like ginger – and a little extra ginger in our diets is always a good thing – I’d suggest it)

-1/2 cup cubed fresh pineapple (I’ve tried this once and it gave it a sweet tangy flavor – loved it! – but you may not, so it’s totally optional)

1. Prep the ingredients as described above.

2. Place in a blender or juicer. I use a regular boring old blender and it works perfectly fine (take that, you crazy Vitamix people).

3. Blend until it’s to a consistency of your liking.

4. Pour into a clear glass (this is very important: you really do need to see how beautiful this baby is in order to enjoy it fully), and drink!

Like most of my recipes, this is something you can easily add ingredients to, take ingredients away, put more or less of something to make it more to your liking. Smoothies are fun, so take the base of this and make it your own! Enjoy!

PS – We dubbed it Alien Green Goo because, well, my son is 7 and that’s what you do in our house. We dubbed our other smoothie concoctions Sunshine Smoothies (pineapple, mango, orange juice, ginger, bananas) and Purple Super Smoothies (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, plain yogurt, orange juice).

Social media outlets can be incredible communities abundant with resources, growth opportunities, knowledge sharing. It is truly incredible how much one can learn from social media connections, and how many professional and personal life changes can stem from a simple exchange between you and somebody else online.

They say sharing is caring, and it is ever so true for professionals and businesses on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, Pinterest — all of the social media tools available. Here are some quick tips to make the most of your value in social media.

Tips to serve as a resource on social media:

1. Subscribe to top industry newsletters and media outlets and share links to relevant articles that will be of interest and be useful to your audience.

2. Create videos & share them. These days, it’s easy to create your own professional videos and share them via YouTube, Animoto, or Vimeo. Create a how-to tutorial, share a video of a Day in the Life at your office to give your audience a behind-the-scenes peek at your business, address customer questions via video. Audiences connect with the people responsible for the business, not just a logo or corporate blanket statement; videos allow you to be a resource in your industry and give you greater connections with your audience.

3. Create an infographic. In general, people love infographics. They are a simple and visual way to breakdown sometimes complicated information. If you are an authority in your field and have the research to back up your numbers, have a designer develop an infographic for you that will be of timely use to your audience.

4. Share stats as you get them – not just on your business but stats related to your industry. If you make eyeglasses and are embarking on a new glasses for kids campaign, share the latest statistic about people under the age of 10 who need glasses but can’t afford them. If make gluten-free pies, share stats on how many adults & kids have Celiac disease and who have gluten intolerance, or stats on how many gluten-free bakeries there are in the world. Statistics give your audience a reference from which to compare your business, and stats can help elevate your company mission, your personal cause, your product.

5. Answer customer questions quickly and honestly. As your position as a valuable industry resource on social media grows, so too will the questions asked of you. I get random questions about social media, design, small business, and balancing motherhood & business on social media frequently. The more I answer questions in the open exchange of social media, the more questions I am asked from my audience, and the more business I receive in these targeted areas.

In order to get, you have to give in social media. It’s one of the many lovely opportunities you have to connect with your audience and truly serve them. It’s a gift, and businesses and individuals alike would be wise to take the opportunity seriously.

What are ways that YOU enjoy seeing individuals and businesses serve as a resource in social media?

365 Days of Social Media™ is a basic social media networking online bootcamp from graphic design & social media strategy studio Urban Bliss Media. Each day, the Urban Bliss Life blog will feature a quick tip, tactic, and inspiration to help you maneuver the wacky world of social media with confidence.

Like West Elm. Have you been to this fantastic home furnishings store or purchased any furniture or decor from here? They have incredible products and affordable prices. You know what I love the most about West Elm?

This light fixture:

The Large Rectangle Hanging Capiz Pendant in white. I have been in love and obsessively drooling over this light fixture for several months. I love it in grey too but the white would look so very perfect over our kitchen island. I just know it would. And soon? It will be on sale!

In addition to the up to 70% off new markdowns (seriously!), they also have the current and upcoming sales happening:

Lighting will be 20% Off (Jan. 31 – Feb. 13)

That’s right. Starting Tuesday, my favorite light fixture of all time, the one I have been eyeing, ogling, dreaming about for MONTHS, will be on sale, along with these great hanging Industrial Pendants:

Coffee + Side Tables will be 20% Off (Feb. 7 – Feb. 20)

I really love these Martini Side Tables. We’ve also been searching high and low for years for great side tables, to no avail. The white ones might do the trick for our living room.

Frames currently are 20% Off (Jan. 24 – Feb. 13)

What goodies do you have your eye on at West Elm? Be sure to shop these great sales for the best savings, and if you do, please come back and share what you found! Happy shopping!

Disclaimer: I sadly received no product for this post, especially not the super fantastic light fixture that I’ve been in love with forever and a day (sigh), but I do love West Elm, and I love the kind PR people who work for them. All opinions are my own.

Hashtags first started as a Twitter tool to help find related information quickly. Simply put, they are acronyms or words used to help you more easily find tweets about events with a hashmark placed before the acronym, word or phrase.

Examples of different hashtag uses:
Events: #SOTU = State of the Union, #BBC = Bloggy Boot Camp, #GNO=Girls Night Out
Campaigns: #2DaysInSeattle = the 2 Days in Seattle campaign via Klout and Seattle’s Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (thanks again @Klout for this awesome @KloutPerk!)
TV Shows: #RHOBH = Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Cities: #PDX #Portland
Industries & professionals: #Design, #Wine, #Authors

Hashtags can be created by anyone and used by anyone. For instance, my amazing pal Sara Hawkins and I, after discoverig a mutual love of the movie Talledega Nights, have become the authorities of the hashtag #ShakeAndBake. That’s right. Don’t even think about hijacking that hashtag, beyotches.

Which brings me to one of the pitfalls of hashtags, especially event hashtags: they can be easily hijacked. If spammers see a hundred people using the hashtag for a popular conference, they often tend to tweet using that hashtag even though their spam has nothing to do with that conference. The beauty of it, is that this actually makes it easier to call out, report, and block spammers. Ha, spammers: joke’s on you.

There can be confusion between hashtags so choosing the right one for your event can be tricky.

Some tips for choosing a hashtag:
* keep it short. You want people to retweet your tweets with hashtags so between 4-10 characters max is a good general rule.
* don’t use numbers or characters unless they make sense. For instance, if it’s an event for 1859 magazine, then the hashtag #1859party makes sense.
* do a search and make sure it’s not in regular use by a larger group. #GNO, in case you weren’t aware, is most traditionally used brilliantly by one of my fave organizations, Mom It Forward. Check out their Twitter parties using this hashtag to see how it’s done right.

Outside of Twitter, people have started using it on Facebook just to be silly. If I’m super tired (as I normally am), I might hashtag #OMGINeedCoffee. That annoys some folks, but I don’t mind it as long as you don’t use it for every other update (my husband, on the other hand, may unfriend you if you do so).

On Instagram, photographers/iPhoneographers love to (over)use hashtags because they really, really want to make sure their awesome Instagram shots are seen by all who should see it. Now, I LOVE my Instagram (IG) friends. Some of them take absolutely amazing photos. This part of the post is not about them; it is about the throngs of photographers I have unfollowed on Instagram for their abuse of hashtags. Please allow me to rant for a bit (ahem).

<RANT> If you use more than, say, four or five hashtags, you’re doing it wrong. Just like you wouldn’t repeat different iterations of the same three keywords 10 times on your homepage just to get better SEO (you won’t), common sense should stop you from using 20 hashtags on your Instagram photos. For one thing, it’s annoying to users who simply want to see photos. Users want to scan through Instagram photos easily, and when you use 20 hashtags, four of which are iterations of the same meaning (#PDX #Portland #Ptown #Portlandia) then you take up valuable room on my screen that could actually have been taken up by someone else’s cool photo in my Instagram stream. For another thing, it doesn’t work and it makes you seem unprofessional and unfocused. What is your photo about? Is it about #trees or is it about #fog? Focus, man. You – and your photo – can’t and shouldn’t be all things to all people. I don’t care if every iPhoneographer you know is doing it, please do not, DO NOT use a succession of hashtags on your Instagram photos that is longer than a line of text. Please. I beg of you. STOP. </RANT>

So, hashtags.

What do you think: have they jumped the shark and are they completely irrelevant given the way social media formats can do thorough searches without the hashtag? Do you like hashtags and why?

As with all social media outlets, there’s a bit of social etiquette that goes along with participating in Pinterest. While we all have our own reasons for using Pinterest and our own personal etiquette rules, here are a few basics for those who have just jumped on the bandwagon recently.

1. Be nice. It’s the rule of life, online or offline, and it applies to Pinterest. As gorgeous as some of the images are, there are a growing number of equally ugly comments. If you feel the need to disparage someone else’s dreams/visions/preferences, go do it elsewhere. Pinterest is a tight community. Don’t make us banish you from this beautiful island.

2. Don’t claim someone else’s work as your own. This is extremely important on Pinterest. It may seem like a no-brainer, but I often see new Pinners posting items and unknowingly passing them off as their own. It’s important to go the extra mile to ensure you give credit where credit is due. Here are some general tips:

* Always pin from the original link when possible, so that the original website will come up when people click on the image.

* When repinning, do not just keep the original poster’s comments if they have a personal comment in there. If the original comment contains the words “I,” “my” or anything that reflects that person’s relationship to what they are pinning, be sure to erase their comment when repinning and write your own.

For instance, I pinned some Star Wars Lego party items I made for my son’s birthday party because someone was asking about them. See my comment in the screenshot below. Would you repin that comment as is? Someone did, and therefore passing it off as their own. Think carefully about repinning an original poster’s comments. I almost always write my own comment.

* For artwork, try to include the artists name or studio name in your comment. This gives them credit, and also makes the item easier to find in searches.

3. Be thoughtful about your comment & use keywords that are highly searchable. Have you ever tried to search for “love” in Pinterest? Try it. The last time I did, the majority of pins that came up from the search were a hundred completely random items that had nothing to do with love, but had comments from Pinners who simply wrote “LOVE!” in their comments. Think about how people will find the item you are pinning and give it an accurate description. For instance, in the item above, I included the words “Lego Star Wars Party” and “Homemade Light Sabers” because a) that’s what this pin is about, and b) I wanted people searching for those keywords to be able to find this pin.

There are many more subtle Pinterest etiquette rules but those are the big ones for folks just starting out.

What are other Pinterest etiquette rules that you have seen broken, or that you feel are important?

Happy pinning, friends! Feel free to post your Pinterest link below and follow my own Pinterest boards too!

365 Days of Social Media™ is a basic social media networking online bootcamp from graphic design & social media strategy studio Urban Bliss Media. Each day, the Urban Bliss Life blog will feature a quick tip, tactic, and inspiration to help you maneuver the wacky world of social media with confidence.