After all the buzz and commotion about “this” new site that is taking over social media, you have signed up for it and started using some of its features.

Reading article after article, you have finally convinced yourself to join the new social media site on the rise, Pinterest. That was pretty much my story with my encounter of Pinterest. I joined the site, setup my Pinterest profile, setup some new boards, and went on to repin some of the content on there.

Same with you, you  started the Pinterest journey. Everything is going well and you hit a wall.

Or maybe you are not quite happy with the results you are getting from the engagement you are putting into Pinterest. This can certainly happen after the “beginner” stage has disappeared and you are diving into a more advanced stage. You may be worried sick that you are not using Pinterest correctly and that this social media site is not what everyone said it was supposed to be.

This article is just for you and me who have joined Pinterest for a while and wants to bump up his engagement and get those amazing results the pros are getting!

Make Pinterest your Number 1!

When you have more than three children, you try to love them all equally. But among all of them, there is a favorite child that you love to give the extra for. You love Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and Pinteret; you try to give them all the love equally.

But have you noticed that they all receive mediocre results?

But you are looking for results out of this world on Pinterest! Now is the time to focus all of your energies into one social media site and love Pinterest the most. Engage the most with Pinterest and I guarantee you will love the results that come with it.

You are still stuck on multi-love for social media!

Mention your love for Pinterest all of the time!

Mention to your readers you are on Pinterest! Show your readers that you love them on Pinterest! Talk much about your love for Pinterest!


What are you saying through those three statements?

I am saying that if you are looking to gain more followers on there, they have to see you actually care about using Pinterest.

Add here and there in your article, encouraging them to share the article on their pinterest profiles.

Remember, the more mentions on your blog, the more chances the reader will understand your point in getting them to follow you.

Create Separate Sharing Boards

My special strategy I use on Pinterest is to create separate sharing boards and pin all of the articles I like from around the internet onto specific sharing boards.


This helps me separate my own pinned articles from the pinning of other articles from around the internet.

Now I can go along Pinterest and pin as much as I would like without burying my own articles in the mix.

Add More Diverse Boards

I have many types of boards on my Pinterest profile.  The more boards you have, the better the chance of gaining a new follower or the repinning of one of your own pins.



It gives a very good impression to a new visitor and a very good chance to take your pinterest results to the next level!

Like and Repin Some More!

If you are getting not so great results from the activity you are placing on Pinterest, then your activity could be not well enough.

One way to dramatically increase results and engagement on this social media site is to “like” constantly while you are browsing.



It is so easy to like pins around the site and doing this will let the Pinnner know that you have liked on of his pins.

You may never know if he will follow your boards right back or like your stuff in return.
Repinning is the greater version of liking!


Repinning will generate more buzz and activity back to your profile even more than just “liking”.

Just setup some sharing boards like mentioned previously, and you’re good to go on “repinning” your neighbor’s pins!

Get out of the rut

The rut is a horrible feeling and you just want to get out. Well, you have read an article that will lead you out to the promised land of many followers and massive repins!

Keep up the work you are putting into Pinterest and add some of these techniques into your mix of engagement.



























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Whatever it is, the budget you put in place for your marketing for the year ahead will shape the results you achieve.

Now is the ideal time to define your marketing approach and the budget that will support it. In a recent Toluna survey of businesses, 40% of businesses surveyed stated that they did not feel that their marketing budget met all their marketing needs.

In tougher times, the marketing budget is often the first thing that is cut. Yet it is commonly known that companies which consistently market themselves in a recession perform better than those that don’t. So:

• How can companies budget better to create the results they want?
• What can companies do to budget effectively for the year ahead?

Fit your strategy around your target market

Strategy is everything in marketing. But a separate strategy for your marketing and your sales approach will not deliver the best Return On Investment (ROI). Now is the best time to review your marketing approach in 2011 and identify what worked – and what didn’t. Then, apply this important data to your overall sales and marketing strategy. Which markets are you trying to reach? Which audiences do you want to grow in the coming year? Match this with your marketing approach and plan your marketing spends in careful stages, so that each part of the plan flows from one stage to another. Use inbound marketing technology to track the behaviour of your target markets and ensure that you are using the most appropriate marketing channels to reach them. This will help you get more from your budget in 2012.

Track your ROI on marketing spend

Your marketing data from the past year will provide a valuable insight into what will work over the next 12 months. So carefully track the ROI you’ve gained this year and identify the activities that have created the best results.

Be ruthless in assessing what is paying you back and what is proving to be a drain on your resources

Would these areas work better with a different approach, perhaps using inbound marketing to accelerate results and make them more profitable? You can also use inbound marketing technology to closely assess and analyse the exact payback from each area of your marketing plan – and feed this knowledge into the year ahead. Put a plan in place for tracking your ROI. Inbound marketing allows you to do this continuously and consistently, letting you to adapt and refresh your marketing activities accordingly.

Create a cross-channel marketing budget

Are you currently using all the appropriate marketing channels? Did your approaches in 2011 feed across the different channels to maximise results – or did you only focus on a couple of areas?

Recent research suggests that companies using social media or “collaborative Web 2.0 technologies” are achieving higher profits. (Source: McKinsey)

Are you one of the companies missing out on a better marketing ROI by neglecting or misusing social media and other technologies?

By using inbound marketing you can connect up all your marketing channels much more effectively, making it easier to retain any potential customers – whatever stage of buying cycle they are at. You can create a cross-channel presence that reduces the cost of building a receptive and responsive brand profile. This approach also makes it much easier to budget for the year ahead. It gives you a core strategy which then feeds out across all the channels – bringing you a better ROI for 2012.

Adapt and update

While it is important to develop a clear strategy to get the best from your marketing budget, it is also important to continuously review and analyse your results. More conventional marketing approaches have traditionally made it quite hard to view the results as you go along. But new inbound marketing technology allows you to view the impact of every single aspect of your marketing approach – as it’s happening. Use this invaluable and on-going insight to adapt your strategy and ensure you make the most of your budget throughout 2012.

What is the secret to budgeting right for marketing in the year ahead?

Everybody wants to make their marketing budget work harder. So how can you ensure you do this in the months to come? Focus on your target market and what they’re doing.

By using inbound marketing technology you can get closer to buyer behaviour and demand. You can use this insight to create more meaningful connections by building relationships across all the different marketing channels. This enables you to accelerate the relationships you build with your prospects. Instead of waiting for months to view the results, you can see who’s responding – and adapt your strategy to meet the demand there and then.

This ensures that your marketing spend is continuously matched with where it is most effective and that it feeds right back into your company’s sales and marketing strategy. Create your strategy, use advanced inbound marketing approaches to maximise your marketing impact and assess its impact while it’s live. 


How are you currently keeping your budget consistent and targeted to look forward to a better ROI on your marketing budget?

Guest Author: Sookie Shuen is the community manager at Tomorrow People, a leading UK inbound marketing consultancy.

































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