Pinterest - The Only Social Network Needed for Luxury Brands?

Katie suggested I write this blog post after we listened to Jo Malone at a recent Red Network Event talk about how her brand, Jo Loves, uses social media. When Jo told us that she was debating the future of the Jo Loves Facebook page, the audience gasped! Pinterest is the social network of choice for the future of her luxury brand.

What is Pinterest?

'Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organising the things that inspire you' according to the Pinterest team and I think the word 'inspire' sums up what Pinterest is perfectly... a place to gain inspiration from, whether it be for your next adventure, wedding or interior design - there's a pin for nearly everything!

Going back to basics, Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing social network. Users can create 'boards' containing theme-based photos or videos (pins). Pins can be uploaded by the user, repinned (similar to retweeted) from other people's boards or taken directly from a website. Users can also like and comment on their favourite pins and follow other people's (and brand's) boards.

Although development of Pinterest began in only 2009, it's now the third most popular social networking site in the world. It gains 104 million hits per week but still a lot less than Facebook's seven billion! 

Take a look at Pinterest's 'Pinning 101' for the basics here. 

Who Uses Pinterest?

Ok, we know how popular Pinterest is but who actually uses it? If I tell you the most popular Pinterest boards are DIY/Crafts, Recipes then Quotes and the most popular pin source is handmade and vintage online store Etsy... would it surprise you to know that 80% of Pinterest users are female!?

The average female users are aged between 23 and 34 (Facebook's is 18 to 24) with an increased disposable income than those on other social networking sites, plus users follow 2.4 more brands on Pinterest than they do on Facebook. If we go back to the title of this blog post, we can start to build an understanding of why luxury brands often choose to focus their efforts on Pinterest.

Who's Doing it Well?

Mashable reported that the most popular branded boards are surrounding food, fashion, home and weddings - topics already popular with Pinterest's female users.

The rundown of the three most popular boards by followers...
1. L.L. Bean – Woodland Creatures
2. Jetsetter – Daily Moment of Zen
3. Nordstrom – Garden Wedding Ideas

Two brands that I follow and admire on Pinterest are Sephora and Jetsetter, with Jetsetter being featured in the top three above.

I first stumbled upon beauty brand Sephora when I visited Paris with my mum and best friend for my thirteenth birthday and automatically fell in love with the place so I suppose I am a little biased, but I love their activity on Pinterest. The brand really engages and gives something back to their followers through their design inspiration boards (Nailspotting), how-to boards (Get the Look and PRO Tips), shopping inspiration boards and also 'Sephora Sweepstakes'. Interestingly, according to Sephora, their Pinterest followers spend 15 times more than their Facebook fans.

Onto Jetsetter which fits in perfectly with Pinterest's aim of being a tool to inspire... it is an online travel site that gives members great offers on everything related to travel including hotels and tours along with sharing expert knowledge on the world's best destinations. Pinterest users love their inspirational travel images, insider tips and travel quotes. They have 4.5 million followers!

Why Luxury Brands?

Pinterest is an inspirational, visual and positive and, above all, aspirational social network. The reason luxury brands work so well on the platform is that users pin things they aspire to have and create a visual map through Pinterest of going ahead and achieving it, whether it's booking that five star hotel or treating themselves to luxury products.

Luxury brands aren't missing a trick when it comes to Pinterest as the network generates 27% more revenue per click than Facebook and drives more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined! Plus, Pinterest users are 10% more likely to make a purchase than if they were referred from Facebook and spend 10% more!

 As I've said before, along with Instagram, Pinterest is my favourite social network due to the positive and inspirational elements of the platform. It is addictive though due to its simple design, the minimal effort needed to use the site and the separation from all the personal (and often very boring!) status updates and picture uploads you will find on Facebook. Due to its addictive nature, I'd recommend you, like me, limit yourself to pinning a number of pins in any one session (mine is five!) this stops you getting carried away with endless pinning into the early hours!

I'm off to pin just five pins now... find me on Pinterest here and our 'Katie & Jane' Pinterest boards here - have fun!

Jane x

Radio Plus: Our Journey to the App Store and Beyond

Last week we were invited to be guests on the Radio Plus Talk Business show hosted by Mark Sephton. With a lot of nerves and excited energy we arrived at the studio ready to talk about being entrepreneurs and creating our very first lifestyle app, Countdown Keeper.

The first part of the radio show focused on us as individuals, the journey that led us to meet each other and how we find life as entrepreneurs. Mark asked some thought-provoking questions including what makes each of us happy and what we feel our purpose in life is! We weren't informed of the questions before and being one of life’s planners I’m not the best at ‘off-the-cuff’ answers to questions of such significance but I answered with sincerity. As friends and business partners Jane and I share the same goal to reach the end of our lives and look back at all the places we’ve been, experiences we’ve encountered, products we’ve created and people we’ve inspired along the way by making things happen.

Mark also asked us to discuss our strengths and how we complement each other as business partners. Something that we already knew about our partnership is that, between us, we have a good balance of moving forward but keeping focused on the present. We are both impatient out of excitement and eagerness to explore different ventures within our business but between us we try very hard to dedicate our focus to one thing at a time (well three things at a time as opposed to ten!)... we're working on it!

Mark also touched upon what makes us happy and apart from Jane’s beautiful dog Beau (now my adopted friend too!) we highlighted the roller-coaster that is the life of an entrepreneur. Something all business owners have to be prepared for are the lows that can be really tough, challenging, stressful and with a lot of beating yourself up, but then the come the highs! The highs are the reason Saturday and Sundays become working days, they are the elation felt at even the slightest issue being overcome, highs are hearing that a new client loves what we offer and how we do things differently, and a high certainly is cracking the HTML code over on our blog! These happy moments are everything to us and are so much more meaningful than in any job we have ever had before because we're achieving these milestones all on our own.

We like to meet as many entrepreneurs as we can to share their advice when starting out in business and find out what keeps them striving forward, you can read our interviews with them here. 

After a brief business round up, where I shared a somewhat fumbled view on Bill Gates (I was caught off guard!), we got onto the interesting stuff… all-things apps!

We were asked to explain the vision for our app business which is to create meaningful lifestyle apps with a purpose, solving problems and enhancing everyday life. We must have, between us, nearly 100 app ideas and we, like everyone else every couple of days will be inspired by an experience and note down ‘we could create an app for that!’. 

Mark asked us for tips on creating an app and so far in our small journey, through extensive research we have realised that the most important steps you can take before you even decide to go forward with an app idea are the following principles – and they take time!

*Please Note: we are by no means experts (yet!) we are just sharing our findings with you!*

1. Research everything you possibly can about the app industry
2. Track the App and Android stores to find out what types of apps are downloaded and why over a period of 6-12 months
3. Find your audience – where are they? Do they even download and use apps?
4. Establish your app’s purpose – why are people going to love it and need it every day?
5. Find people to work with who get you, the concept behind your idea, who you trust and tell you how it is (this step is very hard!)
6. Plan your marketing – this is the most important step, how are you going to get people to find your app?

To listen to our thoughts on these points head to this link where you can hear the interview in full. We hope to write an eBook after the launch of Countdown Keeper where we will share what we’ve learnt about the journey with others, including the good, the bad and the ugly!

On a final note we talked about how we wanted to inspire other women to create a business, specifically in the tech industry. Next week, October 15th will mark the fantastic Lady Geek’s first 'Her in Hero Day' where schools are encouraged to celebrate Ada Lovelace, recognised as the first computer programmer in the 19th Century. The campaign highlights past and present female tech heroes and aims to inspire girls to change the world through technology. It's something we're proud to be helping to spread awareness of and have encouraged our local Alderbrook School to be involved. To find out more about Lady Geek, Little Miss Geek and their campaigns head to their Facebook page to be part of the conversation.

We look forward to appearing back on Radio Plus to share more insights into the world of apps soon and in the meantime you can find out more and sign up to be the first to hear about Countdown Keeper, released in November, here.

Katie x

A Beautiful Mess Challenge Twelve: Capture Your Daily Routines

Although, in this section of the book, the A Beautiful Mess girls don't give many photo-taking tips as such, they do remind us how the little things in life are as important as the big and how nice it is to capture remember them for the future.

I was struggling to think about what to capture for this challenge, silly really as obviously a daily routine is something I do every day! Katie reminded me of so many things like walking Beau, sipping on green tea, using my iPhone and iPad or doing my beloved Tracy Anderson exercise DVD but I went with the following... my French make-up box.

This unusual make-up box was brought for me by my parents who, when visiting a favourite Provence market of theirs, said it reminded them of me (not sure that's a compliment but I still love it!).

Putting on my make-up is something I do automatically most mornings but taking this photo made me stop and think about how gorgeous my little tin box is. Stopping to really look at it bought back happy memories of holidaying in the South of France with my parents and getting glammed up for nights out with friends. It also reminded me that I want to learn French but that's another story!

Tomorrow I'll be starting the week long challenge of 'photograph your daily outfits' - should be fun!

Jane x

Previous Posts...

Introduction to the A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book 
Challenge One: Photograph Your Pet
Challenge Two: Capture Unique Personal Details
Challenge Three: Get the Best Cell Phone (or Point and Shoot Camera) Photos
Challenge Four: Know How to Use Overcast Light vs. Direct Sun
Challenge Five: Find Flattering Window Light
Challenge Six: Take a Shadow Portrait

Challenge Seven: Take Macro Photos
Challenge Eight: Understand Depth of Field

Challenge Nine: Make Homemade Filters

Challenge Ten: Photograph a Collection
Challenge Eleven: Take Amazing Photos of Your Home

Turn Creativity into a Business - A Red Networking Event Review

Katie and I attended our fifth Red Networking Event on October 1st 'Turn Your Creativity into a Business' at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London and what fun we had!

As usual, Red magazine brought together some really inspiring women; Noreen Gallagher, managing director of Triumph UK, Jo Malone MBE, fragrance entrepreneur and Fiona Ellis, founder of Ellis Eye Interiors, to talk about how they got to where they are in their careers and how important creativity is to them.

It was so interesting to meet three successful women who manage their business in very different ways. Triumph's Noreen seemed very methodical and organised with fixed plans, goals and a strategy in place to take the brand to the next level. Jo Malone works very creatively with a lot of vision to the future involving all the senses not just in her fragrances but in her business plans too. Being an interior designer (and ex-model scout for some of the industry's top models) it's clear that Fiona is very creative but she seemed to plan less and go with the flow more which adds a free, fun element to her business.

One of my favourite things that Fiona said is that 'being creative is the core of who I am'. We're all creative, it comes into our everyday in the outfits we choose and the ideas and feelings we have. Fiona loves to see her creative ideas being turned into reality and I think that's something we want to continue to do with Katie & Jane too.

Of course, both our ears pricked up whenever they spoke about social media and it was very interesting to hear their different takes. Noreen told us that social media is vital at Triumph and that rather than aiming for thousands of followers (they do have 35,500 fans on Facebook), the team want to tell stories online in a way that is meaningful to their consumers (music to our ears!). 

Fiona saw social very differently in that, very honestly, she said she doesn't have a clue! She occasionally dabbles in Twitter and had 100 followers at the time of the event. Fiona said she was lucky in that her business has grown through word-of-mouth but she's keen to get to grips with social media soon! 

Jo agreed with Noreen and sees the power in social media. Jo said that she feels if a business doesn't get involved in social media, they'll soon find themselves failing which is why she loves to create an online (and offline) experience for her customers. Jo notably uses Pinterest frequently – arguing that this should be a priority for luxury brands, and we couldn’t agree more!

Jo Malone was very inspiring. She started the brand Jo Malone in her kitchen mixing fragrances with plastic jugs and turned it into one of the world's favourite brands, selling it to Estee Lauder in 1999. Jo was unable to create a new business for five years as per the rules of the sale which she said stifled her as she loves creating businesses. So back to the start-up world she went and launched Jo Loves in 2011 with her very first store due to open the doors in November. Jo honestly admitted that just five weeks ago it would have been easier to quit then plough ahead with the plans, but she kept that red finishing line in the forefront of her mind. It could be said that the red finishing line was synonymous with the beautiful and luxurious red glass bar she described that greets you as you enter her new Jo Loves store, hoping to make visitors feel as though they’ve had their very first kiss all over again! We can’t wait to experience 'fragrance tapas' when we visit in November!

Overall, all three speakers believe the key to a successful business in any industry from accounting to fashion design is creativity and they encouraged us to step outside the business in order to be inspired and to find more creativity in the outside world. Jo Malone wakes up each morning and the first question she thinks about is ‘what can I add to my business today?’ Katie and I love to do different activities together and can see the influence these fun and inspiring new things have on our business, our ideas and our future plans. Trying new things also keeps us feeling alive and ready to be open to new ideas and wondering how far we can take them! Jo believes we don't own creativity, it's something you have to feed.

As a final question, the three women were asked for their key pieces of business advice. As you can imagine, Fiona's 'fuck the fear and do it anyway' got a big laugh from the crowd! Our little motto is always 'what's the worst that can happen?' which helps us face fear head on and realise that if we do fail what have we got to lose? Jo Malone says some of the greatest ideas come from mistakes, so don’t be afraid to follow your own path.

Noreen inspired us to never give up and visualise that feeling of success. She said anything that is worth having in life takes effort but the more practice you get the luckier you are.

Jo gave a great practical piece of advice - create a mind-map. She advised us to decide whether our business idea is a hobby, a business or a global brand and then follow that through using a mind-map plotting how you're going to get there.

Fiona finished with great advice that motivation and passion work hand-in-hand and that you have to be prepared to work very hard in your own business, but to keep going and you’ll be rewarded and asked us to remember  it’s not about the hours you put in, it’s about getting the job done.

The Red Networking Events are the only networking I truly love and get so much from - they're designed to 'inspire and help in your career' and that's exactly what they do and more! Visit their website to find out when the next Red Event is.

See you there! Jane x

A Beautiful Mess Challenge Eleven: Take Amazing Photos of Your Home

I love my house and have lived in it all of my life so it, and my village, will always be my true home no matter where I travel. In their book Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess remind us to take the time to photograph this special place - it's certainly something I've not done before as I'm always taking pictures when I'm travelling away from home!

I followed a few of the tips from the girls including clean up (!!), try both wide and close up shots and style photos with a few staged areas. They did recommend starting with one room in your home so I picked one of my favourite rooms... my office filled with Kikki.K stationery from Australia.

Unfortunately it was not a nice sunny day with lots of natural light (as recommended) so after experimenting, I decided I liked the close up shots best, plus it meant I didn't have to tidy up as much!

Tomorrow I'll (aim!) to 'Capture Daily Routines'.

Jane x

Previous Posts...

Introduction to the A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book 
Challenge One: Photograph Your Pet
Challenge Two: Capture Unique Personal Details
Challenge Three: Get the Best Cell Phone (or Point and Shoot Camera) Photos
Challenge Four: Know How to Use Overcast Light vs. Direct Sun
Challenge Five: Find Flattering Window Light
Challenge Six: Take a Shadow Portrait

Challenge Seven: Take Macro Photos
Challenge Eight: Understand Depth of Field

Challenge Nine: Make Homemade Filters

Challenge Ten: Photograph a Collection

The Best Things in Life... in October

As usual, Katie and I love reading the 'contributors' section at the beginning of every issue of our favourite monthly magazine, Red. We also enjoy answering the questions ourselves - here's October's musings...

Katie

Best Things in Life...

The Red Network – Red magazine is one of my favourite reads and we’ve been to the Red Network events since they launched last year. This month’s event was one of the most inspiring with a panel including global fragrance entrepreneur Jo Malone and the inspirational model scout turned interior designer, Fiona Ellis. The subject was creativity, and the mission – how to turn it into a business. Stay tuned to hear their wise words of wisdom in a blog post coming soon. 

Tracy Anderson – As the nights get darker earlier, I find it means less time or less motivation to get to the gym after a busy day, apart from if it’s a spin class. Having been inspired by Jane’s total dedication to the woman in question I decided to purchase Tracy Anderson’s The Method DVD, and I love it! From the comfort of my living room, (apologies to those living opposite!), I can now embark on her tried and tested techniques of waking up the accessory muscles to improve overall shape and body structure. Oh and Cheryl Cole uses the DVD at home too…so it must work. 

Sophie Dahl – I have acquired a range of cookery books over the years and now and again for a special occasion, or if I’m bored I’ll reach for a recipe and give it a try, but I did feel I wasn’t really putting them to good use – and they take up quite a bit of room when living in a small apartment! Not any more, thanks to trying a delicious beetroot soup one day made by Jane, I decided to get Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights by Sophie Dahl. In this gorgeous recipe book I have found an every day cookery companion providing easy, simple, but delightful dishes to inspire my weekly meals. I would very much recommend the Spinach Barley Soup, Indian Sweet Potato Pancakes and the Hangover Eggs.

My First Pair of Jeans Were... 

Mint green. I had a delightful denim waistcoat to complete the head-to-toe look, and the must-have accessory? Kickers boots!

My Favourite Thing About Autumn is...

Bonfire Night! It’s my favourite night of the year and we always like to go to Kenilworth Castle to watch the firework show which is created with a different theme each year. I love the bustling atmosphere, the walk from the local pub that everyone takes together and wrapping up warm, and every year without fail there’s always a section of the firework display that conjures up a gasp from the crowd. Tickets are on sale now from the Kenilworth Round Table here. 

 Jane

 Best Things in Life...

My A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book and my mini photo challenges. Katie bought me the book written by my two favourite bloggers and doing the challenges within it has made me think about taking better photos and I'm loving the results. See all my challenges here

Alpro Soya Milk... yes that's right, my new love is soya milk! I've been drinking it for two weeks now and I can honestly say I would much rather tea with soya than tea with normal cow's milk now!

Wrapping up warm and walking my dog across the fields in my village. To see the Autumn colours appearing is fantastic, the farmers have harvested so the whole landscape has changed and luckily we've had lovely weather - crisp winds and clear blue skies.

My First Pair of Jeans Were...

A perfect fitting pair of Lee jeans in a deep denim bought when I was around 13. I wore them to death until a spilt bottle of hair dye (oh the glamour!) ruined them for good!

My Favourite Thing About Autumn is...

Our annual stay in our favourite tiny, traditional cottage in the Cotswolds. We pack up the car (dog included), stock up of amazing treats at Daylesford along the way, rush in and light the log fire straight away! The long weekend is spent walking the Cotswold Way for hours (and more often than not getting lost!), cooking lovely food and reading. As soon as the leaves change, I get excited as I know what adventure we have coming! I think Autumn has to be my favourite season.

A Beautiful Mess Challenge Ten: Photograph a Collection

It was easy picking which collection of mine to photograph (I have a few!) for this challenge - my Vogue magazine tower!

I've been collecting each monthly issue of Vogue magazine since 2004. I also add to my collection on my travels so have American Vogue, Chinese Vogue and French Vogue to name a few. One of my favourite issues was a gift from one of my best friends - the August 1987 UK edition to celebrate my birthday!

The A Beautiful Mess photo book advised me to try different angles and at different times in the day to capture the collection in different light. Unfortunately, it was pretty gloomy all day so I couldn't catch any natural sunlight on my collection...

Jane x

Previous Posts...

Introduction to the A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book 
Challenge One: Photograph Your Pet
Challenge Two: Capture Unique Personal Details
Challenge Three: Get the Best Cell Phone (or Point and Shoot Camera) Photos
Challenge Four: Know How to Use Overcast Light vs. Direct Sun
Challenge Five: Find Flattering Window Light
Challenge Six: Take a Shadow Portrait

Challenge Seven: Take Macro Photos
Challenge Eight: Understand Depth of Field

Challenge Nine: Make Homemade Filters