9 Lies Google Told Me About Pinterest

Since it's launch in 2010, Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing websites with over 72 million users and 88% of those users purchasing a product they recently pinned. This is huge for businesses, so there is no wonder why so many businesses are hopping on the Pinterest train and leaving Facebook and Twitter in the dust. For instance, over 80% of pins are re-pinned whilst only 1.4% of tweets are re-tweeted. Crazy!

Now, I have always been very loyal to Facebook as my main social media platform for Websters Chalk Paint Powder. However, with this crazy new form of algorithms that NOBODY can figure out, I have begun to see a steady decrease in the response I get from Facebook. I refuse to pay to promote my page so my reach is negatively affected. Tired of fighting Facebook, I have decided to focus more time on Pinterest, which to be honest, is where I can find most of my audience: those fabulously creative thrifty, frugal, DIYers!

As I embarked on this new venture into the beautiful and crafty land of Pinterest, I wanted to learn as much as I could about reaching my audience, engaging with others, what they found interesting, and pretty much just how to get the most out of Pinterest for Websters! So I read. I read and read, researched and took notes, and read some more. I found all of the answers I could have possibly needed thanks to Google, or so I thought..

Last week, I was in London with my wonderfully talented friend, Lauren of Lauren Aston Designs, as she competed for the Mollie Makes Start-Up Award. We had such a great time networking with other creatives, crafting and learning about Pinterest. As I sat in during the Pinterest 101 workshop with Pinterest UK, herself, I couldn't believe how much I didn't know! I was so annoyed by the fact that I had worked so hard on my Pinterest account, only to find out that I had it all wrong. At the same time, I was so grateful to have had that opportunity to ask Pinterest everything I needed to know to better my business. Now, I would like to share this knowledge with you. :)

9 Lies Google told me about Pinterest:

1. Pinterest is a Social Network
    + Pinterest in not a social network, but rather a Visual Discovery Tool. People do not go to Pinterest to connect and socialise, they go on searching and planning for something. "Discover. Save. Do" Save yourself some time and embarrassment and don't go around liking or commenting on others pins/ boards. Pinterest UK put it this way, "The things I pin to my boards are for me, not anyone else. They are things I like, want to create, etc. When someone comes onto my board and starts liking or commenting, I feel like it is an invasion of privacy!" .. Noted, Pinterest is NOT for socialising! ;)

2. Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag!
    + Hashtagging on Pinterest is not the same as on Twitter. First of all, hashtags are only clickable in a pins description so putting them anywhere else on your Pinterest is pointless. Also, using broad terms like "#computer" will bring up every single pin that has the word anywhere in the description, image file or on a page linked to that pin. Hashtags work better if they are unique to your brand or business. For instance, #Websterschalkpaintpowder brings up just Websters pins, where as a basic search in Pinterest for "Websters Chalk Paint Powder" brings up all sorts of pins relating to chalk paint, competitors, etc.

3. Expect an Instant Return
    + You should not expect to see a return for at least 6-8 months. The average pin gets repinned 11 times, but it does take time to build this exposure. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, posts don't go away after a day or a week, it is continuously relevant. Think about Halloween.. Every year when you go on Pinterest looking for Halloween crafts, costumes, what have you, you will see lots of new creative ideas, however, you will also see lots of stuff from last year's Halloween, too!

4. More Followers Means More Exposure
    + We were told not to count our followers as this is not an accurate way to measure success or exposure on Pinterest. Rather, count your repins. This is where you are going to gain the most views. If you are using Pinterest for your business, make sure you have a business account. Easily convert to a business account here! Pinterest offers a great analytics tool to measure which of your pins are making an impression.

5. Make Your Profile Aesthetically Pleasing
    + Actually, no one looks at your profile so there is no need to spend hours organising your boards. Everyone's profile looks exactly the same, just with different board names. Focus on pinning relative content.

6. Less Boards, More Pins
    + You can never have too many boards and you can never have too many pins! Pinterest suggests pinning at least 1 or 2 pins daily. Also, pins are not mutually exclusive. If a pin is relative to multiple boards, pin it to all of those boards! Pinterest also suggests 40+ pins per board, so get pinning!

7. Keep Your Descriptions Short and To The Point
    + When researching to optimise my Pinterest reach, I found that keeping descriptions short and using hashtags to cut down on lengthy sentences was the best technique because "people get annoyed when you mess up their layout". On the contrary! Long, rich descriptions give you more key words, so a better chance of coming up on a search, and you're also gaining more real estate! Pinterest UK recommends 1 long description, 1 short description, 1 long description, etc.

Don't do this: "Cute outfit. #dungarees"

Do this: "Who says you can't look cute whilst painting? Simple up-do to keep my hair out of the paint. Cool, breezy crop top underneath these darling dungarees and my favourite pair of converse. I think I'll use this as inspiration."

This gets you plugged into any searches of painting, hair, up-do, crop top, dungarees, converse, which means more exposure!








8. Pin It to Win It!
    + While you may think the 'Pin It to Win It' competitions are great for gaining exposure and creating a buzz, they're not. In fact, they are "spammy behaviour". It's not authentic when someone pins a photo "because they are told to if they want to win something", and more often than not, the pins aren't going to repinned because they aren't making an impression. Now, sending out posts like "Pin It If You Love It!" to your email subscribers, Facebook followers, etc. are going to be much more beneficial as the pins or photos are going to be of things that actually interest your audience, thus, are more likely to be repinned. It is your responsibility to create good content.

9. Pinterest is Oversaturated with Pinners
    + Except it's not. In fact, compared to the 1.4 billion Facebook users, Pinterest is still quite new and small. Pinterest is growing daily and becoming a stronger platform for users and businesses, so be sure to hop on the bandwagon before it's too late!

A few last suggestions.. As a business on Pinterest, it is so easy to  figure out who your customer is and what drives them. See who is repinning, what boards they are pinning too and other boards they are following (go to repinner or followers page, click "following"- the last number on the top under their name, and then click "boards"). This helps to give you a much better understanding of what interests your customers. Now create boards that share common interests between you and your audience!

You'll also want to stay a step ahead of your customers. Like we said earlier, Pinterest is a planning tool. Your customers are planning their Halloween costumes, decorations and crafts in August/ September. Create valuable content to go on these planning boards! 

Lastly, make sure your website is "Pinnable". Any photos, products, tutorials, etc. should have a "Pin It" link in the top left-hand corner when you hover over the photo. This gets you pins and you don't even have to do anything! The pins will then link back to your website, generating traffic. Win- win! Also, with Pinterest Analytics, you will be able to see what photos your customers are pinning from your website. 

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Thanks so much for reading and I hope you found this post useful! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! I would be happy to help in any way I can. :) 

Also, I would love for you to jot down your email below so we can stay in touch!

Now, go get pinning!!!

Devon x

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L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish

L'ESSENTIEL

Have you heard of L'Essentiel Polish? This cosmetic-grade, all-natural beeswax polish is hypo-allergenic, safe for children, and smells so good you could eat it! In fact, the first thing I did when I opened up the tin was glide it on my lips. Lush!

The non-yellowing, neutral wax can be buffed to a high shine or low sheen, polishes beautifully and protects with no harsh solvents. The best part?? The beeswax polish can be used as a lip balm or hand balm as it is skin safe and cosmetic grade! Amazing!

I had heard great things from our Websters stockists so I thought I'd put it to the test. Coreine, the lovely lady behind the L'Essentiel brand, sent over a box of 3 polishes: Clear, Lustre, and Dark. I couldn't wait to get playing and I had just the piece for it!

This sweet little table had been sitting in my room holding all of my jewellery, perfumes and sunglasses. She was glamorous, but needed a facelift. The detail in the top was stunning so I knew I had to save her for the perfect project. This was her time to shine!

Prep: I started by giving her a quick wipe down with soap and water to remove any perfume, dust or anything else that made its way into the cracks and crevices.

Mixing: I made up my own chalk paint using Valspar's Swan Queen and Milk and Honey mixed with Websters Chalk Paint Powder. I also had glittery gold in mind so I mixed Crown's Metallic Gold with Websters.. So pretty! 

Tools: I love, love, LOVE my Chalk-Pro paint brushes! I used the Easy Paint Brush- Large to cover the whole piece in my custom white chalk paint and the Easy Paint Round- Medium for the gold chalk paint. For the polish, I used the Small Fiddes Wax Brush.

Finish: To seal the finished piece, I had my new stock of L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish in Clear, Lustre and Dark on hand that I just couldn't wait to play with!

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To start, I covered the entire piece in two coats of my white chalk paint. It went on beautifully!

Next, I painted the feet gold (I suggest taping to get the perfect 'dipped look', as I made this very difficult for myself free-handing!). I let the paint brush that was full of gold paint soak in a glass of water for about 5 minutes then, without squeezing the water out or washing the gold off, I slabbed the paint brush all over the top in an effort to create a colour wash. It worked! And it looked great! Exactly what I was going for. :) I wiped any excess gold water off with a towel (lightly to avoid wet distressing!) and let it dry.

Once the top was dry, I eagerly opened up my tins of L'Essentiel Beeswax Polish and started playing! First, I applied the wax to my lips and hands. I honestly cannot explain how delicious it smells! :) Right, back to the furniture! 

Next, using a cloth, I applied the clear polish to the entire piece. It says to wait 30 minutes before buffing the polish off so I used this time to focus on the details on top. I went ahead and added a thick layer of the dark polish with a brush, making sure to get in all of the cracks, then immediately wiped off the surface with more clear wax. Left behind was beautifully enhanced detail with depth and dimension. I was in love!

I buffed the entire table to a high shine and added one more coat of wax. It wasn't necessary but I couldn't resist the sparkle of the lustre wax! It was stunning! 

*She who leaves a trail of glitter is never forgotten*

After this final coat, I took a well deserved tea break and allowed the polish time to sit. Gave it one last buff to a high shine and TA-DA! She's all done! I took a step back and admired her beauty.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed painting it!

I am hoping to stock L'Essentiel Polish in the very near future so keep posted!
In the mean time, you can shop the online store here.

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Thanks, again! Xx

Lots of Love,
Devon
   

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Chalk Painting with Fiddes Wax

Happy Blog-Day Thursday!

I thought today would be a good day to blog a bit (okay, a lot) about one of our accompanying products we offer, Fiddes & Sons Wax. I highly suggest using Fiddes when chalk painting to my stockists and customers! This supreme wax polish is soft, quick drying, virtually odourless and toulene free.

If you are not familiar with chalk painting, it is important to take note that chalk paint is very porous by nature and has to be sealed with a wax or polyurethane before it is finished. Unless, of course, if you are chalk painting a chalkboard (in that case, you won't want to put any finish on it)!

I love the range of colours Fiddes offers and I currently carry my favourite 4: Clear, Light, Rugger Brown and Jacobean. 'Clear' has been specially formulated for Websters and, at this time, is only available in the UK through me (cool!).  I also stock small, medium, large and extra large Fiddes Wax Brushes, as seen above. Not pictured, Drill Attachment Wax Brushes.

For this blog, I took a piece of decorative moulding, painted it with a Valspar's Swan Queen mixed with Websters Chalk Paint Powder, and gave it a light distressing along the top half of the board to give you an idea of what each wax looked like on distressed chalk paint. I divided the moulding into 6 sections to show you: Clear, Light, Rugger Brown with a Clear Barrier, Rugger Brown, Jacobean with a Clear Barrier, and Jacobean. 

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Jumping right in, I started with Fiddes Wax Clear. As you can see, it is 100% clear. Wax has been embedded in the cracks and crevices but it can't be seen, whatsoever. You also can't see it has been buffed to a high sheen.. (Need to work on my photography skills and get a better camera!)

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Next on the list is Fiddes Wax Light. Fiddes markets the Light as a "Perfect Choice for Chalky Paint Surfaces". This is true. It's great for chalk painted furniture and is very popular amongst the painters. 

 The Light is virtually clear, however, when comparing them side-by-side on a white chalk painted surface, you can notice a slight (and I mean, VERY slight) yellowish hue. You'll also notice (in the close-ups below) the embedded wax in the cracks and crevices are visible. Once dry, it leaves a bit of a yellow tint.

 Don't get me wrong, lot's of people like this, and maybe I shouldn't be using the words 'yellowish hue' as it doesn't sound appealing. Rather, the Light has just enough of a tint that it brings out the details in piece without being noticeable, which you can see below. (There! That sounds much more appealing!)

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Right, moving on the the fun part! I love dark waxes. And when I say I love dark waxes, I mean I LOVE dark waxes! There is just something about that aged look that get's me every time! At first, I was terrified to dark wax. I didn't want to ruin my beautifully painted piece with 'brown wax' (I was so naive!). Thanks to some helpful tips from my mom, I am now able to age my pieces beautifully and pain-freefuly (Blogger says that's not a word.. but I like it!)

In this post, I wanted to show you how dark wax can be managed. On it's own, dark waxes are indeed, dark and dingy. Often times, that's the look a painter is going for. I NEVER use dark waxes on their own. I prefer to coat the piece in Clear first, which act's a buffer, apply the dark wax, then use Clear, again, as an eraser. 

First, I'll start with Rugger Brown. Rugger Brown is a beautiful antique brown, lighter than Jacobean, but obviously much darker than Light. I applied the Clear Wax first, layered the Rugger Brown on top, ensuring to get it deep in the cracks, and then used the clear again to remove the dark wax off the surface.

As you can see, the Rugger Brown has given the white piece a slight tint and has really brought out the details. Like I said earlier: Clear wax on, Dark Wax on, Clear Wax to wax off!

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Now, this is Rugger Brown on it's own. Beautiful, yes, but dangerous! Without the Clear barrier, you are opening yourself up to a very dark finish. 

 Notice the increased colouration when Rugger Brown is used on it's own. 

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Finally, my favourite, Jacobean! Jacobean is the darkest wax Fiddes offers. It is a beautiful deep brown, almost black colour. I really like Jacobean on white and lights, when used properly. I LOVE Jacobean on darker colours like blues and reds. 

Here they are, side by side, with the left being Jacobean and Clear and the right being Jacobean on it's own! 

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Well, there you have it, folks! Everything you could have ever possibly wanted to know about Fiddes Wax! I hope you've enjoyed reading this post today and will be able to take away a bit more information on waxing your chalk painted pieces! If you are interested in purchasing any of the products mentioned in the this post, please visit our online shops or find a stockist near you!

Thanks for reading!!!

Lots of Love,

Devon