Let’s make things more Pinteresting…
As you can tell, I happen to LOVE social media! When one of my great friends invited me to Pinterest back in July, it was one of the greater social media moments of my life. Ok, that may be a bit dramatic, but I cannot deny my affinity for the thing!
It surprised me that it took so long for the social media outlet to take off. When the Pinterest buzz started spreading (stemming from Mashable and beyond) it got out of control. I was getting tens of followers per day, in comparison to about 1 per week (if that) before.
I am happy that Pinterest has taken off, but even happier that business have realized the potential marketing they can do with it!
I have decided to take the marketing of my own brand up a notch with Pinterest. Though I do love my “Puppy love” and “Things I want to make” boards, I know I would not be doing a service to myself if I did not put up a “Portfolio” board. I just completed my own portfolio site (though I’m still working out the kinks) and what better way to supplement my work than by pinning my work to Pinterest! I know that others will see it and hopefully repin it or become interested!
How to make your own PinFolio:
1. If you have your own portfolio website, I would start there by selecting the pics you want to pin and just going at them one by one. You will want to think of the descriptions of each pin so that people can quickly and easily see what your design/photo/etc. is. I also have been posting the URL to my website at the end of each caption like so:
2. If you do not have your own portfolio site, I would suggest uploading your own pins of your work. Pinterest is the perfect platform to showcase your work without having your own website! However, if you want to be a serious designer, I do suggest having your own site ;)
3. Pinterest does not have to be specifically for those who create visual works. That’s the beauty of Pinterest. My friend Sam her journalistic ventures. I am planning to add to my writing pieces to my own PinFolio soon!
4. Now that you have established your own PinFolio (if not, get started here), then you need to organize your boards. Pinterest has established a simple way to display your work elegantly. You want to arrange your boards in the order of highest priority to lowest. Here is a look at my top four that I want other to see first:
To rearrange your boards and click on “Edit Boards.”
Hold down and drag your boards around to the order of your liking :)
5. Having boards on Pinterest is like having your own voice within your other social media accounts. You want to stay consistent across the board (get it? Haha, I like stupid puns). If you want others to view you as a designer, have a board dedicated to it. This same idea can be applied to other areas of your interests as well. I plan on creating a social media board and also an infographics board! I happen to love typography, so I already have a board for that :) When thinking of names for your boards, also try to be creative. You want people to actually want to see those boards, not just glance over them and move on.
*Another note. Pinterest now shows you all of the measurements of your pins right on your profile! It’s an easy and quick way to see how many followers you have, and those you are following, pins, repins, where you are pinning to and all sorts of other activity.
What are you waiting for? Get started on that PinFolio!
Ok, that’s my bit of humming nerd advice for now, keep checking back for more!
Finally got my business cards!! Now im off to Michigan!! (Taken with instagram)
Sketch party at the @ElonUniversity Alamance fountain #imedia365 (Taken with instagram)
Screen shot of my work-in-progress portfolio!
Portfolio: now in session!
So, for my iMedia capstone project, one major aspect is that we recreate our portfolio website! I’m trying to give my portfolio a touch, more link a punch, of who I am as not only a designer but person. For my theme, I’m going with a bookshelf kind of idea where my best features will be on the “top shelf” and the rest of the shelves will represent other various content that pertains to me and my experiences. I’m really excited to get it under way and complete the mockup!
My goals for this week are plentiful, as they always are, but I am hoping to have a completed mockup and then get started on it in Wordpress, did I mention I’m using WP to make my site? Yep, cuz it’s awesome! I really want to learn WP more, so that is why I am using it to hold my super duper portfolio site!
I will also be working on Ella Sven this week! Particularly Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But I CANNOT begin this until I get some new tires on my car! I was in shock in Sunday evening driving home through a terrible blizzard in NC. I’m not sure why it decided to become winter all of a sudden!
After I complete this planned task, I hope to be curled up in Barnes and Nobles with my headphones in, shut out from the world, so I can keep cranking out my project. To see more of a description of my project, check out this presentation I made, it’s wicked! http://www.kelseytrabue.com/capstone-proposal/#/intro
