Here is my first exciting 2016 new project + a Pinterest tutorial for you with 5 useful tips you need to implement right now…

Do you remember last year I said I would be working on new creative projects this year!? This is it!

Following 10 years of experience, building and raising international awareness on the BODIE and FOU brand, organising brand collaborations with iconic brands like Vipp, The Simple Things magazine in the UK and France and as a Social Media Expert at the Airbnb Conference, I have been working these past few months, on a series of social media and styling workshops.

These workshops will be designed to help independent concept stores and small Designers to achieve organic growth, to gain PR in national and international magazines below and above-the-line like we did for BODIE and FOU, to increase brand awareness, sales and to help you to find your voice through a series of social media and styling workshops so you can connect with your customers.

The first workshops will take place in France and London from March 2016 and I’m super excited!! This has been something I have nurtured and longed to do for a while and I can’t wait to meet you all and share with you all the things I’ve learnt (trials and mistakes too!) while building the BODIE and FOU brand and shop on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and of course Pinterest!

In the meantime, I recently re-organised my Pinterest boards and put together a little tutorial with 5 things you need to do now to curate your Pinterest board and most importantly, why you should do this on a regular basis.

Why do you need to update your Pinterest cover boards?
In a nutshell…to keep it fresh, relevant and provide attractive content to your audience.
From a business point of view, Pinterest is a great way to showcase your style and aesthetics, your brand (in my case BODIE and FOU), your portfolio (I have a folder for my styling work and press coverage) and if you run an e-commerce site, it is likely to be your most important referrer (check your Google Analytics).
Pinterest is also very useful for improving your SEO (search engine optimization) because you can link back to your website with interesting and relevant content. So first, move relevant boards at the top of your Pinterest (i.e. as you can see, anything to do with December and Xmas is now at the bottom of my boards) and prioritise seasonal content. January is all about the SALE, new resolutions which very often include eating clean and working out so I move these folders at the top.

Pinterest Tip 1: You should aim to change your Pinterest cover boards ideally each month. If you are strapped for time, amend them at least at the start of each season (min. 4 times/year + move things around again pre-Christmas).

Pinterest Tip 2: If you run an e-commerce site, create a folder in the name of your shop + SALE and pin all your discounted items from your website. This will in turn drive back traffic to your site and generate sales.

How to change your Pinterest cover boards?

1/ Log into your account and click edit on the board you would like to change the photo (big pink arrow below).

2/ Click on change (pink arrow) and then you will be able to go through all the pins you filed in this specific folder and select the one you think is most relevant or attractive.Pinterest Tip 3: As you can see, I have also highlighted the copy you can add in the description. For branding coherence, I use the same on all my boards but if you run an Airbnb business for instance and have created a folder per property you own, you can use the “Description” field to add specific URL or info to each property.Pinterest Tip 4: Spring cleans your boards and delete some if necessary (yes delete!). If one of your boards has about 5 pins in it for the past 12 months, chances are that this specific folder is not much of interest to you and therefore will be not of interest to your followers with so little inside.

Pinterest tip 5: Amend your bio at the top. The same way, you had the opportunity to add a description to each of your board, you can also add a little biography to give your potential followers what you are about.

How to amend your bio on your Pinterest?

1/ Log into your account. At the top right-hand corner, click on edit profile. Once there, you’ll be able to upload a profile image, add your website URL and your bio (160 characters max.).

2/ If you run an e-commerce website, I strongly recommend you add the HTML code provided by Pinterest and get your website verified.

About the BODIE and FOU workshops (IG: #bodieandfouworkshops)…

• The first workshops will start in March 2016 in Paris, Bordeaux, Bay of Arcachon, Brittany and London.
• Dates TBC
• Should you be interested in attending one of our workshops, please subscribe to my E-news and leave a comment below explaining what you would love to learn about and the city/region of your choice (workshops website to follow)
• Follow me on Instagram, hashtag #bodieandfouworkshops and of course on Pinterest where I will be creating a BF workshops board