What is IFTTT?

Carol Dekle-Foss

  I was inspired by both MaryAnn and Karen last week to link my Facebook page to twitter. I was so happy with this discovery, that I began to wonder. Could there be a social media management tool to link my other social media sites? That would be amazing, and a major time saver. It might even motivate me to post more.
So after a few hours sifting through google, I found IFTTT. "If This Then That. It works by automatically connecting platforms and services across the web. 

There are so many social media sites right? Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google+, Youtube, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, etc etc. Oh, and let's not forget blogging. One would need a clever marketing team to keep up with it all!  IFTTT helps tame the social media beast by using different 'recipes' that you create tailored to your needs and how you use the web. Let me share with you some of my recipes and my new social media strategy using IFTTT.

First, I just started using Hootsuite to post to my facebook page, twitter and Instagram. They only allow three social media sites for free. And that is where IFTTT can help. You create your recipes with hashtags to share to other platforms. Here is a screenshot with the recipes I am currently using.

The first recipe is a post from Instagram to my Instagram board on Pinterest. So now when I post to Instagram with the hashtag #terrarusticadesign, it publishes automatically to Pinterest. Love it! The second recipe is a post to Tumblr, and the third to Flickr. With Hootsuite, and IFTTT, that is SIX posts in just one step. How cool is that?? Unfortunately, IFTTT doesn't have all social media sites, like Google +, but I think they are adding more all the time.

I am in no way affiliated with IFTTT, I just love how helpful it is and thought I would share. It's a great tool that you can tailor to your own needs with many options. Their platform is also easy and fun to work with.

So what is your social media strategy? Do you use any social media management tools that work for you? How do you deal with all the social media options, and which ones do you prefer to use? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Pinterest Promoted Pins?? & GIVEAWAY

Carol Dekle-Foss

In an effort to pull my website out of an internet no man's wasteland, I have been tweaking my keywords, meta tags, descriptions etc etc..to the point of my brain turning to mush. Google insists that my site remain barren, with only the occasional lost soul tripping and falling down my URL. So to try and increase traffic, I strolled down the path of Pinterest Promoted Pins.  My intent was one of hope for us all. I was going to test it out and do a post today to share my amazing results. The Pinterest Promoted Pins mysterious marketing marvel ended up being just..meh.

The results were 45 repins with 8 clicks to my website. The below stats say it had 56 repins, so maybe 11 to secret boards?? Will I do it again? Maybe. Maybe not. As expected, the campaign didn't attract all that many buyers. 

Now they are launching Buyable Pins, showing up on iphones and ipads very soon. Sigh. As of now, this is something I WON'T be trying. Is it just me? I find this very scary and can visualize customer nightmares galore. Products out of stock, wrong products being shipped, customer not receiving refunds...etc etc. I know, I'm being pessimistic. It will be very interesting to see what happens with Pinterest in the upcoming months.

Okay, enough about Pinterest... Let's talk GIVEAWAY!!!

I've had a few requests to purchase my sandblasted pendants, so I've decided to start selling them on my website. I've listed some, and will be listing more in the next few days.

To celebrate, I am offering this sandblasted pendant and ceramic beads set as a GIVEAWAY!

The stone is a pretty red fossil coral sandblasted with my Tree of Life design. 

To win, just leave a comment on your thoughts about Pinterest. Do you hate the Promoted Pins or do they not bother you?  Have you ever pinned a Promoted Pin? If you run into a Buyable Pin will you purchase through Pinterest? We would love to hear your thoughts on the matter!

Also, to enter more than once, you can share this post, like my Facebook page, or follow me on Pinterest. Just let me know in your comments.

UPDATE: Oops! I forgot to add that I will be announcing the winner on my next post scheduled for July 15th. Thank you everyone for your comments and input! It's greatly appreciated!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!