Tastefully Inspired Podcast

Today we talk about why IGTV seems to be pretty good these days.  I am giving it a try again and maybe so should you!

Today I share a tip/guide on how to make any social media post work. It is easy as 1 2 3.

Today we go over a simple way to increase your followers by showing them a little love.  How to do it: Click on the paper airplane icon below the post you want to share Tap Add post to your story The post will appear as a sticker with a custom background You can rotate, scale, move the sticker, and tap it to explore other styles Add a hashtag and tag in the user so they know you posted about them. Once you’re happy with how it looks, tap the Your Story button to add it to your post. The post will show original poster’s username. 

Go to the post you’d like to Pin Tap the three dots icon located above your post to the right Select Copy Share URL to copy the post link to your clipboard Open the Pinterest app on your mobile device Tap on your profile image icon to visit your profile Tap the plus sign icon at the top right of the screen to add a new Pin An “Add a board or Pin” menu will appear, select Copied link Pinterest will automatically open the link saved to your clipboard Choose the image you’d like to Pin and finish posting as usual

Today I reveal the best secret to having a successful Instagram LIVE.  I found this out last night by accident and I had to share.

Today I talk about the magic number of hashtags you should be using on your posts.  Also a few bonus tricks to give your posts on Instagram a turbo boost!

Today I share a simple trick that will help you get max results with your Instagram Grid.  This view point was shared to me about 6 months ago and it rocked my world.

Today we talk about why you NEED to go LIVE in Instagram to grow your numbers.  This is key to engaging your followers and boosting your place in IG world. 

Today we talk about the one sure fire way to tell if your Instagram efforts are really working.  This is a statistic that I always look to first and it makes me smile or frown on a daily basis.

Today we talk with designer Natasha Gupta.  She is a super talented designer who landed a couple of restaurant projects.  She shares her thoughts on how this can lead to additional projects.  We talk about how proper marketing your past projects to get new ones.

Today we talk with interior design Adam Scougall about PR and marketing.  We go over some easy and cost effective ways to get your brand seen.  It is not as hard as you might think.  

Let's talk about how to tell a story through social media.  Stay away from posting just to post and you are on the right track.  But let's take this a step further at the podcast.

Getting your clients to know what you are all about it tough. Designer Elizabeth Scruggs does this through Facebook LIVE and it is paying off. Learn how she is getting 90% of her business referrals by being herself and showing what she does to her future clients.

Today we go over how to grow you Facebook Business Page.  It is a trick I use and have taught many designers to explode their local market.  

Today we talk to designer Marina V. Umali about her social media and how she markets her design business.  She talk about how highlighting Feng shui in her design work has benefited her growth. 

Today we talk about how to find and connect with local social media influencers.  If you are a local business finding these account and brands are huge to your local market.  it is not as hard as you think.

Today we talk with designer Heather Bates on how to better educate clients through social media.  Make sure to show you clients that your time is valuable before they even pick up the phone.

Today we run you through the step of how to setup paid consultations via Instagram.  That's right learn how to get your clients to schedule and pay you for your time via Instagram.  

One of the toughest things to do is to convert readers/viewers into subscribers.  Today we talk about a straight forward method of how to get this done.

Today we talk about how to create buzz around your social media.  This involves some good content and a whole lot of teasing.

Learn how often you should post a photo of yourself on your brands social accounts.  It might be hard but it really does help.  We give you some tips on how to do it right.

Learn how to get views from using Instagram location tags the right way.  We go over this easy method to get more attraction to your stories today at the podcast.

Learn why and how to create some amazing cover images for your videos.  Get more of an audience and more views for your videos today with some simple tricks.

Learn about what a Bot is and what it means to your social media efforts.  So many people are talking about them why not go over what they really are and why they mean business. 

Today we learn about what time is the best for social media.  There are a lot of opinions on this one.  I shed some light on my testing and why it might be true.  

Today I explain why IGTV should matter more to an account under 10,000.  IGTV allows the swipe-up to accounts under 10K so take advantage of it!

Today we go over a simple Instagram secret to make you grid look amazing.  In 5 minutes you will be able to apply this little trick to make you grid look amazing. 

This is one of the best secrets that I have ever shared about Instagram.  Apply the right amount of hashtags to any post in about 5 seconds. 

Today we talk about what you can do if your Instagram account has been hacked.  In this age of huge online companies what can you do to be heard?  We talk about our options.

Before installing anything on your phone, tablet or computer make sure you do some background checking.  These apps can create havoc on your passwords and for your contacts.  

3 Steps to Closing Your Dream Client is what we are going over at the podcast today.  We focus on what a close should mean to you and how to connect with your future client.

Video is key to any marketing strategy so we talked to former broadcast journalist and video coach Tori Toth.  She goes over how important is for your brand and why you need to do it right.

How Facebook Suggest Friends is something that has confused people for the longest time.  I took a month of my life to examine this and here are the results I found. 

Why Instagram is Good for Marketing?  Today we dive into this question and give you the answers to how to solve this problem through a solid foundation and lots of story telling.

Picking the Right PR Firm: Today we talk with PR Guru Matt Walker with Period Media who's clients include Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Kathryn M. Ireland. He talks about social medias impact in design and when is the right time to call a PR specialist. About Matt Walker: Matt joined Period Media as a Principal in 2009 to oversee the firm’s public relations practice. In this role, Matt plans and implements high-profile publicity campaigns, directs VIP outreach, and oversees communication for a range of individuals, brands and events in the design, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment industries. About Period Media: Period Media is a full-service public relations and creative agency operating at the intersection of the worlds of fashion, entertainment, design, hospitality and luxury lifestyle.

Setting Up the Perfect Instagram Profile: Today we talk about the right way to setup your Instagram profile photograph. We will be doing an actual test with our method to show you how it works LIVE. Don't just hear it but see if it works. Yian is our guest and he weighs in on the topic and fuels the bet!

How to Boost Facebook LIVE Engagement - Tell Your Audience - Have Fun with It - Ask for People to Subscribe or a Call to Action - It is Alright to Pay to Get Additional Eyes on Your Video - Respond to Everyone

Today we talk about some simple tools for tracking your visitors to your blog. Social Media is tough to track but we break it down and make it easy for you.  

Video vs Audio Podcasting Today we talk podcasting and which method is the best for you.  Audio podcasting has been a staple online for some time now but with the advances in video it makes it tough.  I go over the pros and cons of both models and break it down for you to make the call.

Blog Tips to Live By Today I wanted to focus on some of the tips that have helped me create my blog.  We are approaching 1 year and our numbers have exceeded expectations so I wanted to share. 1. Know Your Audience 2. Ask Your Audience 3. Create a Solid Newsletter 4. Write for Yourself First 5. Give Away Your Knowledge 

Explode Instagram Today I reveal my new method I have been using to gain at least 70 new followers a week on Instagram.  These followers are clean and the best part is that it is easy.  

Find Your Happy Place Today we talk about how getting into a happy and relaxed state allows your blog, podcast and digital media to really get to the next level. Creativity is sometimes a hard thing to muster but if you can find a method to draw it out prior to your media creation it really pays off with clear and fun messages. 

Designing Your Brand Easy Spend your coffee money on your brand Facebook marketing is the key Combine marketing and branding effectively  Testing is the key to making an impact Focus on then the end goals and not the short sale

Today at the podcast we cover is going LIVE or producing you videos is best for your brand and audience.   - You Can Have Your Own TV Channel - Produced Intro - No Sponsors on FB LIVE Videos...sort of - Make Millions with YouTube - LIVE is Scary but Worth It - Facebook LIVE Videos Get More Traffic - Buy Some Makeup and Get Pretty Fast

Interior Design vs The World Today we discuss how to grow your audience past the design world.  Create an audience that grows at the pace you set for it. – Expand Your Reach by Blogging with Related Topics – Plug New Topics in Your Email Newsletter – Use Facebook Ads to Target Similar Niches to Your Own - Why Travel Tuesday Makes Sense for Tastefully Inspired - It Is All About Bringing New People to Your Blog - Introduce People to Interior Design and Create Loyalty Learn how to think big and not only be a super star in the design world...think global!

LIVE Videos Today I talk about the proper setup, use and the best way to maximize your digital media in the LIVE video arena. - Proper Video Setup - Lighting Does Matter - We Still Love YouTube - How to Best Shoot a Facebook LIVE Video - Why LIVE Video is Here to Stay  - Adding a Podcast to the Mix - Embed Video to Your Blog Interior Design and the entire design industry is changing and we want to stay ahead of the pack.  Enjoy these tips so you and your business can as well.

Today at the podcast I go into detail on the correct way to use video in marketing for interior design.  The war between YouTube and Facebook rages on but I will show you the best way to maneuver to get the biggest buzz around your video marketing.     • Size limits for both platforms • Why creating two different videos works the best • How to maximize exposure in both worlds • Quality matters • Take advantage of the storage YouTube and Facebook give you • How to market a video on Facebook • Tease your audience

YouTube Videos Are Here Today we talk about Youtube and why it really matters: Closed Caption Decisions Don't Be Scared Video is Here to Stay Why Videos Do Get Easier Youtube is the 2nd largest Search Engine for a Reason SEO Can Be With Video The episode centers around how and why to do videos and then how to be found by them.  Enjoy and questions are always welcome!   Mark

Interior Design & Wikipedia Credibility    As everyone knows I love being on the first page of Google. Definitely not an easy task but worth it’s weight in gold.  Traffic and quality content go hand-in-hand. The other thing that goes hand-in-hand is online credibility in Wikipedia.  This free to add to encyclopedia dictates in many ways how we view a person or company.   One of the first questions I ask any client.  Is why don’t you have a Wikipedia page?   Most look at me with a confused look.   Then they tell me…I’ve never been asked.  Then much to their surprise I say you don’t have to be asked you just have to create one.  Then I go to work and create their Masterpiece for them.   This masterpiece includes a beautiful picture, vital statistics, links to handpicked media and press, quotes and awards.  In today’s podcast I’ll explain why if you don’t have a Wikipedia page you really should get one.

I look over my stats twice a day once at the beginning of the day and then once at the end of the day.  I then change what didn’t work and keep what did work.  I gauge the traffic as to where it came from and where it went.  These numbers can help you forecast so many things. We grew Tastefully Inspired to a blog that receives between 300-500 unique visitors per day in a matter of 6 months.  Without using statistics to allow us to see what was working and improve on what was not we could not have reached this goal.  Assuming your blog, store, website or online store's statistics are solid is just not good business.  Always know your numbers because at the end they really do matter.

Here is Kathleen...   Today I took a little break from interviews and wanted to spotlight one of our contributors Kathleen Bandaruk.  Kathleen has been creating some amazing recipes and giving us the rundown on some travel destinations.  We went LIVE of the Tastefully Inspired Podcast so that you could get to know Kathleen in a more personal way.   At the end of the interview we also talked how to create the perfect set of #hashtags and explode your “Instagram Marketing”.   Below are some excerpts from Kathleen’s Blog “Deep Green Love” and a little more about Kathleen.   "Hi!  I’m Kathleen (Kathy, Kath, Kat) and I’m a woman on a mission.   Fortunate enough to have been raised in the “eco-friendly” mecca of Boulder, Colorado, you could say my blood runs green and I want to turn yours green, too.  I currently reside in New Jersey (not so green but I’m working on it!) with my hubby and two beautiful Boxers.  Animals and nature are my “thing”, so I love living the green lifestyle and doing everything I can to make a difference for our planet.  God, family and friends are my heart and soul.  I am also incredibly grateful to have a serious streak of creativity that needs an outlet.  So, between singing at church, running this blog and my Etsy stores, while still going to a 9-5 job, I’m a busy girl!"