I’ve recently been working with a retail client and in doing so have discovered some great tools for running a retail business and setting up an online shop.

Firstly, everyone is talking about ‘Pinterest’ a relatively new social media site set up in 2010 that really lends itself to retail businesses or businesses whose products are very visual.  It is as the name implies a pin board so you can pin any image that interests you and organise them into specific categories.  In the same way as Facebook you have followers who can ‘like’, ‘comment’ or  ‘repin’ your posting, this means your post could go viral if people find it interesting.

The thing to note with Pinterest is, as with other social media, it is not about continuously plugging your wears, you do have to share & comment on others content and be social. Piniterest has been showing amazing results for pushing traffic to websites so it really is a must for anyone in the retail business.

I’ve also been looking at a website called ‘Moonfruit’, it allows you to build your own online shop & it’s is really very impressive how straight forward it can be.  There are a few different websites offering this service but for me Moonfruit has the best templates and is the easiest to use.

Once you have designed your site Moonfruit publish your site for the web, mobile and social media, your entire online shop can be published to Facebook. By making  sure your site is connected to all the right places for you they are taking care of the majority of your SEO (search engine optimisation) for you.

There is an enormous library of backgrounds and images to choose from so you can build a unique site and the option for a paypal checkout, this really gives your site a professional feel.  All the necessary buttons are available, allowing your customers to ‘like’ you to Facebook and tweet interesting products.

The standard package is only £7.20 a month for a maximum of 50 products making is a very viable product for small businesses.

If you need any help setting up a Pinterest page or creating a Moonfruit online shop then I can be contacted on lindsay@reddesk.co.uk

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www.reddesk.co.uk

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