Social Media

9 Pinterest Marketing Tips to Connect with Your Audience

by Melanie Wolske May 25th, 2017

A successful online marketing strategy requires careful preparation—including social media marketing. Learn about Pinterest’s specific features and tools, so you can make the most out of your social media marketing campaign. We compiled nine tips that should help you stand out on Pinterest.

1. Create an appealing pinboard:

• Since Pinterest is a primarily visual social medium, you definitely want to take the time to create an attractive pinboard with high-quality images. It’s best if most of your pins are original content, but you can also re-pin other users’ content if it is relevant to your brand. (Plus, certain images are more likely to be re-pinned than others.)
• Don’t watermark your images or add a corporate logo, as anything that looks too promotional will likely not be re-pinned.
• Because the mobile app now shows a collage of your pins for each board rather than just a cover image, it may be a good idea to be selective with your pins.

2. Categorize pins via boards:

• Add distinctive, relevant boards to categorize your pins. These boards should reflect both your business’s offerings as well as your target audience’s interests.
• Select a popular picture for your cover image as this will help increase the chances of people clicking on it.
• Make sure that you pin any posts to the appropriate category.
• You may also invite other pinners to collaborate on a board, or join group boards to raise brand awareness. Pinterest again allows users to directly share affiliate links, which can help boost your affiliate income.

3. Pin correctly:

• Upload pins via your website because this allows you to generate a link back to your website from a reputable, well-known source. When somebody re-pins your post, the link to your website will remain the source of the pin. ¹
• Businesses can use various rich pins, which increase the likelihood that a user will click through your website. Product pins, for instance, attach information about pricing, availability, and location of the item. Buyable pins let users buy products without leaving Pinterest.

4. Write detailed descriptions:

• Pinners will find your posts more easily if they are accompanied by detailed descriptions with relevant keywords.
• Keep copy between 100 and 200 words.
• You may want to include a trackable URL and/or CTA that leads to your website.
• Refrain from using too many links, as this may come across as salesy.
• Also, refrain from using too many hashtags as this is poor Pinterest etiquette and may even take users away from your post. Instead, create relevant, unique hashtags that allow users to easily search for your posts. ²

5. Share content from others:

• Pinterest is all about sharing inspiring content among users. About 20% of your pins should be re-pinned content from other accounts. This lets users know that you are active on Pinterest and pay attention to your audience’s interests. ³
• Additionally, make sure that images on your website are shareable on Pinterest by installing the “Pin It” button.
• If your pins don’t get as much attention as you would like, you can pay to have them promoted to increase exposure.
• Since Pinterest is about inspiring and motivating people, the best way to anticipate engagement is to share content that your followers will find genuinely useful.

6. Communicate with other pinners:

• Remember that Pinterest—just like any other social network—is a community. It is therefore vital to interact with other pinners by following them and liking, re-pinning, or commenting on their pins. This will help you gain a loyal following, too.
• If you re-pin somebody’s post, tag that person in your description.
• You may also introduce contests or reward “pinfluencers” to further engage the Pinterest community with your brand.

7. Take advantage of visual search:

• Pinterest introduced a new visual search feature for mobile and desktop, which lets you highlight a part of a pin’s image and search for whatever is depicted in that particular segment.
• Ideally, the visual search results will include buyable pins, so that the pinner can immediately purchase what they were looking for without leaving the app.
• Alternatively, businesses may plant images on the web that include copyright information as well as the desired destination tracking URL to lead pinners to their products. ⁴

8. Understand Pinterest metrics:

• You can easily track your Pinterest success with a number of tools. For example, Pinterest offers a “Web Analytics Walkthrough” video, which demonstrates how to measure metrics and conversions. You can see how many pinners have visited your website from your pinboard, how popular your pins are, and what is re-pinned from your webpage.
• There are also various third-party programs available that allow you to track pins in real time, analyze your followers or schedule your pins.

9. Explore competitors:

• Pinners who follow and/or re-pin your competitors are likely the kind of users who would be interested in your brand as well. Now Pinterest lets you see which pins other users like or save.
• Moreover, you can also see which boards they create or follow. All of this will give you more insight into what your competitors are doing on the app, so you can identify what works and what doesn’t—and then improve upon your competitors’ Pinterest strategy.

Pinterest Done Well Tells Your Inspiring, Engaging Brand Story

Focus on developing an appealing aesthetic, harnessing the platform’s business attributes, engaging with other users, and keeping up with social media trends to be an effective Pinterest marketer. Adhering to these best practices can help you significantly minimize the risk of falling into the “social media marketing trap”—participating in the latest fad without achieving tangible results. This is especially pertinent to small businesses, which need to be economical with their time and resources. Thankfully, a number of companies offer plenty of inspiration with regard to productively promoting your brand on Pinterest.

Additional Sources:

1 – http://marketingland.com/5-pinterest-strategies-drive-big-traffic-117359
2 – http://www.mcngmarketing.com/hashtags-on-pinterest/#.VcFrkZNViko
3 – http://www.business2community.com/pinterest/pinteresting-brands-use-best-practices-increase-sales-pinterest-0848788
4 – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/introducing-pinterest-visual-search-alternative-qr-freeman

Show Not Tell: When to Use Instagram for Your Business

by Melanie Wolske May 19th, 2017

Social media apps are an increasingly vital part of successful marketing campaigns—they can spread a brand’s message quickly and broadly. Now that more people are searching online on their smartphones than on their computers, reaching out via mobile apps that allow users to easily browse social media can be immensely effective.

One of the most popular social media apps these days is Instagram, which has also been catching marketers’ attention more and more in recent years. In fact, ad impressions on the platform multiplied more than 13-fold from 50 million in August 2015 to 670 million in December 2016. ¹

About Instagram

Instagram is a social network that allows the mobile sharing of photos and videos. Launched in 2010, Instagram’s popularity has soared rapidly.

• By December 2014, the platform counted over 300 million users, surpassing social media giant Twitter. ²
• Facebook acquired the service in April 2012 for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. ³
• While Facebook grew by 3% in the following year, Instagram expanded by a whopping 23%.
• The company’s COO Emily White credited “the sophistication of cameras on smartphones” for the app’s remarkable rise, citing the ubiquity of smartphones at fashion shows as an example. ⁴
• In 2013, Instagram introduced sponsored post advertising for U.S. users with promotional ads by fashion brand Michael Kors. ⁵

Instagram: Sharing Moments Instantly

Instagram’s success essentially lies in making it really easy for people to do what they already love doing—taking and sharing pictures. In addition,
Instagram offers a vast number of photographic filters that can be applied to uploaded photos and videos, making photo sharing creative and fun. Any uploads may be accompanied by hashtags or geotags. Users can also leave comments below posts.

In 2013, Instagram added the “Direct” feature, which allows users to send photos and videos to others directly. Instagram accounts can be linked to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr. The app is distributed through the App Store, Google Play, and Windows Phone Store. Even though users can only upload pictures and videos through mobile devices, users may also access their feed on a desktop computer.

In May 2016, Instagram introduced several big changes, including an algorithmic newsfeed. Three months later, the platform added a new feature called “Instagram Stories,” which lets users create short videos (and add text, drawings, filters or stickers) that are deleted after 24 hours, ostensibly responding to Snapchat’s immense success. Shortly after its launch, the “Stories” feature had already garnered 100 million daily views. ⁶ In late 2016, Instagram added a live video streaming future similar to Periscope or Facebook Live.

Is Instagram Right for Your Business?

Given Instagram’s wild success, it is no surprise that countless brands have joined the network to promote their products and services. According to Simply Measured, more than half of the world’s leading brands have an Instagram account. Instagram, however, also has plenty of marketing opportunities to offer for small businesses.

Real and Personable Applications

The photo- and video-sharing platform can help you add authenticity and warmth to your brand. While visually driven industries like fashion or food are perhaps most commonly associated with the network, all kinds of companies can benefit from Instagram’s enormous user base and easy-to-use application.

Simple and Easy to Use Anywhere

First of all, Instagram is extremely accessible. You simply download the free app, take a picture, make some edits, add a caption, and share with your followers. In order to increase your reach, include a geo-location and a number of relevant hashtags. For instance, if you are a local pet groomer, you might post pictures of freshly coiffed pups, use popular hashtags like “DogsOfInstagram,” and make sure that your business information is complete and accurate.

Let Your Brand Story Shine

If your product or service is not exactly visually enthralling, you can still make your brand more personable by sharing fun office moments or showcasing your community engagement. Loyal Instagram users follow business accounts because they are interested in that particular industry and because they like the type of content the company is sharing.

Evaluate How Instagram Can Enhance Your Marketing

Instagram is one of the perhaps most accessible social media platforms, but it’s still worth considering whether Instagram is an appropriate channel for
your social media marketing strategy. Just because it is a popular platform does not necessarily mean that it is the right one for you. A common mistake businesses make is treating social media as an afterthought. Failure to develop a thorough social media marketing plan can easily result in a waste of time and money. Determining the ROI of social media campaigns is already a difficult undertaking, so maximize your chances of success by carefully evaluating if and how Instagram can meet your marketing goals.

Examine your business’ needs and ask yourself these questions:

1. Can you create magnetic visual content?
2. Do you want to reach a wide audience?
3. Do you have the time to post regularly?
4. Can you express a strong brand identity/aesthetic?
5. Are you willing to engage your community?

Next Step: Acquaint Yourself with Instagram’s Features

If you confidently answered these in the affirmative, you will want to familiarize yourself with Instagram’s features and practices. Six years after its
introduction, Instagram has expanded its features immensely, giving you a multitude of possibilities for channeling the app’s marketing potential. To develop an effective Instagram marketing strategy, you can now begin to think about Instagram best practices to enhance your campaigns.

Additional Sources:

1 – http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/267898/instagrams-popularity-pushes-brands-toward-more-v.html
2 – http://mashable.com/2014/12/10/instagram-300-million-users/
3 – http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/04/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/
4 – http://wwd.com/globe-news/digital/instagrams-emily-white-talks-engagement-in-a-mobile-world-7255132/
5 – http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2013/11/01/fashion-designer-brand-michael-kors-becomes-first-run-ads-instagram-screenshot/
6 – http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/instagram-stories-views/

Measuring Social Media ROI: 3 Metrics that Matter

by Rebecca Bleznak September 9th, 2014

Measuring social media ROI continues to be one of the hottest social media topics for 2014. 92% of marketers say that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their business, but is this increased exposure actually translating into increased sales? The jury appears to still be out: 89% of marketers want to know how to measure social media ROI, but it remains a mystery.

While some social media benefits can be difficult to objectively quantify, measuring social media ROI actually is possible. Here are the three key social media metrics that matter most for businesses today.

1. Engagement

Are your followers sharing your posts, commenting on your blogs, and engaging in a genuine dialogue with you and your content? Or are your tweets just hanging alone in cyberspace? Engagement metrics are the number of audience replies or comments per post. The higher your engagement rate, the better you understand your target customers and what motivates these individuals to communicate with your brand, according to Contently. A low engagement rate means that your followers are not motivated to interact with your content or business. For example, if you tweet five or six times per day, but rarely have any of your tweets favorited or retweeted by your followers, then you may need to rethink the originality and relevance of your content to ensure that it is resonating with your followers.

2. Amplification

Traditionally, the number of social media ads that an individual could purchase limited the reach of advertising. Thanks to the explosion of digital advertising in social media platforms, this is all changing. For example, let’s say your business has a modest number of Twitter followers (maybe 2,000), but that a few of these followers are really big industry leaders. Those leaders retweet something you post to their followers, which then gets re-tweeted again. After a series of retweets, your content could be reaching over one million people. This is inherently what amplification rate is all about: (1) quantifying the reach of your network and (2) identifying what content you create is the most popular and, consequently, brings the greatest value to your business.

3. Applause

The applause rate measures your audience’s perception of post quality, according to the Social Media Strategy Summit. Since perception of quality can be very subjective, measuring applause rate is critical to seeing if your content actually resonates with your audience – or if you are just assuming that the things you are posting are relevant and funny, but in reality, they are actually falling short. While the number of “likes” a Facebook post receives may not correlate directly with new customers, this metric is still an important tool for taking your audience’s pulse. A low applause rate means your content is missing the mark and failing to truly resonate with your audience.

Pinterest and Twitter Announce New Social Analytics Platforms

by SEO Savvy September 6th, 2014

In recent weeks, two major social media players announced new analytics tools for their platforms. Pinterest unveiled sharper and more in-depth customer tracking options for its business users, and Twitter announced that its existing analytics platform, which had previously only been open to advertisers and verified users, will now be open to all Twitter users.

It is certainly exciting to hear two new analytics options announced around the same time. Now, small businesses and social media marketers have a few more tools in their toolbox. Receiving more information about your customer base never hurts. Read on to find out more about what these two analytics tools have to offer.

More visibility is a good thing

First of all, it’s beneficial for anyone with a social presence to find out more about how their social media posts perform—small businesses, artists, independent contractors, and whoever else wants to grow their social media reach. In the early days of the industry, marketers were able to determine that there were some practices that worked better than others, but on the whole, finding out what worked and what didn’t work was more about trial and error than it was about actually understanding the way customers operated. Then, Google and Facebook analytics started changing the game with in-depth tracking and statistics.

Now, Pinterest and Twitter have upped their ante. Hopefully, with these added features, marketers, small businesses and content creators can gather a little more insight into how well they’re attracting their audience’s attention.

Pinterest Analytics for Business Accounts

Pinterest analytics is available for business accounts only. The company just announced that their new analytics platform is meant to provide “meaningful insights” about what customers are interested in. How are they doing this? Here are some of the features Pinterest hopes business users will get excited about:

• Track traffic on your Pinterest profile.
• Find out how much traffic comes from the Pin It button.
• Gather insight into the types of people Pinning your content.
• Learn how people interact with your content from different devices.
• Find out which Pins perform the best.

While Pinterest isn’t spilling all the details about their new analytics platform, it seems like it will help business users paint a clearer picture of who their users are, which content performs well, and what kind of traffic the Pinterest profile is getting. This can help content creators craft new Pins with their users’ preferences in mind, launch related campaigns, and continue coming up with new and better ways to engage with their audience.

Twitter Analytics for All Users

Twitter doesn’t offer the same sort of personal, in-depth information that marketers love from social media giants like Facebook, but the 140-character platform is continuing to grow in popularity. In the last few months, Twitter has added 14 million active monthly users; as more people start using Twitter, the company hopes to attract more businesses into the mix, and one way they are doing this is by opening up their analytics dashboard to all users. Twitter’s new analytics platform could be an enticing factor for those who want to reach a whole new audience.

Twitter Analytics isn’t new, but it had previously been available only to users with paid Twitter Ads accounts. Recently, at the end of August, Twitter announced very subtly through just one single Tweet that the analytics tools would be available to all Twitter users. Accordingly, astute Internet marketers picked up the news and spread it like wildfire. So how can Twitter Analytics benefit business accounts?

The dashboard is fairly user-friendly. It shows how many people are viewing and interacting with created content over time. Twitter analytics tracks both impressions—how many times a Tweet is viewed—and engagements—retweets, replies, favorites and follows. You can also export data files for further analysis. This sort of information about Tweet performance and user activity can help businesses understand what sorts of Tweets are successful so they’re better able to hone their social media output, rather than just shooting in the dark. Small businesses, whose priority list might not have included Twitter before this, may have more incentive to sign up and start Tweeting. Now, there’s no reason not to.

The two analytics platforms mentioned in this post are available at:

• analytics.twitter.com
• analytics.pinterest.com (must be signed in with a business account)