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What's the Deal with Pinterest? What Do I Need to Know?

 

If you haven't already heard, you're bound to hear soon: there's ANOTHER social network that's becoming a player in content marketing strategies.  It's called Pinterest and it's gaining traction quickly; in fact, I was just informed that "it is sending more referral traffic to websites then LinkedIn, YouTube and Google Plus COMBINED."  So, what is Pinterest and what do small business owners need to know?

Pinterest Overview

Pinterest is unique because it is much more of a visual network. Each "pin" (a post to the network) is tied to a photo or video - although right now, it's primarily being used for photos. So, instead of scrolling through the text of blog posts and comments, like you would on Facebook or Twitter, users scroll through photos. And, we all know that a picture speaks a thousand words!!!

Marketing for Small Business Owners on Pinterest
In all honesty, I don't know the numbers off hand, but my guess on demographic info is that the network is currently serving women, ages 28-50. The posts thusfar emphasize fashion, travel, motivation, diy projects, wedding planning, recipies, gardening and decorating. Brands that want to get on there and have some impact are going to get very creative visually.

That said, there are some who have been using it speldidly. I'm sure you read of the success that Okios greek yogurt is having as people are passing along recipes that they've tried using the product, including pictures of lush cheesecakes and breakfast ideas!  Here's a second example that I spied this morning; it's a branded message designed to be shared visually: http://pinterest.com/pin/68719887308/

The reason why it is doing so well at driving referral traffic is that all you get when you see a "pin" is the visual and a link to the place from which it originated, so if you want any info at all, you have to click-through. Then, of course, layered on top of that is social aspect of the site.  And, since the site ranks well on Google, having a backlink from Pinterest to your site is helpful in terms of SEO.

I hope that gives you a sense of the tool and what it's about.  Let me know if you have any other questions about it! (Insert throat clearing) I"m an "avid user."

New Shareable, Old Content

First, yes.  I did just make up that word.  Well, it's a real word, but Websters only uses it as an adjective. Here, it's a noun. A shareable is any type of content that is meant to be passed along from one person to another.  You know what viral is, right?  Same thing.  Only viral is an adjective and sharable is a noun.

Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about repurposing content.  Repurosing content means that you take old creations (ideas, images, videos, etc.) and you use them to generate new content.  For instance, perhaps you've written a white paper called "100 Ways to Organize Your Office."  Instead of coming up with 100 additional ideas for blog posts, you take each idea from the white paper and expand on them one at a time as blog posts.  It's a lot less effort, right?

What made me think of this topic was the following graphic from Ape Con Myth:

 

Whatever your thoughts on SOPA & PIPA, you have to admit that this organization has done a wonderful job taking old, online content and turning it into a timely shareable.  Keep in mind as you look at this that the links are active, so the actual content remains on the originators' websites: the organization doesn't have to worry about crediting its sources.   

As a business owner, think about how long it would have taken for you to generate all of the articles to which this one graphic links!  Compare that to the time it took to pull the links together and repackage it as a graphic.  A pretty big difference, right?  Now, how much money could you have earned in those saved hours?  That said, keep the idea in mind for yourselves!

Now, tell me.  Who has done something similar for their own business?  Can you share the link in the comments section to give other ideas?  

 

Twelve Ideas of Christmas on Facebook

One business related thing that I enjoy at this time of year is watching how creative people are. Everywhere you look, they are coming up with unique and interesting ways to tie-in to Christmas and the holiday season.  On Facebook, I've seen the following and wanted to pass them along to inspire you to do some creative planning in 2012:

1. CTMLS: They have created a blog series called Twelve Days of Tips and Tricks.  What content could you pull together for twelve days to create something similar?
2. Pottery Barn Kids: Using the ever popular give away ploy, their custom page is quite festive.
3. The Little Beach Gallery:  As a gift shop, it seems an easy fit for the holiday season, but I like how they created a special photo album for their "Holiday Gift Guide 2011."
4. The Song Lists: Want attention when everyone else is posting about the holidays?  Try an non-holiday headline.  
5. Organized for Life: Created a holiday themed downloadable.  They probably won't make a ton of money off of the one item, but it's the type of thing people may pass around and it gets traffic to their site.
6. All Things for Sale: Showing cute and clever ideas for using your products during the holiday season.
7. Better Homes & Garden: Host a holiday themed contest.  You can't beat cookies, but it could also beat decorating, organizing tips, travel locations.  You get the idea!  Just plan early for this.  You'll need to talk it up to get entrants and then follow up by highlighting your winner!
8. Two Peas in a Bucket: Plenty of holiday How Tos available on their website.  They simply linked to their great blog posts on Facebook.  Even businesses with a serious side can tackle this: "How to Continue Saving as the Holidays Burst your Budget" or "How to Avoid Travel Headaches During the Holidays." 
9. Evernote:  Sure, the holidays are joyous, but there is also a lot to do and a lot of stress that leads up to the festivities.  Recognize your customers' holiday related pain and demonstrate how your product can alleviate that!
10. Kiva:  Be blunt.  Remind your customers that gift cards make a wonderful gift.  But, let me remind you that you can only do that if you balance it out with lots of other compelling content.
11. Modern Mom:  Help your customers by creating a list of gift suggestions.  If you are tragetting your business to small business owners, think of the "Top 10 Gifts for Small Business Owners."  Perhaps selling garden supplies, try "Top 25 Gift Ideas for Those Who Love Playing in the Dirt!"
12. Mind Over Matter Coaching:  Take it a little deeper.  Think about the values and ideas that the holidays represent and share heartfelt ideas, quotes or questions.  

There you have it, folks.  Twelve ideas to get you thinking about how you can tie-in to the holiday season with your own business.  And, don't just leave this for next year's holiday season.  The ideas work just as well come spring season, pool season, or wedding season!  What creative ideas have you seen - either on Facebook specifically or the web in general?

Make Your Own "Radio" Ads for Facebook?

Since the latest round of Facebook hubbub, I've been enjoying playing around with the timelime, Yahoo! News, and Spotify.  Of course, it's not all play.  I've also been thinking about ways that business owners might employ Facebook's new features to aid their marketing efforts.

Today, I contemplated Spotify.  If you haven't yet tried the new timeline and associated features, Spotify is an online music player that will publish the name of the song to which you are listening and a link to it directly to Facebook in real-time (assuming, of course, you give it permission to do so!).

So, what happens when business owners start creating audio content?  Will our streams become cluttered up with advertisements?

Personally, I wouldn't advise clients to take a straight advertising approach at all.  First, no one is going to bother listening to it, so why bother.  Second, your audience will get frustrated with the self-serving approach and will start blocking your account.

What may work though are short (2.5 minute or less) audio clips that are informative, like a mini-podcasts. (See related article on Cinch to get an idea.)  Imagine a playlist filled with your tips and tricks.  Once they are published to your Facebook audience, someone else may see it come through and click it.  Suddenly, your audio is on its way to becoming viral in the way everyone hopes their YouTube videos will.

Thoughts?  Would you try it?  What would be interesting enough for you to listen to?   

(Photo credit: ines saraiva)

 

A Practical Social Media Example for Small Business Owners

Ten years ago, I had just moved to the Triangle area andworked for Binary Press, a start-up consulting firm, doing anything and everything related to marketing and PR.  This was back at the time when intranets, the notion of sharing content on websites, and email marketing were just starting up.  It was "long" before social media.  So, I headed off to area networking events and met Kristy Stevenson.

Ten years ago, Kristy was a new Mom too and had started her own online, parenting magazine called Bundles of Joy which she was promoting.

Turns out Binary Press only lasted a couple of years.  My networking for that company ended and I didn't see Kristy for years - literally.  I worked on other things before finally starting up Purple Phone in 2008.  Not honestly sure how Kristy spent those days: given her portfolio, I imagine she was writing away.

Then came social media.  For whatever Kristy was working on, she continued to network out in the North Raleigh area.  I got back into it more locally in Holly Springs as I lauched Purple Phone: I was about 30 minutes away.  (Now, dig in your mind for how that Kevin Bacon game works.)  She was connected to someone.  I to someone else.  And, there was a connection in the middle.  In time, thanks to aid of our online tools, we found one another again and reconnected.  We chatted here and there sharing resources and tools and comments about our local area.  

A couple months ago, Kristy was assigned an article by Carolina Parent that was to focus on how social media plays into ones personal branding.  Like all good reporters, Kristy needed expert opinions.  In looking through the many contacts that she'd gathered over the years, she knew several local marketing and social media professionals, myself included.  Kristy, as a small business owner herself, benefitted from social media simply by having the right network to go to when she needed to produce her product.

As for me, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for her article, Maximize Your Own Brand with Social Media.  Does it mean the world is knocking down my door this AM for me to work with them?  No - it's not quite that tangible.  But, it does mean that my name and business name have spread to all of the readers of Carolina Parent.  It means that my search engine rankings will get a bit of a boost by being tied to that article.  And, it offers one more step in presenting me as an expert in my field.

The point: if you are still dangling your feet on the edge of social media and are afraid to dive on in, don't be.  Think of it most simply as a way connect (or as is the case here re-connect) with people.  Share experiences and questions.  It's the biggest networking event ever, so don't be shy!

 (Photo credit: mikecogh)

Too Early to Talk Turkey?

I don't know about you, but I love getting catalogs: Pottery Barn, Land of Nod, Yankee Candle, Oriental Trading.  Anything and everything. I think it feeds my need to shop without actually having to spend money.

In this week's pile of glossy pictures, I started to see it . . .catalogs contained Halloween costumes, fall fragrances, and jewel-toned pillows stacked high.

I thought to myself, "It's only August.  It's 100 degrees outside my office.  I can't believe that they are already selling this stuff!!!"

Then, the business owner and marketing sides of my brain kicked in and I thought: "Yikes, it's already August!  Time to get moving.  Have my clients even started to think about their holiday promotions yet?"

As much as we (the general public) hate to admit it, we (the business owners) must start planning and prepping for our holiday season now.  There is much to get ready: messages, promotions, ads, materials, and greetings.  So, take a break from the pool for just a few moments and do some brainstorming for your business.  Figure out how you can make this fall and holiday season one of your greatest yet!

(Photo credit: turtlemom4bacon)

Are Emailed Newsletters Old School?

I was on the phone with a client the other day and she asked me: “Are newsletters old school?”  And, I jumped in quickly with “Absolutely no!”  As we were talking, it occurred to me that, given all the hubbub about social media these days, the same question might be in the back of your mind too.

So, what keeps the newsletter relevant, as compared to social media?

• It reaches qualified leads.  People have opted to hand over their email addresses to you in exchange for the information that you will deliver.  This signals an increased level of interest on their part.
• It can encourage action.  The social media model can excite and engage, but the newsletter can actually include a call to action, a request that the recipient become even more involved with the brand, perhaps even to the point of making a purchase.
• It allows you to deliver information.  Instead of putting the onus on your customers and targeted customers to seek out your blog or to follow you on Facebook, you hand over the information that you want them to have. 

So, keep those newsletters working for you.  Make sure they contain useful information, delivered in a professional format and they will continue to be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. 

What a Broom, Coat Hanger and Tube of Spackle Reminded Me about Marketing

The quick setup.  We’re selling our house.  There was a long settlement crack running down from the ceiling to the bottom of the wall.  It had to be fixed.  Problems arose when the tallest ladder I could get was 10’ tall – and the ceiling was maybe 15’ or so.

As I teetered on the edge, not knowing exactly what to do about this, I realize that other things in the house could probably help.  I got the coat hanger, dribbled a hefty amount of spackle on it and ran it down the crack.  Good results, but still not quite high enough.  A rounded broom handle, I thought:  that did the trick!  Spackle all the way from ceiling to wall’s edge!

Climbed on down and was rinsing the broom.  Of course, this was all mid-work day, so my mind was on marketing and I was reminded that . . . 

As a digital marketing consultant, I can tell you anything and everything you want to know about social media, but the catch is that they are simply tools - they are the coat hanger and broom.  It’s the WAY we use them and the IDEAS that we have for applying them that will have the greatest impact, offering you solutions to problems, exciting customers, and resulting in more leads than you can handle. 

What are you doing with Facebook, Twitter, etc. that’s fresh and different?  How are you being creative in your marketing? Show me your out-of-the-box ideas!  (If you’re not doing, you can show what are you seeing – maybe you’ll spark an idea for someone else.)

Cool Tool: Cinch

Follow Rachelminihan on Cinch

This week, I’m going to switch it up a bit.  Generally, I prefer the written word: since we’re not all the same, this is a great tool for the talkers of the world to share their ideas and drive traffic to their sites. 

Take a look at the tool, Cinch and listen to my sample.

Super simple and easy for recording micro-podcasts on the fly! 

Give it a try and  post your samples below so I can see how it works for you.

In a Word: “Curate”

A year ago, I can’t image that this was a word that people came across on a daily basis.  Did you?  Now, however, it’s a word that’s making a come back – well, perhaps it’s simply becoming popular for the first time. 

In case it’s new to you, Dictionary.com defines curate as “to serve as curator for.”  Which means that you are the person “in charge of a collection.”  Traditionally, this was used to mean an art collection, such as “curator of a museum.”  But, the word is shifting it’s meaning to encompass all works of art – from well developed software products to fabulously designed meals to super interesting tweets.  (More on this in Seth Godin’s book Linchpin, if you’re curious.)

The word is becoming popular because there’s simply so much information available online now that, to actually apply the information in any way, one must gather it up into useful categories. 

Of course, this does have its benefits.  If you can curate a collection of material or art that excites, informs, or entertains your audience, it’s just one more way to become engaged with them.  Happy Curating, all!  (P.S. I realize I’ve gone completely overboard with photos, but I am a collector at heart and love seeing these things!)