Tag: Pinterest

What’s Their Worth? Facebook Vs. Pinterest Visitors

Pinterest has become a great sales tool for companies already using, and those beginning to use, social media to connect with their customers. It has also grown into one of the most popular social media platforms.

But, can it really compete with the “Big Kahuna” of social media, Facebook?

Does Pinterest drive valuable site traffic?

Do Pinterest users have a greater connection with the brands they follow?

Luckily, Boticca created a great infographic to answer some of these questions regarding “who does it better”, Facebook or Pinterest. For the infographic data, Boticca analyzed 50,000 Pinterest users and 50,000 Facebook users. They share their five most interesting findings in this fun infographic below. Continue reading →

How Social Media Has Changed the Sports Industry

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Sports industry social mediaAre you a social media and sports addict? Or just interested in the ways different industries use social media? Well, check out this great article on the role of social media in the sports industry. Using real-life examples, the article breaks down how social media techniques have been used to build player notoriety, create a culture around sporting events, increase ticket sales, and managing crisis situations.

http://mashable.com/2012/06/04/social-media-sports-tickets-infographic/#bbrOEKlj2mqP

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lowes Pinterest Profile

Building Brand Loyalty with an Integrated Social Media Strategy

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I recently wrote an article for the Mudbug Media blog titled “Build a Following with an Integrated Social Media Strategy.” In the article I used Lowe’s Home Improvement store as an example of a company who got it right.

The following are snippets from the article about each component of Lowe’s strategy:

Lowe’s Facebook Strategy

The core of Lowe’s social media strategy is their Facebook page. With over 1.1 million likes (almost twice as many as the main competitor, Home Depot), Lowe’s has created a successful strategy to communicate with their customers using this social media platform.

Lowe’s leverages the best features of the Facebook timeline format, the cover photo and the history timeline.Lowes Facebook Page

For their cover photo, Lowe’s uses an attention grabbing photo composed of the top pins that followers have re-pinned on Pinterest. They also tie their profile picture directly into the timeline cover photo and use it to drive traffic to their Pinterest account.

The success of Lowe’s Facebook strategy is due greatly to their positive and real-time interaction with fans. Lowe’s responds to the majority of questions and comments within minutes. When a fan has a question about a product, Lowe’s not only answer the specific question, but frequently directs them back to Lowes.com and includes tips on how to use the product.

Check out the full article to find out how Lowe’s mastered the art of responding to negative comments and leveraged the other features of the new timeline format.

Lowe’s Twitter Strategy

Lowes Twitter ProfileWith over 47,000 followers, Lowe’s uses Twitter to answer customer questions and concerns, as well as spread community awareness. As with their Facebook page, Lowe’s does a great job of taking the conversation offline for any negative mentions by asking followers to email them at a Twitter-specific Lowe’s email address. They also respond to all questions, comments, and mentions, often within minutes of the original Tweet.

Check out the full article to find out how Lowe’s uses hashtags to give back to their followers.

Lowe’s Pinterest Strategy

The rapid growth of Pinterest has many companies overwhelmed, but Lowe’s has leveraged the user base and Lowes Pinterest Profilegrowing popularity create to a strong presence on the new social media platform. With almost 7,000 followers (and growing), Lowe’s is building a strong community around their brand on Pinterest. The boards on their Pinterest profile include topics that interest all their different types of customers.

Lowe’s uses Pinterest as a resource tool for customers to find fun and new projects. For example, they have a board for grilling recipes, which includes links to both the full recipe and grills available at lowes.com. Other popular boards on their Pinterest profile are craft, landscaping, and interior design projects using Lowe’s products.

Check out the full article to find out why Pinterest was the perfect addition to Lowe’s social media strategy.

Lowe’s social media strategy has been a success because they appear to understand that social media is a powerful tool for creating and maintaining relationships with customers. Visit the Mudbug Media blog to find out the five key factors that make Lowe’s strategy a success and to read the full article:

Build a Following with an Integrated Social Media Strategy

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4 Social Media Platforms to Watch in 2012

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When the Pinterest phenomenon began, I was personally caught off guard. Even with all the marketing blogs I follow, I did not hear of the new popular social media platform. After reading and writing about the new addicting platform, I became curious about what else could be on the horizon.

Everyday new social media platforms are created, and the creators believe it will be the next “Big Thing”. However, not every idea can be the next Facebook or Pinterest. I do not think I will be able to predict the next craze, but there are four social media platforms that I think look promising and very interesting.

Get Glue

GetGlue is a social network that allows users to check-in to and share what they are watching, listening to, and reading. By checking into TV shows or movies, users GetGue Logocan receive recommendations, exclusive stickers, discounts, and other rewards. There are already over two million users signed-up for this new platform.

While I understand the check-ins, recommendations, and discounts, I do not understand the stickers. Users who earn stickers can have them mailed to them. Though, I do not know how many users actually want physical stickers. I am curious to see how this platform will grow, whether or not it will stay independent, or if it will become part of a bigger platform like Facebook.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Users all over the worldKickStarter Logo can pledge money to music, film, art, technology, design, food, and publishing projects. In order to fund a project, users must reach their goal amount by a set date. For those who pledge money, funds are not withdrawn until the project reaches its target amount by the set date. Those looking to invest in a project can search by project type and location. Therefore, you can help locals trying to get a project going. Each project includes a description and details on what donors will receive in return for pledging money.

An example of a local New Orleans project that was successfully funded through KickStarter was the New Orleans Film Society presents “Movies to Geaux” project. Those who pledged money received great things in return. If a donor pledged $20 or more, they received a New Orleans Film Festival t-shirt and a ‘thank you’ on the NOFS website. The benefit a donor receives depends on how much they pledge. For this project, if a donor pledge $55 or more they received a new Moviegoer membership and a ‘thank you’ on the NOFS website.

Storenvy

Storenvy is a social marketplace for indie sellers. I would compare this platform to the other popular online marketplace Etsy. Store Envy LogoOn the website, it state that “Storenvy is doing to e-commerce what Tumblr has done for blogging”.

Storenvy has several advantages that other free e-commerce sites, such as Etsy or EBay, do not offer. Some of the Storenvy features for sellers are:

  • An individual URL that you can use on business cards and other business items. (example –  http://mystore.storenvy.com)
  • Customizable store layouts that are easy to use and can be altered with or without CSS & HTML knowledge.
  • A store profile on the Storenvy marketplace, which displays products in search results.
  • Allows customers to follow your store.
  • Store promotions with a Facebook “Like” button and postings of new products to your Facebook wall automatically.
  • Store admin panel to track orders, inventory, and traffic statistics. As well as, the ability to set up discount codes, add up to 5 images for every product (you can add unlimited products), and manage your SSL certificate and payments.

Storenvy also gives shoppers a social experience:

  • Letting them find out who is following their favorite stores.
  • Comment on and join conversations about products.
  • Like the store on Facebook.

Tout

Tout is a video sharing platform that allows users to share 15-second video status updates in real time across many different platforms. Videos can be shared on Tout.com,Tout Logo Twitter, Facebook, SMS, and sent to email contacts. This platform is already popular with celebrities and news outlets, such as USA Today, ESPN, and CBS.

Users can also follow other users to get real time updates on new video status updates and see who else follows them. Most videos are classified by a hashtag to make searching and sharing easier. If a user likes a video, they can “ReTout” it. ReTouting is the same as retweeting a tweet to followers. To create a more social atmosphere, users can reply to (comment) on videos to join conversations with other users watching the same video.

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Top 5 Tech Trends from SXSWi 2012

There are a lot of blogs out there right now about SXSW Interactive 2012, but this is one of my favorites. It gets straight to the point and breaks down the 5 tech trends that were getting the most buzz:

  1. Path – Personal social journals. Not sure if I want to know more about people than I already do through Facebook. Do you have a personal social journal?
  2. Social Discovery Tools – GPS enabled apps
  3. Mobile Payments – I haven’t tried Mobile payments yet, but I can definitely see using them in the future.
  4. Interface is King – Connecting design themes across platforms
  5. Beautifying the Web – Photo Sharing
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Should My Brand be on Pinterest?

Atomicdust, an agency in St. Louis, posted a great blog on how to determine if your company should be using Pinterest.  As of now, Pinterest is driving more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined (10 million monthly visitors and growing).

I really enjoyed this post because it asks three straight-to-the-point questions about Pinterest and your brand:

  • Are there compelling images associated with your brand?
  • How much time do you have?
  • How well do you know your brand’s core values?

Takeaways:

  1. Use compelling images that link out to great content, this will not only promote your company but it will improve your website’s SEO with more inbound links.
  2. Social media is important to your company and requires time, and Pinterest is no different. Set aside time to not only find images but to also to respond to followers and repin pictures from your followers.
  3. Create a multi-dimensional brand image by creating multiple boards on varying topics.
  4. Pinterest is about expression not content, though it can drive traffic to content.

Use the link below to check out the full blog and learn more:

Should My Brand be on Pinterest? – Web Design and Marketing Blog.

Social Media Marketing Trends

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Sharing Content

Social media is constantly evolving and changing, including:

  • How individuals use the different platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc)
  • How companies communicate with customers
  • How to measure success and ROI
  • How much to invest into a social media strategy and implementation (what is the value of social media?)

The Social Media Examiner published a great article on how to prove the value of social media for your company based on new research studies. In the article, they breakdown the five newest social media marketing trends:

The Benefits Derived From Social Media are Increasing

The top benefits of social media from a marketing perspective are increased brand awareness and the ability to engage in dialogue directly with their customers. Also, the amount of small businesses using social media has been constantly increasing the last two years. I definitely expect the amount of companies using social media to continue to increase this year. So, if your company has not started to develop a social media strategy to implement, this would be the year to start.

More Businesses are Investing in Social Media

It is estimated that both small and medium sized business will at least double their budgets for social media in 2012. Based on this estimation, I would predict that there would be an even larger budget increase for large and global size companies, who are already seeing the benefits of social media.

Measuring ROI is One of the Top Challenges Face by Marketers

A concerning trend is that approximately half of marketers are not measuring their social marketing to determine its’ success. Simple ways to measure the success of your social media strategy are tracking

  • Twitter Followers
  • Tweets are Re-Tweeted
  • Facebook Likes Shares
  • Comments on Facebook posts
  • Blog post views and comments
  • YouTube video views
  • Re-pins on Pinterest

More advanced measurements that you could calculate are lead generation and sales directed from social media, but this will require specific goals set implementing strategy.

Marketing Agencies View the Value of Social Media Differently

I am not surprised that research shows that blogs have the best benefit for increasing search results, especially when social sharing buttons are included. The more shares of an article the higher up it will appear in search results. Also, blog posts increase the amount of content on your website (the amount of content that search engines will crawl) so this will greatly benefit your rankings.

An Integrated Social Media Plan Leads to Greater Financial Results

In 2012, I hope to see more companies begin to fully integrate social media into their business process. Many companies are just beginning to use and understand social media, so it often falls into this “side project” category. In order for a social media strategy to be successful in increasing conversations, brand awareness, and financial goals, then social media must be fully integrated into a company’s marketing efforts.

It is going to be very interesting to see how these trends play out in 2012. Check out the full article and all the infographics here: 5 Social Media Marketing Trends: New Research | Social Media Examiner.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How To Drive Traffic Between Social Media Platforms

A social media strategy involves the collaboration of multiple platforms, using the best features of each platform is necessary to create a successful strategy.

While Twitter should often be used as an “announcements” platform, Facebook can be used to build conversations through sharing more detailed and insight based content.

Example:

You find an interesting article on an industry trend that your would like to share. How you share the content will vary by platform:

  • A tweet would include the article title, a link, and a hashtag.
  • A Facebook post would include the article title/link and 1-2 sentences on what the article is about/why you think the industry trend is important.Pinterest
  • A pin on Pinterest would include the image in the article and a blurb about the article/trend.

Mashable posted a great article on how one platform can be used to drive traffic to another; how to drive traffic from Pinterest to YouTube. Pinterest has become one of the top 5 sites for referring traffic, now tied with Twitter. As we begin to understand the power of Pinterest, and how to use it best (in relation to the other big social media powers) we will learn how to best feature content on each platform.

Check out the Mashable article here:

Need More YouTube Views? Try Pinterest.