Posts Tagged ‘Pinterest’
Top Social Media Updates in Q1 of 2013
As we say hello to warmer weather for springtime, we say goodbye to the first quarter of 2013. For those of us working in social media, we’ve been on our toes keeping up with all the latest updates Facebook and Google have rolled out to us in past three months. Get ready, we’re about to recap the biggest announcements in social media marketing so far this year.
Facebook announced three big updates in Q1:
- Graph Search [Beta ] – January 15th, 2013
- New Looks for News Feed – March 7th, 2013
- Improvements to Timeline – March 13th, 2013
Facebook Graph Search was created, “to make the world more open and connected,” according to Facebook. This differs greatly from a web search in the sense that users won’t be searching by keywords, but rather by combining phrases. For example, you could do a search for a “Pages liked by fans of Internet Marketing Inc.” (See below) to help you find other pages that interests your fans. Take this a step further and start sharing articles from those pages as your brand page and you’ll become even more popular with your fans. Get on the waitlist for Facebook Graph Search today! 
As an attempt to reduce clutter and focus more on stories from people you care about, Facebook created new news feeds for users to explore. Users can choose from all friends, photos, music, and following (where brand page posts lie); with bigger and more vibrant photos. You’ll also experience the same look and feel across all devices (see right). Get Facebook’s new news feed today!
The most recent announcement from Facebook relates to a new timeline design that helps users express what’s important to them. Instead of scrolling down the timeline, reading from left to right, the left side will showcase a more detailed about me section, followed by apps you choose to feature. Facebook gives the following example, “If you’re an avid reader, you can keep track of the books you want to read or add more with Goodreads” (see right). The right side of the timeline is where your posts and posts from friends will be displayed. Facebook is continuing to roll out the new timeline to personal pages in the coming weeks.
YouTube
Google recently announced a complete redesign for YouTube channels, what they are referring to as “YouTube One.” The new design has three distinct features. First, brands can now win over new subscribers with a trailer video that only appears to non-subscribed viewers. Second, similar to Facebook’s new design, branding works across all devices (see right). Lastly, brands can organize and present their videos and playlists to reflect their one-of-a-kind style. You can see an example of the new YouTube One design below; notice the social icon links to help with cross-promotion. YouTube has even created a “Channel Setup Checklist” for brands to follow to ensure they are getting the most out of the new design. Make the switch today!
Pinterest users are now given the option to “Switch to the new look” (see below). The functionality within Pinterest all stays the same, just a sleeker design in my opinion. The real update is Pinterest web analytics. Brands can now track their pinning activity by reporting how many people have pinned from their website, the number of impressions versus the number of clicks. Brands can also learn what pinners like by analyzing the Most Repinned tab to find out which pins get the most repins, and then tailor your website and Pinterest boards based on the information gathered. One thing to note is to make sure you’ve verified your website on Pinterest and switched to the new look in order to view Pinterest Analytics. Analytic reporting will not begin until you’ve verified your website. 
Social Media by the Numbers
Now that we’re aware of what’s been happening in the social media space this past quarter, check out where the channels stand against their competition in regards to number of active monthly users:
Source: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/
If you know of any other big updates, I’d love to hear them in the comment section below!
How To Optimize Six Social Media Channels for SEO
As social media continues to be a big influence on consumers as to whether they decide to purchase with your brand versus a brand not on social media, some of us may be asking, what happened to SEO? Although I’m still a firm believer in professional search engine optimization services, we internet marketers need to be cognoscente on where an audience is searching for information about your brand. According to a study by HubSpot, if 85% of Internet users have a Facebook account and 80% of social media users prefer to connect with brands via Facebook , then your brand should definitely not only have a brand page on Facebook, but one that is fully optimized and engaging. When creating social pages for a product or service, be sure to follow these steps to create a fully optimized social network.
Before I begin breaking down each channel you’ll want to gather a keyword list from your online marketing company’s SEO department. Narrow down the list to your top 3-5 keyword phrases which will be included in all descriptions across your social networks. Now let’s begin:
With the ever-changing world of Facebook, it’s important to stay up to date with all of the new updates within the platform (i.e. editing your brand page to Timeline view). The about section is your chance to give a short description of what your brand does, while also including a keyword and link back to your site for Google to index. It is also a best practice to include links in the description section to all other social networks that your brand is active on.
For even more SEO value within Facebook, consider placing a keyword at the beginning of your status update; especially updates that include a link back to your site. Click on the timestamp of each update and you will be brought to a separate page specific for that update. The first 18 characters, sometimes a bit less, of your update will be the SEO Title for that post.
With only 140 characters or less, there’s not much SEO opportunity on this platform, but still some SEO benefit.
What you write in your bio information is very important not only just for SEO, but also for other tools that gather Twitter users based on a search query (like FollowerWonk). Don’t forget to insert a keyword in your bio and also include a link to your site. Design a custom skin for your Twitter page that includes more information about your company and calls to action.
GOOGLE+
A social network result from the search engine giant itself, we have Google+ and its land of opportunity for SEO.
Before creating a profile for your brand on Google+, decide whether you want to create a local page (for a specific address like a hotel or restaurant) or a brand page (for products/services). A Google+ local page now integrates with Zagat reviews. Once your page is created, edit your descriptions to be keyword-rich. Google+ allows you to link those keywords within your introduction, creating the dofollow links that Google loves. Having a profile that is linked to a website will also help your credibility; it’s a simple snippet of code provided by Google that is to be inserted on your sites homepage. Learn more about profile and page verification badges on Google+ here. Once this is done, your Google+ page will show up on the right hand side of the Google search page for relevant queries, thus making your Google+ page more discoverable. Lastly, don’t forget to include links to all of your company’s other social networks in the links section.
YOUTUBE
Another social network result of Google is the video sharing platform YouTube.
Although there is no option for anchor text links in the about section of your channel, be sure to include your keywords as “tags” in the channel settings. Link to all other social networks and also take advantage of designing a customizable YouTube skin for more information about your product or service and calls to action. As you begin to make a presence on this platform, keep in mind that your video title doubles as a SEO title and the video description doubles as your Meta description. This is a great place to add keywords as your “tags” for each video uploaded if it doesn’t sound right in the description.
According to my research, there isn’t much SEO value so far from LinkedIn brand pages. Therefore my recommendation would be to include keywords in the about section, specifically in the specialties box which will help your company appear in search within LinkedIn. A link to your website is also not to be forgotten.
Who would’ve guessed that a virtual pin-board would create so much buzz so quickly? Getting verified on Pinterest is much like getting verified on Google+. All you need to do is download the verification file from your settings and host it on your sites homepage. Don’t forget to include keywords in the description of your Pinterest page, and if possible, title your boards with a keyword. Boards also have SEO opportunity within their descriptions, so be sure to have a keyword there as well.
Now that you have properly optimized six social media channels for SEO value, watch as the referral traffic from social increases over time. With the ability to reach over 50% of Americans, according to We Are Social, social media networks should not only be created, but optimized to ensure you are building relationships while also ranking in the search engines. Have other social SEO service recommendations? I’d love to hear in the comment section below!
Exploring the Visual Power of Instagram
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Instagram is the king in the social media palace. As the online and social worlds continue to evolve, so does user experience and expectations. Once accustomed to text-heavy articles and web pages as information portals, users are getting increasingly lazy when it comes to getting information and demand to get it quickly (and more importantly, visually). With the explosive growth of visual platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram over the past ten years, users are clearly attracted to visual content as it relates to getting information online, especially when it comes to brands.
Instagram has over 80 million users and was acquired by Facebook in April of this year for $1 billion (techcrunch.com). If your brand is avoiding hopping on the Instagram train, it’s time to jump. In order to be successful on the Instagram platform, brands need to embrace the power of visual content and all hail to the king using the below tactics.
Tell A Story
Due to the nature of the platform, Instagram gives brands the opportunity to tell the story of their company. Give users an incentive to follow you by providing a “behind the scenes” look into the culture and daily events of your brand. This picture below was taken at Couples Resorts at the very moment when endangered sea turtles were hatching and making their way into the ocean. This elicited a big response in followers, as they felt a personal connection to the resort that was providing a play-by-play of the rare occurrence.
Find Relevant Followers
In order to build your following, it is important to optimize your profile for search with a robust “about” section that includes your website and relevant keywords, as well as your logo as the thumbnail.
In addition to the profile settings, it is important to utilize prominent hashtags in your posts to maximize your overall reach and to get new followers who are interested in the same topics that you are sharing in your content. Think like a user when tagging your photos, and use hashtags that make sense and are relevant to the image. Websites like web.stagram.com are available that calculate the most popular hashtags at the moment, which is a great benchmark if you’re stumped and looking for hashtags with maximum reach.
Expand Your Reach
Generating a good photo that tells a story and elicits emotions in users is a great start, but it is important to not limit the photo to just Instagram, but to share it across other social networks as well. From within the Instagram platform, you can tie a Facebook (profile, not brand page) and a Twitter account. Once you publish an image on Instagram you have the ability to share across either of these channels. I don’t recommend sharing on Facebook directly, since the use of hashtags on the platform is not as relevant as they are on Twitter.
Using a platform like web.stagram.com, you are able to see the Instagram photos on your account and share them across a host of other social channels such as Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr and Google+. See the screenshot below for a look at this interface.
Crowdsource Content
Another positive of Instagram is the ability to utilize hashtags to create conversations around your brand. One way to do this is by hosting an Instagram photo contest, where users simply need to enter the contest by using a hashtag (ex: #CouplesPhotoContest) for a chance to enter to win. This is also a great way to be able to re-purpose the user-generated-content once the contest is over. Prior to launching, I recommend creating a terms and conditions page on your website that thoroughly explains the rules of the contest so you can point all inquiries back to the site for more information.
What are some of your favorite brands to follow on Instagram? What content are they creating that makes you think of them as the King?
The Fancy Takes Pinning To The Shopping Cart
The Fancy, the new social Pinterest-like startup company, wants users to not only pin what you like, but shop for it too. The startup announced its 
partnership with Zaarly on Monday, which is a location-based marketplace where members post items and services for sale. The Fancy users will be directed to relevant items and services on Zaarly based on what they show interest in. Zaarly also provides branded items on its site.
The Shopping Component Boosts Internet Marketing Efforts
The Fancy encourages users to save pictures of destinations, clothing, food, etc. and the main difference is that the site wants you to purchase the items you “fancy.” For example, pinning your favorite food item might direct you to a local restaurant that offers something similar. Because Zaarly is primarily for local services, there is a great opportunity for Internet marketers to really focus on geotargeting relevant products and services to show up in the site’s marketplace.
A representative for The Fancy says, “With Zaarly, the barriers to entry for commerce on The Fancy are much lower. Anyone with the time and energy can now become a merchant through our platform. And with The Fancy, they can see where there is demand.” One of the goals for The Fancy is to connect its users with talented people on Zaarly to supple unique items and services.
So far, The Fancy claims it has generated more than $50,000 a week in merchandise and travel purchased through the site. Do you think that The Fancy’s partnership with Zaarly will prove to be the next Internet craze?
Instagram vs. Pinterest: How To Tell Your Brand’s Story
With all the buzz on the newest social media platform, Pinterest, internet marketers everywhere should be paying close attention to which sites are grabbing the most attention and bringing in the biggest ROI. So which picture-sharing addicting platform is in the closest running against Pinterest? The answer is not necessarily in a platform, but a mobile app, Instagram. Not available to Android users, Instagram has still managed to quickly become the most-popular mobile image-sharing application available. At more than 15 million users with 500 million photos uploaded since its launch on October 6, 2010, Instagram could be your next in to get consumers attention.
Although Pinterest can help your brand in many ways (see earlier blog post) Instagram is a place internet advertising companies can actually create content and share photos. Here are a few ways in which your company can be taking advantage of the image-sharing app:
Show Your Brand’s Personality – Once you get used to how Instagram works, you will notice how easy it is to share perfectly edited images of your brand’s product. Rather than just posting photos of your products, mix in images that really showcase your brand’s personality by posting photos of real consumers with your brand, for example.
Link To Twitter/Facebook – Instagram is savvy enough to give you the option of uploading your images via Twitter and/or Facebook with every share. Be sure to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts to your Instagram account in order to drive the most traffic with your images.
Consistent Posting – Since many users of Instagram will spend quite a bit of their time in the app, it’s usually in large increments 2-3 times a day. They may not be scrolling through their entire feed of images therefore you want to keep up with regular posting at niche times of the day: morning commute, lunch hour, and evening commute.
“Like” Your Fans – Since Instagram integrates a similar function like the Facebook “like” button, be a friend of your fans and like their photos that you see as representation of your brand. This will cause them to be more apt to pay more attention to the images you post and share with their friends. Also, be sure to utilize the ease of the comment section for each image and reply back to any user comments.
Keep Up With Trending – Brands can use social media platforms to let consumers know that they want them to share photos revolving around a designated topic (for example: #March). When users then upload images, they can attach that hashtag or even your Instagram username (for example: @InternetMktgInc) to get their photos into the entry pool. This is a great way to drive traffic because users will be more inclined to hashtag your brand if they see many other users doing the same. And you can always follow the submissions by pointing an RSS reader to: http://instagr.am/tags/[hashtag name]/feed/recent.rss (no “#” before the hashtag name).
Now that we all know how to utilize Pinterest and Instagram, which image-uploading platform will your brand try to conquer? Share with us your thoughts and opinions in the comment section.
Pinterest’s Potential To Employers and Job Searchers
Pinterest has recently exploded onto the social media scene as the newest networking platform. Many people use it as a cute way to post interesting recipes, hairstyles and trends. But just as you’ve finally gotten a hold on optimizing your Facebook and Twitter pages, Pinterest poses a new way to make connections in the business world.
Pinterest Potential?
Pinterest has recently reached 6 million users putting the site on the social media radar. The interesting thing about Pinterest is that it does not directly compete with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Instead, it complements the sites by syncing with your Facebook or Twitter account when sharing information.
The potential is in Pinterest’s user-friendly layout that does not demand constant attention. Your friends are not constantly tagging you in unattractive photos and you are not required to constantly update content like your blog. Here’s how it works. All you need is an invite. No about me or profile to fill out—just a series of pinboards about things that interest you.
Pinterest makes it easy to share job information by pinning your career interests on a pinboard. Label it your “job search pinboard” and upload your resume, too. Think of your pinboard as your resume that grows as you do. Pin portfolio work, assignments that you’ve completed or infographics related to you career interests. What is cool about your other personal interest pinboards paint a well-rounded picture to potential employers.
How Internet Marketers Benefit
An internet marketing firm can really benefit from Pinterest. Attention-grabbing photos and infographics allow SEO companies to optimize a client’s online presence through a more simplistic social media platform. Content is still a necessary optimization tool with short snippets added beneath each photo. Consider a link building strategy that inserts a back-link into a photo you posted directing users to your website. Create different pinboards pertaining to different pages on your client’s website. The key is creativity.
How do you think Pinterest will affect the strategies of internet marketers in the near future?
Should Pinterest Be Your Next Big Social Media Driver?
With so much buzz about the hot new trend of “pinning”, we as an internet marketing company should ask ourselves if we should jump on the bandwagon too. Pinterest, an online bulletin board used to organize and share your favorite images, is beginning to drive a noteworthy amount of traffic (more than Youtube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined) and therefore should not be overlooked by marketing companies.
What’s It To Your Business
At 3.3 million active users, Pinterest is growing at an exponential rate, which like any other social media platform, has the opportunity for content to go viral. In order for this to happen, the image must be eye-catching enough to cause the user to stop and “pin” that picture to their preferred board – which organizes their images into categories such as “Products I Like” or “Travel and Places.” This means honeymooners for example could be browsing the site and pinning tropical locations that look of interest to them; this could also mean great news for resorts in such locations. Once an image is pinned, the user’s followers have the opportunity to comment, like, or re-pin it to one of their boards. That is why business owners should consider creating a Pinterest profile as soon as possible.
How To Get Started
Once you go through the login process of creating a Pinterest profile, we recommend posting images of your company’s top products, but without being too promotional. Since Pinterest is still in its adoption phase, users won’t pay much attention to images if they appear more like an advertisement rather than something fun and cool they want to pin and share. If your business is in the food industry, try posting an image of a yummy looking entrée or dessert. This should grab people’s attention enough to click on the image, then if they like the description, they’ll re-pin it and it will be shared to their circle of followers. Since our main goal is to drive traffic to your business website, remember to always have a link back to your site within the image description.
How To Avoid Being Too Promotional
First and foremost, start up your Pinterest profile as if it was you pinning the images on your own free time. By this we mean, have fun with it. Pin images that relate to your company’s industry that are eye-catching and maybe even a bit humorous. This will grab your followers’ attention and they will see that you’re not just posting your company’s products, but interested in sharing other content. Then begin to build your brand’s page by creating a board for your products. For an internet advertising agency this could mean creating an image that conveys a new link building strategy for example, which may have to put your creative thinking on point, but experiment with it and use your website analytics to see what is driving the most traffic.
We would love to hear what your ideas are for how you will be starting up your businesses Pinterest profile; share with us in the comment section.
