Social Media Marketing University » Pinterest for business http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com The #1 Most Trusted Social Media Training Firm Sat, 08 Jun 2013 01:50:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 7 Tragic Mistakes That First-Time Pinterest Marketers Make http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/7-tragic-mistakes-firsttime-pinterest-marketers/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/7-tragic-mistakes-firsttime-pinterest-marketers/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 14:12:46 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=5010 Pinterest mistakesPinterest has become a permanent fixture in many social marketers’ content marketing strategies this past year, and for good reason. It quickly became a dream site for lead generation and traffic, and proved to be valuable for direct sales in many niches. If you’ve just discovered the enduring possibilities of Pinterest, then beware these 7 [...]]]> Pinterest has become a permanent fixture in many social marketers’ content marketing strategies this past year, and for good reason. It quickly became a dream site for lead generation and traffic, and proved to be valuable for direct sales in many niches. If you’ve just discovered the enduring possibilities of Pinterest, then beware these 7 tragic mistakes!

Wchingya Pinterest Page 1024x427 7 Tragic Mistakes That First Time Pinterest Marketers Make

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The Mistakes That Ruin Pinterest Strategy

• There is no board strategy. All good Pinterest strategies begin with category boards. Interesting boards get attention, boring boards get ignored. If you want your boards to be ‘above average’ think of creative ways to curate content that people will love, and give your board an interesting name.

• There is no attention to image style. Pinterest is an image site, with many different kinds of styles on display – vintage, goth, clean, alternative, literary – the works. When you post images they need to fall into a specific image ‘style’ to be shared. Plain, stock images are not what Pinterest is about. Go the extra mile!

• There is zero attention to SEO strategy. Curating and posting 10,000 images is fun, but if no-one can find them, it’s a giant waste of time. Like any social platform, you need an SEO strategy that will get your images seen. Do keyword research for each board, each image and optimize your links and descriptions.

• Being a comment prude. Newsflash! Comment areas are for comments AND discussions, but you have to turn your fan comments into ongoing chats. That means you need to be there, leading the conversation.

• Not being creative with themed images. There is more to an image than you think – what about infographics, tutorials, how-to images, showcases, fails, social proof and dozens of other ways you can engage and teach your image audience? Find out how you can best sell your product or service using images!

pinterest marketing youre doing it wrong 2 7 Tragic Mistakes That First Time Pinterest Marketers Make

Courtesy of designyoutrust.com

• Not having a Pinterest landing page. Where does all that traffic go, when they click on the links beneath your images? Hopefully, it goes to a landing page that welcomes your Pinterest fans to your website, and invites them to subscribe to your email list. Why sell them one product when you can sell them hundreds over time?

• No exclusivity on Pinterest. What makes your Pinterest page special? Do you give away great stuff to your community? Why not create a 10 page ebook and then tell your Pinterest fans that they are the only ones with access! All they have to do is share your Pinterest image on Facebook.

If you’re about to embark on your first Pinterest strategy – remember this: your returns will only be as good as your end goals. Get a feel for how things work on the platform before investing in image creation. You can use the same images on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and across your other social sites for extra value.

Avoid these tragic Pinterest marketing mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to creating a page that thousands of pinners love.

Had any trouble with Pinterest so far? Share your experience with our community and let’s see if we can figure it out together!

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20 Embarrassing Pinterest Marketing FAILS You’re Making! http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-embarrassing-pinterest-marketing-fails-youre-making/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-embarrassing-pinterest-marketing-fails-youre-making/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 11:51:56 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4752 Pinterest marketingPinterest marketing is fast becoming one of the most lucrative forms of marketing for small businesses online. In a matter of days you can collect thousands of fans, and be selling your products or services directly from your page. Plus, it’s an incredible way to drive more traffic to your online business. Today I’m examining [...]]]> Pinterest marketing is fast becoming one of the most lucrative forms of marketing for small businesses online. In a matter of days you can collect thousands of fans, and be selling your products or services directly from your page. Plus, it’s an incredible way to drive more traffic to your online business. Today I’m examining which top 20, most hideously embarrassing mistakes small business owners make on the platform.

pinterest marketing 300x215 20 Embarrassing Pinterest Marketing FAILS You’re Making!

Courtesy of buytwitterfollowers101.wordpress.com

#1: Bad Photography Fail: For some unknown reason, a few small business owners (more than a few) think that they can put shoddy, B grade product photos on Pinterest. Marketing on this platform is all about beauty, elegance and sophistication – not fuzzy, dark images.

#2: Your Images are 1 Dimensional: If your Pinterest marketing photos have no purpose, organization or strategy – and they are all standard product pics – don’t expect a ton of fans.

#3: Poor Linking Practices: Curalate discovered that 48% of popular pins on Pinterest link to non-existent pages. That’s a lot of traffic and sales. Track your links using Bit.ly!

#4: Out of Stock Fail: If your amazing Pinterest images link to product pages, and there is no stock available – what’s the point? Sort out your inventory and stock processes.

pinterest marketing 300x114 20 Embarrassing Pinterest Marketing FAILS You’re Making!

Courtesy of kglobal.com

#5: No Suggested Products: All URL’s that you use for Pinterest marketing need to suggest other products on your business website – how else are you going to upsell?

#6: The Reason To Click To Your Page: It’s nice that you have 30 images of a candle. But putting them ALL on Pinterest isn’t wise. People need a reason to click to your business page. Place 3-5 images on Pinterest, and host the rest on your sales pages.

#7: Lack of Product Review Strategy: As a small business owner, you’ll need to check that all of your Pinterest marketing images are functional and working every 3 months, or you’ll lose money. Broken links, products that aren’t available and wrong product listing will harm your sales potential.

#8: The Missing Promo Board: Having lots of discounts and promos is great – but not if they’re spread over 15 boards. Host all of your Pinterest marketing promotions on 1 board.

#9: No Action Shots: Prove that your products work by going the extra mile and demonstrating them – either in video or an image tutorial. They sell products!

#10: Your Brand has No Personality: Having a personality means running some boards that are curated from other people’s products and images. Develop your brand with Pinterest marketing by associating yourself with other great brands.

#11: Rubbish or No Infographics: Yes, infographics are tricky to make and they can be expensive to commission. But they get lots of views, likes and interactions. Sometimes in Pinterest marketing you have to spend a little to make a lot. Don’t be cheap!

#12: No Stats, Data, Inside Scoops: People love to know the inside scoop about your brand. Give it to them! Share image stats, charts, graphs and progress on Pinterest.

#13: Ignoring Your Customer Base: Every sale should attempt to collect a testimonial. In Pinterest marketing, you’ll want to have a board for testimonials and endorsements.

#14: Not Being a Credible Seller: To be credible you need authority. To get authority, you have to have a great opinion on expert topics in your niche. How are you proving this?

Marketing For Pinterest 300x189 20 Embarrassing Pinterest Marketing FAILS You’re Making!

Courtesy of smallbusinessesdoitbetter.com

#15: Expose or Bust: Not allowing your customers to see your operation is not good for business. Pinterest marketing demands that you include behind the scenes shots.

#16: Pinning Like a Crazy Person: There is such a thing as pinning too much, too often. Every pin needs a solid sales reason to exist. If you don’t have one, don’t pin it.

#17: Ignoring the Sunday Pin: Evidence suggests that pinning on Sunday mornings can result in more sales than any other time of day. Pinterest marketing is about leveraging the best opportunities, so pin on a Sunday!

#18: Being Too Shy To Boast About Your Brand: If you’re going to be at an event, show, workshop or conference, post some pins about it. Flyers that are simplified to work on Pinterest are way more effective than you think. Don’t be shy, be sly!

#19: Marketing Like an Amateur: There is nothing worse than stumbling on a Pinterest page that employs old-school marketing tactics. Bad graphics, bad images, horrible sales pitches and that’s it. There is nothing but tacky, cheap selling. Pinterest marketing isn’t about direct sales and hardcore pitches. It’s about community, repeat sales and entertainment.

#20: Not Using The Gifts Section: The gifts section on Pinterest will list your product price along with the image. It’s a secondary sales tool that many people simply don’t use. But it’s a great place to go to find interesting gifts for people – so use it!

enhanced buzz 836 1353342169 22 184x300 20 Embarrassing Pinterest Marketing FAILS You’re Making!

Courtesy of randomfail.com

BONUS: There are many embarrassing Pinterest marketing tactics that float around the network. That’s why an entire FAIL culture has sprung up. These images show the ‘ideal’ photo and then a Pinterest user attempting to copy it, with no success. They are very funny, and very popular. You can use this final technique to get more shares and sales.

Pinterest has come a long way in a very short space of time. The best advice I can give you is to sit down with a piece of paper, and describe the different kinds of image posts you see on the various category areas. Try to create a 3 dimensional, complex and intriguing Pinterest marketing strategy that will grab potential customer’s attention.

Have you spotted any of these mistakes in your own Pinterest marketing strategy? Tell me which ones, and I’ll help!

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Pinterest’s New Look and Your Grand Page Changes http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pinterests-grand-page/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pinterests-grand-page/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:59:19 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4724 Pinterest's new lookPinterest’s new look is here, as the tempting ‘get it now’ button lingers at the top of all long-time user pages. Finally, the initial (and copied) board-look has been upgraded to be even simpler, cleaner and easier to use – for your fans and for your business. Today I’m taking a look at what has [...]]]> Pinterest’s new look is here, as the tempting ‘get it now’ button lingers at the top of all long-time user pages. Finally, the initial (and copied) board-look has been upgraded to be even simpler, cleaner and easier to use – for your fans and for your business. Today I’m taking a look at what has changed and how your business will benefit from it.

la fi tn pinterest new look more users 2013031 001 300x224 Pinterest’s New Look and Your Grand Page Changes

Courtesy of the latimes.com


The Smashing New Pinterest Look

With Pinterest’s new look all over the net, there have been mixed reactions to the changes, as there usually are. Some people like the changes, others prefer the old style. But there is no doubting that Pinterest is moving in the right direction. They have made 2 key changes that will benefit your business image boards.

Change #1: The pins will be bigger!

Change #2: Clicking on a particular pin offers you ‘suggested’ or ‘related’ pins from the same board, web source or member.

The goal of Pinterest’s new look is to get people to stay on Pinterest for longer, hopping from one pin to another. The social media site clearly wants to decrease their bounce rate, and with a cash injection of another $200 million, they are mid-upgrade.


The Benefits of Business Pinning

Pinterest’s new look features now have these larger pins available to you – great news for photographers that always complain about the reduction in image quality and size of their photos – when using these image sites. It’s also a nice touch that
Pinterest has added these suggested areas on the right of your page. They will:

• Introduce you to new boards
• Introduce you to new pinners
• Get you more subscribers, likes, comments and shares
• Keep your fans on your boards for longer

new pinterest look 300x245 Pinterest’s New Look and Your Grand Page Changes

Courtesy of technorati.com

But how do you take this little boost from Pinterest, to really ramp up your fans and interactions on the platform? Pinterest’s new look may have given you the opportunity, but here’s how to ensure that your board members keep coming back.

#1: Mention the people that comment and interact most often – by using the @ symbol. “Hey @JaneDoe, you can get these shoes at X” This will boost interaction between followers, and it promotes your products in a friendly way.

#2: Use question hashtags. Pinterest’s new look features will suggest pins to you, but it’s up to you to categorize them correctly. Use thought provoking hashtags like #OneoffivethingsIlove – to initiate a conversation with your followers. They will then answer your hashtag questions and you can strike up a relationship with these people.

#3: Minimize word count problems. When you see your little thumbnail version of your pin, it needs to be legible. That means using clean fonts, less words and uncomplicated background images. If your browsing pinner can see your words, they’ll click on your image. Pinterest’s new look is also good for ‘showcase’ words – make some bigger than others, to draw in your reader.

#4: Focus on simplicity and color. It’s always been important to add striking, inspirations images to Pinterest. But now, you can leverage the suggested boards, members and pins feature by adding simple, bright images that are easy to appreciate in thumbnail view. Quirky images, unusual images or great recipes will also work here. Pinterest’s new features make your pins thumbnails!

#5: Support your blogs with an image story. I’ve seen this done more and more in blogging – bloggers are compiling a number of images that tell the story of their blog, without words. That way you can get the gist of a blog, simply by focusing on a pin. Pinterest’s new look would complement an idea like this, as they will all be shown on the right, to potential fans.

Pinterest New Look 2 300x142 Pinterest’s New Look and Your Grand Page Changes

Courtesy of onlinebusiness.volusion.com


The Coming Pinterest Changes

In the future I believe that Pinterest will continue to take a closer look at interactions and the use of their service on the platform. The numbers are there, but the Pinterest’s new look tells me that they are far from happy with their monetization and business proficiency.

Like any savvy networking giant, Pinterest will be looking to add more businesses to their service, along with better opportunities for retailers and online product sellers.

Pinterest’s new look is just the beginning of a long process. I believe that they have hit a wall with this one dimensional approach to social, and they’ll want to expand to keep up with the bigger sites like Twitter and Facebook. They will definitely be looking at better solutions for their video sharing capabilities.

A lot of people don’t realize that they can upload videos to Pinterest. With Pinterest’s new look underway, and a total site infrastructure overhaul in the works, I bet video will become a bigger part of the site, along with the income potential. If Pinterest can figure out a way to monetize videos on their site, in a less intrusive way than Youtube, they may have a shot at stealing a significant portion of the Youtube market.


Adding Your Business To Pinterest

If you haven’t secured your business page on Pinterest yet, I suggest that you do. In the future its value as an image site will grow, as will its value as a video sharing site. Both are incredibly important in this media-obsessed online business culture. Sign up as a business page to take advantage of Pinterest’s new look and features.

The company will do very well in the coming months, especially if people begin to upload Vines to the platform. The short 6 second looping videos are fast becoming a media norm.

How will the Pinterest changes affect the way you post your pins?

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49.9 Practical Ways To Earn on Pinterest http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/499-practical-ways-earn-pinterest/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/499-practical-ways-earn-pinterest/#comments Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:04:35 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/?p=4401 Earn on PinterestTo earn on Pinterest is a company’s main goal, whether you’re a service based business or a product based business, looking to make high volume sales. Whatever your goals, there is no doubt that Pinterest offers your company a unique opportunity. Today I’m going to provide you with a superb list of 49.9 practical ways [...]]]> To earn on Pinterest is a company’s main goal, whether you’re a service based business or a product based business, looking to make high volume sales. Whatever your goals, there is no doubt that Pinterest offers your company a unique opportunity. Today I’m going to provide you with a superb list of 49.9 practical ways your company can earn on this platform!

Pinterest cake 49.9 Practical Ways To Earn on Pinterest

Courtesy of socialsomosa.com

  • #1: Connect your Pinterest account with your Facebook account for increased sharing.
  • #2: Earn on Pinterest by posting work-related before and after images.
  • #3: If you’re trying to sell a product, list a benefit in the description area.
  • #4: Pin product images that contain people in them to inspire sharing and comments.
  • #5: Create infographics that showcase your top services and enhance your profile.
  • #6: Post your ebook images and then use your Clickbank affiliate link to earn on Pinterest.
  • #7: Make your pinboards diverse by including other people’s products on your pages.
  • #8: Create instructographics that take your followers through making something step by step.
  • #9: Always add in an interesting description or comment with your image.
  • #10: Speak about Pinterest for business when meeting with clients and customers.
  • #11: Launch a viral Pinterest contest to boost visibility and earn money on Pinterest.
  • #12: Use Pinterest as a market research tool, ask your audience the tough questions!
  • #13: To earn on Pinterest follow as many relevant people as you can, to improve your network.
  • #14: Upload unique ebook images of your own and get more traffic to your sales pages.
  • pinterest marketing methodlogy 49.9 Practical Ways To Earn on Pinterest

    Courtesy of splashmediau.com

  • #15: Spend time sharing other people’s images to gain more followers.
  • #16: Use Pinterest to get more people to like your Twitter page and marketing tactics.
  • #17: Place your Pinterest address on a business card, stationary and on signage.
  • #18: Create images that women will want to share with other women.
  • #19: Always use a category hashtag or two to describe your image for extra sharing.
  • #20: Earn on Pinterest by integrating SEO keywords into your profile text.
  • #21: Source images that complement your product images, to earn on Pinterest.
  • #22: Create pins that say something about the person that is going to repin them.
  • #23: Build an adsense site and then funnel traffic from Pinterest to the site.
  • #24: Spend time commenting on other people’s images to gain more exposure.
  • #25: Add your Ebay images to your Pinterest account to get more traffic there.
  • #26: Pinterest marketing is all about images, so invest in a really good camera.
  • #27: Earn on Pinterest by increasing your blog traffic and ad stats from referral traffic.
  • #28: Track your links using TinyURL and measure the click through rate on your images!
  • #29: Improve your blog sign up ratios by funneling traffic to your sign up page.
  • #30: Spend some time in post-processing and put filters on your images for extra beauty.
  • #31: The best recorded time to pin is between 2pm-4pm EST.
  • #32: Be innovative with your pinboard names, like ‘what I love about brand x.’
  • #33: The best time to post at night is between 8pm-1am EST.
  • #34: Include calls to action in your pins, and enjoy an 80% increase in engagement.
  • #35: Invite your followers to add to your product pinboards with their own images.
  • #36: DIY and tutorial pins enjoy a 42% higher click through rate than other pins.
  • #37: To earn on Pinterest add your Amazon images to your page for extra traffic there.
  • #38: Always relate your pins to trending topics, for a 94% boost in click through ratios.
  • #39: The more boards you have, the more time people will spend on your profile.
  • Pinterest Marketing Possibilites 1024x537 49.9 Practical Ways To Earn on Pinterest

    Courtesy of bluleadz.com

  • #40: If you’re going to earn on Pinterest, you’ll need to post there at least once a day.
  • #41: Marketing on Pinterest is about inspiring messages, make sure your company has many.
  • #42: Follow real people to earn on Pinterest, or people with 200-300 followers.
  • #43: Create a pinboard of happy clients or testimonial pins.
  • #44: Make your pinboards very specific so that people can find what they’re looking for.
  • #45: Improve your link juice to your websites by including them in your pins.
  • #46: Avoid repining products or services from bots, spammers and other marketers.
  • #47: Earn on Pinterest by including category names in your pinboard titles.
  • #48: Don’t have more than one account or you could be seen as a spammer.
  • #49: Keep your pins free of advertising, but use hashtags, Twitter handles and nicknames.
  • #49.9: Invest money into your Pinterest account – the more you post and share the better!

Use these 49.9 excellent tips to earn money on Pinterest for your company. It’s great as a platform to sell products, or to get exposure for your non-profit organization.

Leave a Pinterest tip for your fellow SMMU fans? I’m sure we missed out on some of them!

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20 Awesome Ways To Market Your Business on Pinterest http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-awesome-ways-market-business-pinterest/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/20-awesome-ways-market-business-pinterest/#comments Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:35:26 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=3038 Pinterest is one of the hottest and most lucrative social media platforms in the world – and it’s a great place to promote your business. Today, I’m going to give you 20 awesome marketing ideas that you can use on Pinterest, to grow your business. #1: Create Pin Categories Create enticing pinboard names to attract [...]]]> Pinterest is one of the hottest and most lucrative social media platforms in the world – and it’s a great place to promote your business. Today, I’m going to give you 20 awesome marketing ideas that you can use on Pinterest, to grow your business.

pinterest for business 300x169 20 Awesome Ways To Market Your Business on Pinterest

Courtesy of brandignity.com

#1: Create Pin Categories

Create enticing pinboard names to attract new fans to your pinboards. Be creative!

#2: A Pin a Day Keeps The Traffic in Play

Smart pinners know to pin at least once a day, every day, for maximum search engine exposure.

#3: Get a Pinterest Widget on Your Blog

Promote your pinboards on your blog, by adding a WordPress widget on there.

#4: Become an Active Pinboard Commenter

Join boards you like, and become an insatiable commenter. Share your opinions all the time.

#5: Add Effects To Your Photos

Improve your photos before pinning them, by adding in effects. If your photos are stunning, they will get pinned more often.

#6: Slap Your Logo On Your Images

If an image of yours does happen to go viral, you’ll want your logo and URL on it.

#7: Create Original Pins With Your iPhone or iPad

Get the Apple app, then create unique pins that you can share all over the globe.

#8: Have a Core Business Board

Use Pinterest as a sales tool by creating a board that is all about your business, services, values, ethics and customers.

#9: Pinterest is a Smoking Hot Case Study Tool

Use Pinterest to create enticing case study graphics that will get you lots of new business.

#10: Repin as Part of Your Strategy

Your goal is to build valuable niche boards, so repin with purpose and categorize accordingly.

#11: Optimize Your Image Descriptions

Every image you pin needs to have an optimized description. Use keywords and your business name for maximum impact.

#12: Gather Tons of Social Proof

Use Pinterest to gather testimonials and brief reviews on your company from fans and clients.

#13: Use Pinterest as a Customer Service Tool

Add an image and use it to answer questions from your community in a fun, Q&A type customer service offering.

#14: Pin Your Youtube Videos

Spend time pinning your Youtube videos on Pinterest to attract high volume fans.

#15: Create Wonderful Community Pinboards

Be in charge of your very own brand fan board. Invite your brand community to pin things there, In appreciation of your business.

#16: Use Pinterest as a Coupon Collection Platform

Get your Pinterest fans to pin your coupon images to redeem them in store. They can also print them out.

#17: Analyze The Data and Improve Your Page

Find out which images got the most pins and drove the most traffic or sales conversions and repeat them.

#18: Pinterest as an Interactive Services Platform

Create a services board on Pinterest, and invite customers to leave commentary and questions there, so that you can improve your business.

#19: Keep an Eye on Trending Pins

Try to create a few popular or trending pins every now and then to increase your viral potential.

#20: Create a Personality Board for Yourself

Pin things that appeal to you as a person, to give people insight into who you are.

Have another Pinterest business promotion idea? Leave it here!

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5 Scorching Hot Pinterest Tips For an Increase in Sales http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-scorching-hot-pinterest-tips-increase-sales/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-scorching-hot-pinterest-tips-increase-sales/#comments Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:20:01 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2999 By now, you’ve probably joined the Pinterest hysteria, and have been collecting pins and leaving comments on a daily basis. But this doesn’t undervalue the fact that Pinterest – while hyped – is an incredible business tool for social sales. That’s why today, I’m going to give you 5 insider tips on how to use [...]]]> By now, you’ve probably joined the Pinterest hysteria, and have been collecting pins and leaving comments on a daily basis. But this doesn’t undervalue the fact that Pinterest – while hyped – is an incredible business tool for social sales. That’s why today, I’m going to give you 5 insider tips on how to use Pinterest to sell more products and services!

pinterest money 600 300x187 5 Scorching Hot Pinterest Tips For an Increase in Sales

Courtesy of mashable.com

#1: Enhance Your WordPress Blog

Your blog is the main stage for your entire sales funnel, so it makes sense to source a decent Pinterest plugin to stream real-time comments from your pinboard – to your blog. If you’ve been investing a lot of time in Pinterest, then getting yourself a plugin like Pinwidget will make all the difference to your cross sales and overall bottom line.

#2: Drive Additional Traffic With a Guest Pinboard

If your own board is a little too one sided, create a guest pinboard and invite friends, fans and interested pinners to add to the collection. To sweeten the deal, use this arena to run competitions – the best pin wins ‘A’ or ‘B.’ Do this right, and you’ll be able to expand your pinboard considerably, not to mention increase interaction and direct traffic to your website.

#3: Diversify Your Youtube Feed With Pinterest

Whether you’ve just started with Youtube or you’ve been posting videos for years, Pinterest is a new place for you to get more comments, shares, likes and pins thanks to a new generation of image community commenters. Post old and current videos on Pinterest, find the right boards to post these on, and wait for the flood of sales, traffic and fame.

#4: Use Pinterest as an Ebook Sales Tool

If you’ve written some ebooks to promote your business, or to sell directly for cash – Pinterest is a great way to do that. Upload your front cover, blurb and back cover – and single ‘feature’ pages to add value for your followers. If you like, you can even include a link to a free chapter below the pin. This technique is selling ebooks faster than some Clickbank pages, so don’t sneer at it before you try it!

#5: Use Pinterest as a Forum Question Board

Upload a photo of yourself, or one of your team members – and offer to help your fans do something simple, yet specific. Offer advice, insight and a fresh perspective. Small businesses are using the ‘forum question board’ tactic to land new long term clients, or to sell products by the dozen.

When you add a face to the offer, it humanizes the process. Then when requests start pouring in, you can record ‘talking head’ videos in response to fan queries. This is one way to make a name for yourself and your business online. It works like a charm!

Use these 5 scorching hot Pinterest tactics to shape your marketing campaign into a powerful daily earner for your business. Focus on value, quality and consistency here – not the financial reward, and you’ll go far!

Have you experienced some success with Pinterest? Tell me how you made your first sale from your pins!

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Pinsurance: The Low Down on Being Sued For Using Pinterest http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pinsurance-sued-pinterest/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pinsurance-sued-pinterest/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 15:18:19 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2729 Pinterest sueWill you be the next person to be sued on Pinterest? Find out about Pinterest, their user agreement and whether your belongings are safe, in today's post! ]]> The internet is aflame with the fact that people are getting sued for posting images that don’t belong to them on Pinterest. The question is – do businesses have anything to fear? Is there a real chance that someone, somewhere could sue? The answer is yes, and no. Today, I’m going to sort out the ‘Pinterest is suing me’ debacle.

Pinterest and copyright 300x214 Pinsurance: The Low Down on Being Sued For Using Pinterest

Courtesy of en.wikinoticea.com

What’s Been Happening?

There have been news reports that certain publications and businesses have stopped using Pinterest because of the ‘user agreement’ that allows Pinterest to sell anything published on their site. The Boston Business Journal’s web editor was one of these people.

The low down is this – if you use an image that doesn’t belong to you, and Pinterest sells it – the owner of the image can sue…you.

To be fair, this will probably never happen. If people sauntered around the internet suing each other, there would be no content on the internet. But for larger companies that are worth their weight in gold, the threat is very real. People love to sue rich companies.

What’s The Problem?

On further investigation, Pinterest’s policies are fairly heavy. They make the ‘pinner’ or ‘re-pinner’ responsible for everything you pin. That means that Pinterest can sell your entire collection of pinned images, completely legally. Better yet, they’re not liable when a copyright owner sues. But who is liable? You, of course!

What Does it All Mean?

It means Pinterest laws are not ideal for the large company – that uses images that aren’t strictly their own images. For the small business, it means nothing. No-one is going to sue a small business, unless they’re insane, and are looking for a $50.00 pay out.

For the lawyers that drew up Pinterest’s user agreement – you’re idiots. Scaring away large corporate brands is not a good idea. They could have changed the wording and said ‘use’ the images, instead of ‘sell’ the images – like the other social sites do. Facebook may worry big business with ‘use,’ but Pinterest terrifies them with ‘sell.’

Now everyone is freaking out, thinking that Pinterest is going to sell their stuff, and that they’ll end up in jail for it. Big fail, lawyers of Pinterest. Perhaps a word change?

As for Pinterest being likened to Napster, in that the site and the users will get sued – everyone take a step back and relax! Pinterest is new, and they have a lot to learn. The user agreement can definitely use some work.

Besides, copyright law does not factor in social developments and new inventions in social technology. They don’t know what ‘pinning’ is. Perhaps this is an issue a tech-savvy lawyer will fix one day.

People should be able to pin anything they want, with a citation – and it should be 100% legal. Period.

Until the law changes, I dare say that large companies are right to steer clear of Pinterest. But the fundamental problem lies in the archaic law. Change the copyright laws, and make it okay to share content across unusual definitions like ‘pin’ and ‘tweet.’

And Pinterest – change ‘sell’ to ‘use’ before you lose all of your potential.

What do you think? Is the ‘Pinterest is going to sue me’ panic worth all the hub-bub?

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5 Candid Reasons Why Your Business Needs To Be on Pinterest http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-candid-reasons-business-pinterest/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/5-candid-reasons-business-pinterest/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:28:39 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2679 Pinterest ImagesHave you tested out Pinterest yet? It has a huge list of benefits for businesses! Find out what you're missing, and why you need to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon right now!]]> Everyone is raving about Pinterest – including businesses. In fact, it’s been years since we’ve seen a social site with so much ingrained business potential. That’s why today, I’m going to give you 5 candid, tell-it-like-it-is reasons for you and your business to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon.

Sign up for our webinar on Pinterest here!

pinterest01 300x180 5 Candid Reasons Why Your Business Needs To Be on Pinterest

Courtesy of Metaphix.com

#1: The Viral Outbreak

There’s a reason why Pinterest rose to fame so fast, and why people can’t stop visiting the social network. Pinterest is the most viral network ever launched, second only to Youtube. Think about it – people online want three things these days: speed, entertainment and interaction. Pinterest combines all of these to make a highly viral social platform.

Images are quick to create, view, upload and share. They’re even quick to comment on. It makes perfect sense that Pinterest would drive more traffic, attract more traffic, and generate more business than other social sites. Reason #1 why you should be there!

#2: Collection is Identity

People love Pinterest because it appeals to their sense of identity. They are able to collect images that say something about them to the world. You can do the same for your business. Use Pinterest to build a creative identity for yourself, and get your Pinterest fans to share it far and wide. Others that love your images, will add it to their identity collections.

#3: That Emotional Tug

Images evoke a lot of emotion in people, which is what makes them such an excellent marketing tool. Use your Pinterest images to emotionally involve your fans in your business. Soon, they’ll really care about your successes or failures. Pinterest is the IDEAL community building and sharing platform.

#4: The Magic Numbers

Pinterest drives a heap of traffic to your website, far more than a few of the leading social networks do. This alone makes a presence on Pinterest justifiable. Any business person with a good head on their shoulders, would never say no to a guaranteed boost in traffic. Pinterest has already proven that they do this for businesses!

#5: Getting Engaged

If you’ve been struggling to get responses from your social community, you’ll be glad to hear that it’s 3X more likely to happen if you’re doing it on Pinterest. Engagement is the key to successful social business, and converting your fans into clients. Use Pinterest daily to funnel engaged fans that love your images to your website, blog or sales pages.

There are some rumors flying around that Pinterest is the final nail in the Google+ coffin. We’ve yet to verify if Pinterest really has stolen the last few ‘real’ non-business users away from Google+, but it’s likely. Let’s be honest – Pinterest is a LOT more fun. And now it seems that it also has SEO advantages.

If you’re not on Pinterest yet, my advice is – get a profile. This isn’t another craze site, it has real business benefits. Plus, people really love to hang out on the site, pure proof that Pinterest is here to stay.

What do you like most about Pinterest? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts!

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How To Leverage Pinterest For B2B Marketing http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/leverage-pinterest-b2b-marketing/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/leverage-pinterest-b2b-marketing/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 17:23:28 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2675 B2B Marketing PinterestStill in 2 minds about using Pinterest as a B2B business? Find out how Pinterest can get you more clients than ever before in today's post! ]]> A lot of small businesses work in the business-to-business space, supplying services or products to other businesses. But how can your B2B leverage Pinterest? Today, I’m going to show you how to get your business noticed with this awesome social platform!

pinterest for b2b resized 600 300x136 How To Leverage Pinterest For B2B Marketing

Courtesy of blog.hubspot.com

In case you haven’t heard, Pinterest is the latest social network with traffic power bigger and stronger than Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter! We’re hosting a great webinar soon on Pinterest, you should sign up here, if you want to know more!

Telling The Story of Your Business With Infographics

Pinterest is an incredible image collection and sharing platform, and you can take advantage of it with your very own infographics. Create an infographic that will wow your B2B clients. Here are some great ideas that I’ve seen so far:

• An infographic on business processes and methods
• An infographic on the successes and results that you’ve achieved
• An infographic on your business history, complete with timeline
• An infographic explaining what your business can DO for your clients

Using Short Images For a Powerful Marketing Campaign

A few businesses are leveraging the power of Pinterest, by creating images that look like memes, only they’re business orientated. Not only are these amusing to read and share, but they’ll carry your business message far and wide and people share them. Start with a great image, or existing meme and add in the text yourself. Get creative!

• Make a meme of your product images to boost viral potential

Goodbye Flicker, It’s Over to Pinterest

If you happen to need an image storage depot (as we all do from time to time) deposit your photos on your Pinterest account, instead of Photobucket or Flickr. New stats have revealed that fans are way more active on Pinterest anyway, so that’s where you want to share.

When a potential client requests some marketing collateral, or samples – direct them to your Pinterest account, for a super interactive experience. They’ll be able to see all the wonderful social proof directly under each image, where fans have commented.

Image Tutorials and Closing The Sale

As a B2B company there will be a lot of questions about your status in the industry. Other businesses want to know that you have a successful track record. That’s why you need to spend some time building authority on Pinterest, with ‘tutorial’ type image posts. Teach your fans how to do something once, and they’ll comment forever.

Showcase Your Brand Talent

Another great use for Pinterest is to use it to showcase your brand and your employees. Take photos of your work place, and your staff and add a human element to your profile. You should take photos every chance you get, especially when you’re at events or doing promotions in your local area.

Use these tips to expand your social brand power with Pinterest. If you focus on getting more B2B clients this way, you’re bound to make a name for yourself as an innovative leader in your field.

How do you use Pinterest for B2B marketing? I’d like to hear any tips you have for me!

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Pin It To Win It: 3 Hardcore Traffic Generation Tips For Pinterest Brand Users http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pin-win-3-hardcore-traffic-generation-tips-pinterest-brand-users/ http://socialmediamarketinguniversity.com/pin-win-3-hardcore-traffic-generation-tips-pinterest-brand-users/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:26:56 +0000 John Souza http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/?p=2672 Pinterest for brandsPinterest converts - no really. If you want to learn how to get monster traffic from this new social gem, then check out today's post. Pinterest traffic is a hot commodity right now!]]> I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Pinterest has been driving more traffic to blogs than its wealthier, larger companions Google+ and Twitter. The phenomenon is still in its infancy, yet the numbers don’t lie.

pinteresting 300x199 Pin It To Win It: 3 Hardcore Traffic Generation Tips For Pinterest Brand Users

Courtesy of agbeat.com

Pinterest is a force to be reckoned with, a force that will drive oodles of traffic straight to your website and blog.

It’s safe to say that users on Pinterest are more engaged than users on Twitter, Youtube and LinkedIn – enough to actually click through to your site. It’s the dream! A community of people, who will actually leave the dominant social site and venture out for new discoveries.

So how can brands and small businesses get in on this Pinterest action?

#1: Become a Pin It Player

Community building on Pinterest is now more valuable than ever, and with such high click through ratios – you need to grow yours! Stats say that when people land on your site from Pinterest, they even stick around for longer than usual. To optimize your efforts here, you MUST start pinning like crazy.

But here’s the catch. Think of the things you pin as another way to curate niche specific content and attract targeted users. Only repin and comment on content that will lead the right people back to your pin board. They’ll check out your pins, and will be off to your blog in no time. That’s the power of curating relevant content on a site like Pinterest.

#2: Devise a Pin Posting Strategy

Your goal is traffic, which means you have to get people to really want to see your pins. That’s why when you post them, make sure that they are a talking point. Product images that are naturally beautiful will get repined, but you want that ‘viral’ effect. To get it, modify your product pin to be something out of the ordinary.

Don’t be afraid to try something new, daring or bizarre. Pinterest is the right place to do it. And keep in mind that most pinners are women. Cute, funny and inspirational are highly viral subjects to break into. Focus on these, and you’ll attract thousands of extra hits a day.

#3: Get Your Word of Mouth Marketing Ready

Pinterest is perhaps the one social place online where you can chat with real life brand advocates – and they’re normal people! Someone might find your purple shoes a great product and pin it to their wall. All of their Pinterest friends will comment, repin and share. Suddenly you have hundreds, even thousands of people loving your product.

The next step is to turn this into a marketing goldmine. Transplant some of your Facebook strategy into your Pinterest profile. Offer your advocates free samples, competitions, and exciting giveaways, and they’ll add user generated content to your profile.

Monitor your Pinterest metrics to see what works and what doesn’t. Want to know more about Pinterest for business? Do our webinar!

Change your images to reflect what your Pinterest community loves and shares. It’s not hard, and it will drive major league traffic to your blog and website!

Is your brand on Pinterest yet? What have you been doing to inspire traffic? I’d like to hear your story.

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