Pinterest marketing is one of the latest things that internet marketing consultants are trying to stay on top of. The basic actions on Pinterest that can be done by businesses make it possible to stay connected with current fans of their brands and products while also growing brand exposure. Re-Pins Re-pinning pins that relate to your industry and values is the fastest way to grow a company's own pin boards while also getting a good idea of what is popular in those industries. Re-pins are actually a good part of regular maintenance, as they are fairly quick to do. Regular Maintenance [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Pinterest | Pinterest: Business Use & Advertising | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

By now, we've all heard about Twitter's little break-up with LinkedIn – and discovered the consequence in our now tweet-free LinkedIn timelines. As social media marketers, this adds a new wrinkle to our already hectic days of trying to juggle multiple social media channels. LinkedIn may not be the sexiest social network, but it's still an important one. It's part of the Big Three (behind only Facebook and Twitter in popularity) and used by 73 percent of marketers, according to a recent study. So while we wait on LinkedIn's new update, life goes on -- as do social media updates. What [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | LinkedIn | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

Picture the scene: a two-person team of entrepreneurs, made up of a business head and a developer, had pivoted their original business into the hottest photo sharing platform in the world. With growth of over 400% in its first twelve months it was snapped up by one of the giants of the web for a mouthwatering price, despite never having turned a dime in profit. Or how about this: created by a team of Northern Europeans, but based out of London, it was the coolest social music product on the scene. With a free streaming product, and social built into its roots, it was set to take on the musi [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column | Yahoo: Flickr

Having a popular social media presence is important, but many companies and organizations are now taking it a step further by also fostering loyal and active online communities within Facebook and Twitter. These online communities are passionate about a certain brand, product, cause, or industry and, when companies foster this passion by sponsoring an online community, it can continue to flourish. Find And Foster Existing Communities To find existing online communities that have an affinity with your brand or product, look to see where they have already been created. For instance, take th [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Facebook: Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column | Twitter: Marketing

It's become rather fashionable in the last year or so to talk about the post-PC era, most notably after Steve Jobs did so back in 2010. I've certainly been guilty of it, including during a presentation where I used to it to describe the fact that more smart phones are now shipped globally than desktop computers (whether Windows or Mac based), and that in many developed markets now, smartphone penetration is at, or about to reach, 50%. Whatever we call it, there's certainly a tipping point around the corner. But the fact is that, if we think about what PC actually stands for, it's clear [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

"How do I get my Facebook fans to participate more on our page?" It's one of the biggest questions -- and toughest to answer -- when it comes to social media engagement. For many businesses, Facebook is the number one site for building a community and engaging fans. With its 900 million active users, the potential is great but sometimes difficult to harvest. Motivating fans to like, comment on, and share your posts not only strengthens your bond with existing fans but also helps get you in front of a new and bigger audience: their friends. If no one's talking to you on Facebook, it's ha [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Facebook: Advertising | Facebook: Pages | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

Social media and mobile applications are two of the fastest-growing digital entertainment and communication media today. Many consumers are using both social media and apps daily (sometimes at the same time), and, because of this, it has become crucial for companies and organizations to cross-promote their social media presence and their mobile applications. While the strategy to tackle this effort varies, there are some surefire ways to effectively promote both to continue to grow digitally as a company. Social Media Incentives If your company's mobile applications are paid, then [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Facebook | Google: Google+ | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column | Twitter

You probably heard already, but Facebook went public recently. Millions of inches of newsprint, and the digital equivalent, have already been written about what happened, but one thing that was mentioned time and time again, is that just prior to the IPO, General Motors decided to pull its ad spend from the social networking giant. This was backed up by a report from WordStream that seemed to suggest that Facebook isn't as effective as Google's Display Network (GDN). Due to the fact that GM is one of the world's biggest advertisers, and WordStream, well, WordStream had an infographic, [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column

Ever ended a workday and thought: "Whoa, what just happened?" Social media goes by pretty fast. But if part of your job is social media monitoring, you need to make sure you don't miss anything. That might include keeping an eye on competitors, tracking conversation around your industry and nurturing and following up with leads. Luckily, there's a simple, free and foolproof way to store everything in one place and make sure nothing slips through the cracks: RSS feeds. I use RSS feeds every single day for lots of different social media monitoring purposes. Here are some of my favorite use [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

Thanks to the rise of social media, with millions of people around the world having Facebook and Twitter accounts, people have begun wising up about their own social media "personas." Many working professionals realize the difference between what they want to share via social media and what they should share, but there has been a new trend towards professionals creating separate accounts -- one for work life and one for personal life. Is Segmentation Effective? Having two different Facebook and Twitter accounts can be a benefit for employees who want to network with prospective company em [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Facebook | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column | Twitter: Accounts & Profiles

I'd just like to start this post by apologising to the poor person at Marketing Land who has to edit it (sorry Pamela!) You see, the thing is that I got this column in slightly late and whilst I could say that it was because I was incredibly busy, the real reason is that I spent much of the weekend sitting on my sofa playing Draw Something. Essentially a mobile version of Pictionary, the game is incredibly simple, and utterly addictive. And it was recently bought for more than $200 million. This piece by The Guardian does a very good job of explaining the attraction of Draw Something: But [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column

If social media is a cocktail party, then all the great gossip, funny stories and interesting tidbits you hear at that party are the kinds of content we're all striving to create. People share information online for the same reasons they share in real life. The good news? That makes us all experts in creating content that spreads, just by being human. All it takes to draw some inspiration, then, is a little self-reflection. Here are nine reasons people share in real life, and some tips for using those sharing impulses to create shareable online content. 1. It Helps Us Connect Have you had [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column

Reading. It’s a fundamentally solitary pastime that’s becoming increasingly more social given the baked-in functionalities of e-reading devices (Tweet this!). It’s also – surprise! – an activity on the upswing for a couple of reasons: a proliferation of e-reading devices that are plummeting in price, and consumers’ broad acceptance of reading content on phones and computers (not necessarily on Kindles and Nooks), as a new e-reading study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reveals. Let’s look at some of the findings from The Rise of e-Reading, then indulge in [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column

Google+ pages were only launched a few months ago, Google has said that they may have some effect on the search results, as Plus company pages are frequently indexed quickly by Google. While the Google+ layout takes some getting used to, the new social networking site is growing so fast, that companies need to create a Page for their business. Google+ Pages work like Facebook Pages, where multiple personal profiles have administrative rights and personal profiles cannot be used under a company name. There are some areas of a Google+ Page that need to be paid special attention to, inc [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Google: Google +1 | Google: Google+ | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column

Why do companies like Toblerone or Pepperidge Farm bother having websites? As if people are going to say to themselves, “Gee, I wish I knew more about Milano cookies. I know! I’ll go to their site!” Just a thought. Many people have talked over the years about the gap between the amount of time that people spend online (which is large) and the percentage of marketing budgets that is committed to digital (not so large). Digital analyst Mary Meeker has estimated that this gap is worth about $50 billion globally (and that was a couple of years ago). I think that the reason for this can prob [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column

As Pinterest grows into a top 30 US website, brands are joining the image-sharing social network by the boatload. But not all Pinterest strategies are created equal. A new medium requires some creativity, so I set out to find some of the most creative uses of Pinterest out there today. If you're planning your own Pinterest strategy, use these 21 examples to help get you going. Celebrate The Iconic Oberlin College does a ton of things well on Pinterest. By looking at their boards, it's really easy to get an idea of the college, its students, its city and what makes it unique, like the neat [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Pinterest | Pinterest: Business Use & Advertising | Social Media Marketing Column

Facebook. Twitter. Google+. Pinterest. Foursquare. LinkedIn. Path. How many of these social networks do you belong to? Do you participate in every day? Every week? Every month? When a new one comes along does your heart leap in anticipation, or sink a little when you realize it’s one more thing to add to your already burgeoning list of chores; one more series of tasks on an already too-long to-do list? As pervasive as social media seems, it’s still early days and there have already been shakeouts. Some of us are old and hoary enough to remember Orkut, to once have thought we’d neve [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Facebook | Facebook: Business Issues | Facebook: Mobile | Facebook: Open Graph | Foursquare | Google: Google+ | LinkedIn | MySpace | Social Media Marketing Column | Twitter

If you're working in social media, it's important to keep up to date with news and current events relevant to your business' industry. The difficulty: finding that news can potentially be overwhelming. Fortunately, your existing social media accounts can be used to aggregate news and other content, as well as to communicate. It's a great way to stay current in your industry. Facebook It is usually best for social media brand managers or marketing consultants to have a separate Facebook profile for managing a company's social media account. Creating a professional Facebook profile with a comp [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Facebook | Social Media Marketing Column | Twitter

Marshall McLuhan's statement that "the medium is the message" must be one of the most over-used quotes of the last hundred years. I even used it (or misused it, depending on your opinion) as the title of a post last year. But because it's such a flexible statement, which can be made to mean almost anything (which was kind of the point), it keeps on being used. In my previous post I argued that marketers need to stop getting excited just because something happened on Facebook, Twitter or the like, and also that we don't assume that just because something is social, it will necessarily be bet [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Marketing Column | Social Media Marketing: Advertising

When you're determining social media ROI, sometimes you've got to get your hands dirty. With data, of course. Specifically, let's talk about campaign variables. It's an off-puttingly science-y name for a concept that's really pretty simple: Tagging all the links you send out via social media channels to keep track of how they're doing. The tags you add send specific data to Google Analytics that'll help you analyze your social media performance. Want to know whether you should spend more time on Facebook or Twitter? Or if Pinterest is as good for traffic as everyone says? Campaign variables [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social Media | Social Media Marketing Column