At LSi Media, we love Pinterest.  From a marketing perspective, it is one of the few “best-kept secrets.”  There’s some debate over its usefulness in mainstream marketing – especially given its high concentration of female users, but for those who are concerned with social media marketing and engagement and accelerating Brand Awareness, it is powerful…

Well, the holidays are over, taxes are rapidly approaching their due date, and all those January 1st social media prediction posts should have run their course. So, this is not a prediction article, these are all valid reasons why you can’t ignore it any longer this year.

Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing platforms around.  Techcrunch reported in November that Pinterest grew 57% in overall member growth while Facebook’s member base grew by 6% it is also the second-largest driver of social media traffic after Facebook.

Pinterest also just recently announced the acquisition of Kosei, which has some of the best minds in machine learning and data science.  Why is this important?  Jillian D’Onfro wrote for Business Insider that “Pinterest wants to fill the gap between an idea and a specific search. It wants to help people find things they didn’t know they were looking for or when they only have the faintest glimmer of an idea. If it can nail visual search, it can nail search advertising, and if it can nail search advertising, it will be taking on a market traditionally dominated by Google’s AdWords.”

Pinterest may be on its way to conquering the visual search market.  Many foodies that I’ve talked to have told me that the first place to look for new recipes is now Pinterest, not Google Search. It has established itself with a solid user base, but it is still new enough that businesses can still reap some of the rewards of getting on it before their competition does. Here’s a great video on the Power of Social Media and its impact on one of your business’s most important assets: it’s Brand.

Social Media Examiner recently asked marketers which form of content they most want to learn about in 2015.  Creating original visual assets took first place.  70% of marketers plan to increase their use of original visual assets in 2015.  With a more crowded marketplace and businesses and marketers wanting to break through the noise, visual marketing is what many are turning to. Creating great-looking images has never been easier with tools like Canva, PicMonkey, and WordSwag.  With the ability to create images that are optimized for Pinterest easily, it’s a great way to continually drive traffic back to your website or product.

In Conclusion

It is imperative for businesses to have a presence on the platform in order to maximize their social business potential. Pinterest is a visually appealing platform that allows businesses to showcase their products or services to a vast audience. With over 450 million monthly active users, it offers a unique opportunity for businesses to increase brand exposure and drive traffic to their websites.

Additionally, it provides valuable insights and data analytics that enable businesses to understand their target audience better and tailor their marketing strategies accordingly. By utilizing Pinterest, businesses can create an engaging and interactive online presence that enhances their overall social business strategy. In today’s digital age, where visual content reigns supreme, it is essential for businesses to leverage platforms like this to stay competitive and connect with their audience in a meaningful way.

FAQs:

1. What is Pinterest and how does it relate to social business?

It is a social media platform that allows users to discover, save, and share visual content in the form of images or “pins”. It can be a valuable tool for social business as it provides a platform to showcase products, services, and ideas visually, and engage with an audience through boards and pins.

2. How can Pinterest help maximize social business efforts?

It can help maximize social business efforts by driving traffic to your website or online store through visually appealing pins. It allows you to showcase your products, services, and expertise, which can increase brand visibility and attract potential customers. Additionally, it can help you understand and engage with your target audience, learn about their preferences, and provide them with valuable content.

3. What types of businesses benefit the most from being on Pinterest?

Various types of businesses can benefit from being on it, including e-commerce stores, fashion and beauty brands, home decor and interior design companies, food and recipe blogs, travel agencies, and lifestyle influencers. However, any business that can visually represent its products, services, or values can leverage social business.

4. How can I create an effective Pinterest strategy?

To create an effective strategy for social business, start by defining your goals and target audience. Research popular trends and topics relevant to your industry and create boards and pins that align with these interests. Optimize your pins with relevant keywords, engaging descriptions, and attractive visuals. Regularly interact with your audience, follow influencers, and collaborate with other businesses for increased exposure.

5. Can Pinterest be used for B2B social business?

Yes, it can be used for B2B social business as well. While it may not be the primary platform for B2B marketing, it can still be valuable in showcasing your industry expertise, sharing infographics, case studies, and other visual content that educates your target audience. Utilize this to curate boards related to industry insights, tips, and tricks, and establish your brand as a thought leader.

6. How do I measure the success of my Pinterest social business efforts?

There are several ways to measure the success of your social business efforts. Track the number of followers, re-pins, and comments to gauge engagement levels. Monitor referral traffic from Pinterest to your website using Google Analytics. Pay attention to metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and average order value for e-commerce sites. Compare your performance with industry benchmarks to understand your position and identify areas for improvement.

Source: MaximizeSocialBusiness.com

Thanks to people like Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and the “PayPal Mafia,” (just to name a few), we have beautiful phones and visually stunning places to go and hang out – all on the web. This is great (I guess).  And as small business owners, the number one question might be:  “Great.  Social Media…how do I use this to make money for my business?” Social platforms, like Facebook and LinkedIn (and now one of our personal favorites-Pinterest), have come on the scene – and all of our customers now literally live in them.

They’re no long rooming the shopping malls or browsing mailed catalogs.  No, they’re up at 2 am watching YouTube! videos and at daylight on Facebook (if they can get away with it) or LinkedIn (which everyone finds time for (ahem… ‘excuses‘).  As a digital media agency specializing in all things social media – we’re thrilled (of course).   And keeping up with the blizzard of changes one finds in these ecosystems can be daunting.

Take LinkedIn for example.  Nearly 400 million people can be found day in and day out “networking,” “conversing” (via group memberships), and gracefully (read: discretely) taking a pulse on career opportunities.

As a social platform, LinkedIn has its critics.   The common perception (and rep) is that it’s a professional job or corporate networking platform and therefore a platform not suited to business development.  And if you are among those who believe this, you be mistaken and are likely missing out on one of the best platforms for reaching customers for your products or services.   Small business owners take note:  it’s worth your while to add LinkedIn to your marketing strategy.

Here are 8 Epic stats that we think you will find compelling:

Our advice:  Get started by taking a few small steps – But GET STARTED.  We timed it:  It takes about 10-minutes to set up a basic profile (for the company), about twice this for a good CEO/Owner profile (nice photo, well thought-through, and interesting bio.  Oh, and did we mention a “nice photo?”), and maybe 5 to 10-minutes to search for and find 1 or 2 groups to join.

So, within 24 hours:

With just a little investment of time and effort, you’ll gain traffic to your digital assets, engage in meaningful conversations, and most importantly, create valuable leads for your business. *Image Source

FAQs:

1. What is LinkedIn and why is it important for small business owners?

LinkedIn is a professional networking platform that allows individuals and businesses to connect, build relationships, and share industry insights. It is especially important for small business owners as it provides opportunities to expand their professional network, find potential clients or customers, showcase their expertise, and establish credibility in their respective industries.

2. How can small business owners optimize their LinkedIn profiles for maximum visibility?

To optimize your LinkedIn profile, ensure that your profile is complete with an enticing headline, a professional photo, and a well-crafted summary that highlights your business and its unique value proposition. Utilize relevant keywords in your profile, connect with industry professionals, actively engage in LinkedIn groups, share valuable content, and regularly update your profile to stay visible to potential connections.

3. How can small business owners gain traction and expand their network on LinkedIn?

Building a strong LinkedIn network requires actively engaging with others on the platform. Connect with industry peers, existing clients, and potential prospects. Engage with their posts by commenting and sharing valuable insights. Join relevant LinkedIn groups and contribute to discussions. Participate in virtual events and webinars hosted on LinkedIn. By consistently engaging and providing value, you can grow your network and attract new opportunities.

4. What type of content should small business owners share on LinkedIn?

On LinkedIn, small business owners should share content that is relevant to their industry and target audience. This can include informative articles, industry news, case studies, success stories, professional insights, and tips or advice related to their niche. Visual content, such as infographics or videos, can also be effective in capturing attention and driving engagement on the platform.

5. How can small business owners use LinkedIn to generate leads and grow their businesses?

LinkedIn offers several features and tools that can be leveraged to generate leads. Business owners can utilize LinkedIn’s advanced search options to identify and connect with potential leads. Engaging in conversations and sharing valuable insights can position you as an industry expert and attract potential clients or customers. Additionally, LinkedIn’s advertising platform can be used to reach a targeted audience and promote your products or services.

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We continue to be impressed with Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard is rapidly maturity into a strong and compelling marketing platform.

Pinterest has a new strategy for getting brands on its service: Show, don’t tell. The online inspiration and discovery company unveiled a new, free analytics dashboard for businesses on Tuesday, providing potential advertisers with a glimpse of their mobile and audience analytics for the first time. Pinterest* previously offered a bare-bones dashboard with Web-only information on traffic back to a business’s webpage. Still, it didn’t show traffic numbers from mobile users or any demographic information about the audience each business was attracting.

Businesses could pay third-party analytics companies like Spredfast or Salesforce for some of this info, and Pinterest opened its firehose of information to a few analytics companies in May. Still, the new dashboard offers some data those analytics providers don’t, including numbers related to the “Pin it” widget that companies can embed on their websites.

Now brands can see which pins or boards are performing the best or break down their followers by country, language, and even gender. Businesses can also see which interest categories are most popular with their followers. For example, a brand might notice a large segment of its followers is into a specific sport or style of clothing. The goal of Pinterest is to help brands better understand its service and, ultimately, understand who sees its content. If brands believe they can reach their customers on Pinterest, they may open their wallets once Pinterest ads are more widely available. (The company is currently testing promoted pins.)

According to Jason Costa, Pinterest currently has “several hundred thousand” businesses using the service, a product manager on Pinterest’s ads team. That’s a lot of potential paying customers. Some brands are already using Pinterest data to advertise — they’re just doing it offline. Companies like Target and Nordstrom are taking their most popular pins, for example, and advertising those products in-store with “as seen on Pinterest”-style signage. These are the types of things Costa believes more businesses will do with access to advanced analytics. And, of course, paying to promote a popular pin on Pinterest isn’t a bad idea either.

In Conclusion

Pinterest has recently introduced a new Analytics Dashboard to attract potential advertisers. This initiative aims to provide advertisers with detailed insights into their campaign performance and audience engagement on the platform. The Analytics Dashboard offers various metrics and data visualizations, allowing advertisers to make data-driven decisions and optimize their campaigns accordingly. By offering such comprehensive analytics tools, Pinterest is positioning itself as a viable advertising platform, enticing future advertisers with the promise of informed decision-making, improved targeting, and ultimately, higher return on investment.

FAQs:

1. What is Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard?

Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard is a tool that provides advertisers with detailed insights into the performance of their ads and campaigns on the platform. It offers metrics such as impressions, CTR (click-through rate), engagement rate, and more, allowing advertisers to track the effectiveness of their ads and make data-driven decisions for future campaigns.

2. How can advertisers benefit from Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard?

Advertisers can benefit from Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard in several ways. Firstly, it allows them to measure the impact of their advertising efforts and understand how their ads are resonating with Pinterest users. This information can help them optimize their campaigns to achieve better results and maximize their return on investment. Additionally, advertisers can gain insights into their audience demographics, interests, and behaviors, which can be used to refine their targeting strategies and create more relevant and engaging content.

3. What data and metrics are available in the new analytics dashboard?

The new analytics dashboard provides advertisers with a range of data and metrics to assess the performance of their ads. These include:

• Impressions: The number of times an ad was viewed by Pinterest users.
• Clicks: The number of times users clicked on an ad to visit the advertiser’s website or landing page.
• CTR (Click-Through-Rate): The percentage of ad impressions that resulted in clicks.
• Engagement Rate: The ratio of engagements (e.g., saves, close-ups, link clicks) to impressions.
• Conversions: The number of desired actions completed on the advertiser’s website, such as purchases or sign-ups.
• Top Pins: The most popular and engaging pins in an advertiser’s campaigns.

4. How can advertisers access Pinterest’s new analytics dashboard?

To access the new analytics dashboard, advertisers need to have a Pinterest business account. Once logged in, they can navigate to the Analytics section, where they will find detailed information and reports about their ads’ performance.

5. Can advertisers compare the performance of different campaigns using the analytics dashboard?

Yes, advertisers can compare the performance of different campaigns using the analytics dashboard. They can analyze the metrics and data for each campaign separately, allowing them to identify strengths, weaknesses, and trends across their advertising efforts.

Source: recode.net

 

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An interesting look at today’s “connected” generation, providing a compelling argument for adopting a new mindset and taking a different approach towards interacting with customers.

Businesses today are met with unique challenges and opportunities that warrant pause. For years, management models were developed to optimize the pursuit of business objectives. Processes were established, and hierarchies, technologies, and reporting systems supported them. Everything was business as usual until it wasn’t. Nothing is permanent. As in life, things change. And so is true in the world of business. The models and practices that have been taught for generations are tested in a time when customer and employee behaviors and resulting expectations are evolving without official study, strategy, and systematic transformation.

Technology permeated society where the vast separation between professional and personal access was obliterated. The line between online and offline was forever obscured, creating an always-on society with an insatiable appetite for consumption and connectedness. Over the years, technology has impacted how everyday people communicate, share, discover, and learn. Some of you will read the previous sentence and think, “Yes, it’s completely ruined our society, and we are worse for it.” Others will read it and continue without contemplation as the sentence states the obvious, “and?”

This divide reveals a stunningly underappreciated challenge facing any organization that hopes to survive in an era of connectedness. With foresight, it’s clear that the situation before us is dire, and it is how decision-makers react now that either defines their destiny or seals their fate. In a world where Digital Darwinism rewards those who adapt as technology and society evolve, I believe many models governing how organizations are not only outdated but they also reflect management’s vision in how it competes for the future.

With the barrage of digital devices, services, networks, and apps, many organizations are merely reacting to trends with terminal skepticism or half-baked attempts to embrace new technologies and opportunities. In each case, what’s new is often interpreted or dealt with through the very perspective, methods, and practices that contribute to the business as usual.

Social media, mobile, and real-time have contributed to the digital lifestyle that everyday people, your consumers, and your employees embrace as second nature. It’s not just a Millennial or a Generation Z think; and it’s everyone who uses a smartphone, a tablet, or any smart device. It’s also that person who checks Twitter and Facebook each morning before email for mentions of their name and to see what they might have missed. It is, for all intents and purposes, you and me.

This isn’t about age; this is about a connected generation (Generation C), and it represents a significant share of consumerism. Said, this category of consumers is different from the traditional customers and employees around which many organizations are modeled. Reaching them requires a different approach. To see them and the value, they represent to an organization takes vision and a different philosophy. Instead, however, most executives or decision-makers employ an “us vs. them” mentality. They see the world as they know it rather than seeing the world for what it is or what it’s becoming.

Let me put this

Traditional management practices and the structures that support them are aging, but they’re also liabilities and competitive disadvantages. It’s not just today’s competitors who will realize that connected consumers are a different breed. Unforeseen competitors, some that may not even exist today, will see what it is that you do not change market direction and, as a result, take market share.

This is a time that requires great introspection and empathy, which is a time for leadership.

The goal now is to open our perspective to explore a world that we do not know to lead our organization in the direction of greater relevance. We must discover what is valuable to Generation C, why, and how to use these insights to inspire more desirable products, services, and even stories and messages. The next step is, of course, to bring them to life through new processes, systems, and directives. Therefore, I believe that the future of business takes leadership, not management. Executives, employees, and other stakeholders or shareholders who do not share in the desire to earn relevance with a different customer are standing in the way of progress.

Well-meaning decision-makers don’t know what they don’t know. As such, they will need a little help, which is an opportunity for champions who believe in the need for organizational transformation. The case for change won’t be won by new technology alone. It’s not social, mobile, or real-time that presents the answer, and it is the effect they have on consumer behavior that matters.

Attempting to convince anyone of the need for change should never include mentions of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, iPhones, i-Pads, etc. These are means, but not a means to an end. What’s required is an understanding of market trends and impact, missed opportunities versus actual short and long-term losses, the balance of connected vs. traditional consumerism, and a better understanding of how innovation in the product roadmap will prevent disruption while disrupting others through innovation.

Technology is merely an enabler and a powerful one at that. But without vision, purpose, direction, or meaning, new channels are the conduits for old reasoning and convictions. Without understanding technology and its relationship with behavior, without aligning a bigger mission or vision with what we are trying to do — something that will matter to people — we are just managing businesses the way we always have. We are not progressing in any new direction.

This is a time to lead the next generation where ideas are “born digital.” Rather than discount how, when, and where people connect and innovate! Born Digital is a mantra and a philosophy that invests in products, services, and supporting systems that align with the expectations and behaviors of Generation C consistently, across every screen, in the context of every scenario.

Born Digital doesn’t take what exists and attempts to repackage it as something new. Born Digital isn’t conceived by groups of strategists or executives who question the logic of a selfie. Seriously. Born Digital is the result of empathy and inspiration to do something extraordinary in the truest meaning of the word, designed for a new generation purpose-built to deliver exceptional experiences. Born digital is deliberate, and it is inspired. But to conceive, it takes vision to see what others do not and courage to do what others will not or cannot.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker.

Source: www.briansolis.com

In Conclusion

In 2022, it is an essential truth that people in every direct sale and network marketing venture must recognize the power of the most connected generation of customers in social media. With the advent of technology and the widespread usage of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to reach their target audience effectively. This demographic is highly active on social media, using it as a means to connect, share, and consume information.

As such, direct sales and network marketing professionals must harness the potential of these platforms to engage and build relationships with their customers. By leveraging the reach and influence of social media, organizations can extend their brand visibility and attract a broader customer base. In conclusion, understanding the importance of the connected generation of customers in social media is crucial for successful direct sales and network marketing endeavors in 2022.

FAQs:

1. What is the Connected Generation in the context of social media?

The Connected Generation refers to the group of individuals, typically younger and more tech-savvy, who are highly connected through various social media platforms. They are comfortable with digital technology and use social media extensively to connect, communicate, and consume information.

2. How can businesses tap into the Connected Generation for customer engagement?

To effectively engage the Connected Generation, businesses need to have a strong presence on social media platforms. They should create compelling and shareable content, actively interact with their audience, and leverage influencers and social media advertising to reach their target customers.

3. What are the advantages of targeting the Connected Generation through social media?

Targeting the Connected Generation through social media can provide several advantages. It allows businesses to reach a large and diverse audience, build brand awareness and loyalty, generate leads, and gain valuable insights through data analytics. Additionally, social media offers cost-effective marketing opportunities compared to traditional channels.

4. How can businesses create content that resonates with the Connected Generation?

To create content that resonates with the Connected Generation, businesses should focus on authenticity, interactivity, and visual storytelling. They should understand their target audience’s interests, values, and preferences and create content that aligns with those. They should also encourage user-generated content and actively engage with their audience through comments, likes, and shares.

5. What social media platforms are most popular among the Connected Generation?

The most popular social media platforms among the Connected Generation are constantly evolving. Currently, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are highly popular among younger demographics. However, it is essential for businesses to monitor trends and demographics to stay up-to-date with the most relevant platforms for their target audience.

6. How can businesses measure the effectiveness of their social media efforts targeting the Connected Generation?

Businesses can measure the effectiveness of their social media efforts targeting the Connected Generation through various metrics such as engagement rate, reach, impressions, click-through rates, and conversions. Additionally, they can utilize social media analytics tools and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the success of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.