CMO Briefing Pinterest:

Transcription

1 CMO Briefing Pinterest: How This Explosive Sharing Site Can Impact Your Business Facts Pinterest refers more traffic to websites than Google+, LinkedIn, and YouTube combined. The time to get your Pinterest marketing in shape is now or never. How Big Is It? After having 11.7 million unique visitors in January 2012, Pinterest became the fastest site in history to break the 10 million mark. Bottom Line Pinterest is a sharing site. Your business needs to create and share content that is relevant to the consumers you re trying to reach. The Business Leader s Guide to Pinterest Marketing Several companies are finding immense success with marketing on Pinterest. What exactly is Pinterest and how can your business benefit? According to Pinterest itself, Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. But Pinterest is a lot more than that. It is a social network focused 100% on the user, allowing them to pin anything that interests and inspires them. It s no wonder that Pinterest is now the 3 rd largest social network in the United States there were 104 million visitors in the month of March alone! This CMO Briefing will get you up to speed on Pinterest so that you don t have to spend hours learning the site, or reading hundreds of articles. We ll cover: The latest statistics on Pinterest Why it s important to be active on Pinterest How to adapt your marketing strategy on Pinterest How to Manage Content Why You Should Pay Attention Pinterest has experienced the fastest growth rate of any social networking site even more so than Facebook or Twitter. It s a very visual site, and it s important that your business learns how to take advantage of it. Visibility plays a huge role in social media marketing, because psychology has proven that we do business with people we know, like, and trust. Remember Traditional Marketing will not work on Pinterest Pinterest is a culture of curators. Users love to share content, not create it. Marketing successfully on Pinterest is about posting content that people are interested in, not talking about yourself When it comes to buying a product, people listen to other people. Build a strong fan following on Pinterest, and they ll do most of the work for you!

2 How Are You Going to Stand Out? Every brand that is marketing on social media sites wants to do the same thing increase their success and gain exposure. But businesses are forgetting to listen and fans are growing tired of not being treated like real people How are you going to stand out to the consumers you re trying to reach? 2 How Does Pinterest Work? Pinterest has opened up instant access to everyone! After joining, you re asked to specify things you re interested in, as well as to install the Pin It button to your browser s toolbar. This encourages users to always be sharing content and updating their Pinterest, no matter what site they re on! The perfect set- up: Pinterest uses the interests you select to choose a handful of top users in that area for you to follow. Topics range from weddings & events, to food & drink, to technology, to sports Pinterest has dozens of unique categories that every Pin can be found under Whatever your industry your brand can always find a place to share content and interact with consumers on Pinterest Practices that users must follow: Pin from the original source Pin from permalinks Give credit & include a thoughtful description These practices are what help to make Pinterest such a successful referral site! How Effective Can Pinterest Be? These statistics should convince you that Pinterest could have a huge impact on branding your business using social media Pinterest is attracting users 2 to 3 times more effectively than Twitter did Pinterest was the quickest site in social media history to hit the 10 million visitor mark Americans spend an average of 1 hour and 17 minutes on Pinterest, compared to 36 minutes on Twitter, 17 minutes on LinkedIn, and 6 minutes on Google+ Since the beginning of the 2012 year, users on Pinterest increased by more than 145% New visitors to Pinterest.com increased by 429% from September 2011 to December 2011 Pinterest was the #1 referral of traffic to marthastewwart.com At this point, you shouldn t be deciding whether or not to join Pinterest you should be focused on how to market successfully on the site!

3 Why It s So Important to Have an Active Pinterest Presence: Pinterest has grown so quickly and successfully, that marketers need to start paying as much attention to Pinterest as they do to Facebook and Twitter. Here are some of the ways Pinterest can improve your business: Brand Exposure: As the chart above indicates, there are dozens of categories on Pinterest, so your business is guaranteed to find the right spot somewhere. And with every Pin, Repin, and Like of your business, your brand and information is spread out across the category that it falls under. You ll reach more consumers in less time, and will get the chance to leave a lasting impression on them! Brand Support: Every time an image from your Pinterest board is shared on the Pinterest network, that user is sharing their support for your product, service, and/or brand with everyone on their personal network. Remember, consumers will always trust other consumers before they trust ads. This is an incredibly easy way to build a fantastic reputation with consumers. Link Building: We are all concerned with improving our SEO and getting traffic to our site. Every single Pin and Repin creates a link back to the image source. Meaning once you ve built some good content, just sit back, relax, and watch your traffic flow increase exponentially. Shopping Discovery: Instead of searching the web with a specific purpose, Pinterest allows consumers to simply discover new products and services. So with the brand exposure and support that Pinterest provides, your business can sell products and services to people who never even knew they needed it. 3

4 How Can You Make the Most of Your Presence on Pinterest? Be Respectful of the Purpose One of the reasons Pinterest has been so successful and effective with users is that it is a site almost completely dedicated to sharing. It s not about creating useless content (as many businesses do on Facebook) but about sharing content in a community of people with similar interests. Make Sure Your Sources Are Diverse The creators of Pinterest specifically stated that they didn t want it to be a platform for brand- promotion. Don t just Pin things from your site Pin from various sources to avoid seeming fake and overly sales- y. Remember to be Real and Authentic! Engage in conversation, thank your followers, ask them questions Follow users who have interests that are relevant to your brand Always use great images, and include appealing descriptions Pin content that your followers will find useful don t just try to sell your product Example: if you are the owner of a clothing store, Pin tips for getting out tough stains Interact With Other Users Be sure to Repin from within the site and engage with others. It will help you build your network of followers and increase your Brand Advocacy. 4

5 Optimizing Your Brand on the Pinterest Feed: At this point, you ve seen the statistics. You know that Pinterest has millions of monthly visitors, millions of registered users, and is a huge impact in the social media marketing world. Here are some tips to get your business noticed on the site: Marketing Your Brand on Pinterest You already have a ton of great reasons to market your business on Pinterest: If possible, always add a $ amount to your Pin description When you add a dollar amount, a banner is added to your Pin to show the product value this makes your product searchable by that dollar amount Make sure that your business s board is associated with a specific category. This will ensure you show up in the main feed, so your followers will not be the only users who see your Pins Focus on adding pins with tips or useful information, and make it colorful the more useful the content, the more you will get Repinned Check out users related to your industry that have a lot of followers & see how they re attracting attention! Link Building Brand Exposure Brand Advocacy Shopping Discovery These are great benefits, but what really sets Pinterest apart from sites like Twitter and Facebook? Your Brand Has a Greater Voice on Pinterest On sites like Facebook, it is very hard to have your content seen. You have to improve your Edgerank, sometimes pay to promote posts, etc. With Pinterest, your business is right at the top when you submit a piece of content. Even if your competitor has more followers or Repins, your post has equal weight and will be seen by just as many users. 5

6 It All Comes Down to the Content Pinterest, like many other social networks, will be constantly evolving and adding new features. Adapting your marketing strategy will be be easy, as long as you make sure to always be sharing content that your followers want to see. Remember: Pay Attention to the Facts *Over 20% of Facebook users are on Pinterest daily. *Buyers from Pinterest are 10% more likely to buy something *Buyers from Pinterest spend an average of 10% more than visitors from other social networks Show consumers on Pinterest why your product or service is the best. Post vivid photos, share helpful tips and tricks that make you know what you re talking about, and most of all, listen! Pay attention to what your fans say, because when they re happy, it spreads, and before you know it, you will have more customers that you know what to do with! 6 Bottom Line There are hundreds of success stories of brands getting excellent results and hundreds even thousands of customers from Pinterest. It can work for your brand too no matter how big or small your business is. See the page below to find out how you can walk away with an action plan to get your marketing in shape.

7 About the Author: Krista Neher Krista Neher is the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, a bestselling author and an international speaker. As the CEO of Boot Camp Digital Krista has trained thousands of marketers and businesses on how to harness the power of social media to grow their business. Krista has over 10 years of marketing experience and has worked with companies like P&G, Macy s, GE and the United States Senate. Krista is the author of the bestselling Social Media Field Guide and a co- author of a leading textbook titled: Social Media Marketing A Strategic Approach. Krista also created one of the first accredited social media certification programs. Get Your Social Media in Shape. Do you want to stay up to date on the latest in social media? Now That You Understand What Pinterest Is, Do Something! Want the opportunity to interact with Krista Neher directly and learn how to increase your Pinterest Marketing success without leaving your home? Sign up for our September 18 th online training on Pinterest for Business (1:30-3:00 pm EST). We re offering a $10 discount to the first 100 registrants, but spots are running out, so register now to take the first steps towards Pinterest marketing success while saving money! Still Have Questions? Contact us: 1600 Main Street, Cincinnati OH, info@bootcampdigital.com We Have a Program for You! Boot Camp Digital is a training organization with a mission to help businesses stay educated and get results from social media and digital marketing. We have programs for all knowledge levels and business needs: «Live two day Boot Camp in Cincinnati Ohio (quarterly) «Online Boot Camp with over 24 recorded modules to learn at your own pace (available on demand) «Online Membership program (with the latest topics) «Custom corporate training programs The class was phenomenal! Krista was able to provide step- by- step instruction in how to use social media which tools to use to keep my website content current, how to start a Facebook fan page and how to create a blog. If you are new to social media or if you ve been using social media, you ll learn how to take your social media skills to the next level. I recommend the class to everyone, from small organizations to large; for businesses to non- profits. Everyone at any level will benefit. Amy Foly, Executive Director, NAMI- Clermont County