Maryland Social Media

Social Media Monday (Vol. 6, No. 6)

November 30, 2015

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~ Ansel Adams

Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually share and discover new interests by posting (known as ‘pinning’) images in groups within Pinterest (known as ‘boards’) while at the same time browsing what other users have pinned. Being image focused, this social network is centered on allowing you to share your likes and interests with others while exploring other’s pins. The social network’s goal is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” Users can upload images from their computer or pin images found on the web using the Pinterest bookmarklet.

Top Story

Having a strategy for social media is very important, but Pinterest is still a fairly new platform, so planning and reviewing other’s best practices is even more important when embarking into Pinterest. There are plenty of examples where businesses have benefited from Pinterest, but in all those cases a strategy was applied that furthered their corporate message using visual media. Pinterest can be a powerful tool when it is used within an organized digital marketing plan . Consider these best practices when creating your digital marketing calendar for the upcoming year.

Pinterest Facts:

Facts about Pinterest
1. As of August 2012, Pinterest became the fourth largest traffic source in the world
2. After Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest ranks 3rd as the most popular social networking site
3. 79% of Pinterest users are women
4. 81% of U.S. women online trust Pinterest as a source for information and advice
5. Mothers are 61% more likely to visit Pinterest as compared to the average American
6. Pinterest generates >400% more revenue per click as Twitter and >27% over Facebook
7. 50% of Pinterest users have kids
8. Average user spends 15.8 mins per visit versus 12.1 mins for Facebook, and 3.3 mins for Twitter
9. Pinterest has more referral traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined
10. Pinterest reached 10 million users in 1/3 of the time it took Twitter to do the same

Demographics (% of entire Pinterest community)
Men	21%
Women	79%
18-34	34%
30-64	55%
65+	11%
High school or less	52%
College+	22%

Research from statisticbrain.com

Getting to Know Me

Complete the profile. When setting up your agency account, you will need to confirm your website and fill in other pertinent information. This step will also allow you to add your logo to any “pins” that come from your site, and lets you see which content on your website is the most popular to your community. Next pick a profile image that will help you be easily identified on Pinterest; logos work great and should be your first choice. Finally you should write a profile description to introduce your agency, letting people know your mission and how you are serving the citizens of Maryland.

Since Pinterest is an image based platform you should be asking yourself how you will convey your brand via pictures. All social media is not created equal and all platforms are not for everyone. If this platform isn’t grabbing your demographic’s attention, or your mission isn’t furthered with pictures you should consider spending your marketing time elsewhere. With that said an argument can be made that pictures are easier for users to consume and could communicate a message faster.

The point is think before you act, don’t just get on Pinterest because it is something you like using at home, and make sure it something you will be able to do well.

Be Artistic

People that use Pinterest are looking for interesting images that represent the things they want to do or want to learn about. So catching their attention with great visuals is important and can be enhanced with free online tools like Canva or Photon on most devices.

When you are sharing images on Pinterest think big; larger and longer images are best. These images take up more space in the feed and really stand out with enhancements. The recommended size is 600 pixels wide and infinite long. Canva has great Pinterest template for a starting point, but don’t limit yourself to what is available.

Brands Matter

In most cases its believed that users engage with businesses via social media for discounts and to vent (i.e. complain). Most studies about social media usage show that this is conclusively why people follow brands. It allows them a way to easily get the attention of the brand and get issues resolved.

You might be surprised to find that Pinterest is an exception. Studies have determined the following regarding users and their interest in following specific brands:

83 percent of users chose to follow a brand over a notable celebrity
73 percent of users will follow a beauty brand sooner than a famous makeup artist
70 percent of users prefer to follow a tool company over a famous carpenter

So what does all this mean? It tells us that if you are providing interesting content on Pinterest, you have an audience that will connect with you and your agency, and not just to vent.

Be Descriptive

With every picture pinned there is a description that is associated with the picture and is always required. Aside from supporting the image itself the description also provides SEO benefit to the pin.

This should describe the post and cannot exceed 500 characters but should include keywords important to your SEO strategy. For example, if you pin a picture of happy kids in a park, you might want to use “park” “kids” or “fun” in the description. You should also include the address of the park and any other relevant information about the area. Keep in mind the description can be changed when its repinned but it doesn’t change your previously posted pin.

If you haven’t created a list of keywords try leveraging Google Trends to help you figure it out. You can use it to compare words and see which are more popular among people searching for content relevant to your agency.

Tips for Leveraging Social Media

Use landing pages whenever possible within your online marketing. A landing page allows you to capture a visitor’s information and better control the experience when they use your website.

A good landing can target an audience, marketing campaign or social media tool. You can build landing pages that allow visitors to download your content, sign up for an event, or volunteer. Landing pages help you track the conversion percentage of your campaign, while collecting information around what digital marketing efforts produce higher ROI for your agency.

How are you using landing pages in your agency?