Why Pinterest Is So Addictive I would have written this article sooner, but I was busy on Pinterest. If you are still among the uninitiated, the social platform for collecting, sharing, and commenting on of photos of personal passions is uniquely engaging, absorbing, and addictive. The human instinct to collect things--be it baseball cards, miniature spoons, or teacups--is as old as stuff itself. But it took Pinterest to perfect this process online. So no wonder it’s having a moment: comScore found that Pinterest just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors, who spend an average of 98 minutes a month on the site, compared to 2.5 hours on Tumblr, and 7 hours on Facebook. It’s also driving more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn--combined, according to Shareaholic. But why would Pinterest, which has been around since 2008, be attracting such swarms of devotees now? Finding Your Happy Place and Sharing Your Ideal Self Dr. Perfecting the Art of Collecting Secret Sauce of Sharing
Five Ways Brands Can Leverage Pinterest Now Editor’s Note: Reggie Bradford is the Founder and CEO of Vitrue, a provider of social marketing SaaS solutions. Follow Reggie on Twitter at @ReggieBradford and Vitrue @Vitrue. Pinterest is hot. The social content curation service has captured the attention of millions with a unique platform that allows users to express interests and ideas through visually appealing images on virtual bulletin boards. Vitrue has been following Pinterest closely as part of our normal vigilant assessment of the social space. Here are five ways brands can leverage Pinterest now: 1. Images are more effective than text at encouraging engagement, and an effective technology platform will allow you to surface visually appealing content on one or more Facebook Tabs. 2. You can always put a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on your website. 3. 4. This means using a URL shortening and redirection strategy, preferably one that aggregates your Pinterest analytics (views, Repins, etc.) in a central location. 5.
26 Tips for Using Pinterest for Business Are you wondering how your business could use Pinterest? To say there’s been a lot of buzz about Pinterest in recent months would be putting it mildly! Pinterest’s ease of use for visually bookmarking, organizing and sharing things you love has made it a hit among individuals and businesses alike. What follows are 26 tips, an A-Z guide for creating a business presence on Pinterest. #1: Add a Pinterest “Follow” and/or “Pin It” Button One important way to let your clients and prospects know about your presence on Pinterest is to add a Pinterest button. Follow buttons are a great way to let users know you’re on Pinterest. #2: Brands and Pinterest While Pinterest hasn’t yet created a distinction between a personal profile and brand page (like Facebook), early adopting brands are making good use of their Pinterest presences and the pins and boards they’re sharing. *Note: Pinterest is one of the 60 new open graph websites and apps that allow a tighter integration with Facebook’s Timeline. #26: Zine
Pinterest and Copyright: What a business needs to know 43.3K Flares Twitter 1.7K Facebook 40 Google+ 31 StumbleUpon 41.3K Pin It Share 26 LinkedIn 142 inShare142 Email -- Email to a friend Buffer 22 43.3K Flares × Pinterest. The current social media darling and possibly the most controversial social platform yet? Pinterest is a site where you can create visual, virtual pinboards to track and plan an event or project. Should your business be on Pinterest? If your site is filled with commercially sensitive visuals then you will already be taking steps to protect your copyright and your images. If you find that images have been pinned from your site without your permission then you can report the copyright violation and Pinterest will act upon your request. As an online marketer, I can’t see any reason why you would want to prevent your images from being pinned unless you would like to lose your competitive advantage. [pullquote]the idea that there is much of an issue [Copyright] at all rather bemuses me. Seems like a lot of work? Lilach
How Pinterest Changed Website Design Forever Even if you haven't ever visited popular visual bookmarking site Pinterest, you might recognize its design elements — which have been popping up everywhere since the startup burst onto the mainstream scene in 2011. The site doesn't use traditional web building blocks. "It's almost like a window-shopping mode," says Khoi Vinh, the former design director for NYTimes.com. "It puts the ball back in the user's court," muses Andrew Beck, a web designer at Blue Fountain Media. "It flattens the information hierarchy," describes Jeff Croft, a web designer and co-founder of ebook lending site Lendle. Pinterest puts web content into sticky-note sized blocks users can organize onto pinboards that fill the entire browser screen. Though the hot Palo Alto startup is staying mum about its user numbers, one study found it drives more traffic to websites than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. As it has gained in popularity, so too has its unusual design. Consequently, the design caught on.
5 Big Pinterest FAQs It doesn’t matter who you are—a blogger interested in food and fashion or a B2B marketer working for a custom plastic molding company—you’ve probably been hearing about Pinterest and how it could be good for your brand. This social phenomenon with skyrocketing popularity rates higher than Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ combined has become the latest craze for marketers of all kinds, used to increase online exposure and bring in new traffic, as well as connect with others in the industry and enhance a company’s overall image. Yet even as Pinterest’s traffic and membership numbers have continued to grow, for many people, it’s still been the site that doesn’t make much sense. Here are answers to the top five questions we most often get about Pinterest! Q1: What’s the Deal with Pinterest? To understand the appeal of Pinterest, you’ve got to understand what exactly it is. As for why it’s so popular, consider these Pinterest hallmarks: Q2: Who Are All These People on Pinterest?
Make Money Selling Your Photos and Marketing Your Photography Business - Photopreneur 10 Video Tips for Businesses on Pinterest Grant Crowell is a multimedia writer and marketing analyst who’s been covering the online video space since 2006. Connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him at @grantcrowell. Since Pinterest was founded in 2008, it's proven one thing: People love their visuals. And it looks like the site is becoming a hot space for online video marketing opportunities as well, with its recent integration of the Vimeo platform. SEE ALSO: Need More YouTube Views? The video platform addition makes sense, given how video continues to grow on the network. What that should tell brands and marketers is that now is the time to start looking at Pinterest as a video marketing vertical. 1. Video thumbnails that are nicely photographed and appear to be art directed will blend in much better on Pinterest, and typically draw more attention than a video still frame. When selecting a thumbnail, find or create an eye-catching image that properly represents your video. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
How Pinterest Is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business Move over Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Another social media site is stepping up as a valuable marketing tool for businesses. Pinterest, an online bulletin board for your favorite images, launched in 2010 and is already experiencing wild growth. The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September. And it's driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent report from Cambridge, Mass.-based content-sharing site Shareaholic. Why should small businesses care? Brides-to-be can pin pictures of different wedding dresses to review, and people shopping for a new car can pin images of their options. Here's a look at why some business owners -- particularly retailers -- might want to seriously consider starting a business profile on Pinterest now. But remember that this is social media. Related: What's With All the Interest in Pinterest? Is Pinterest Right for Your Business?
The 9 Most Creative Uses Of Pinterest In what seemed like no time (but was, in fact, several years), Pinterest went from a talking point for digital elites to a de rigueur social tool for just about every person, media company and, of course, brand. According to data compiled by online consumer behavior firm Experian Hitwise, Pinterest saw 104 million visits in March, a strong third-place finish behind Facebook with 7 billion and Twitter with 182 million. So, there’s clearly a compelling case for Pinterest based on overall numbers. But how are brands creating a presence on Pinterest using the platform’s strengths to their advantage? Given the rapid growth of Pinterest, there was hardly a chance for brands to absorb any meaningful best practices. David Berkowitz, VP of Emerging Media for digital agency 360i, recalls introducing clients to Pinterest a year ago, noting how quickly the landscape has changed for brands on the platform. Berkowitz warns, however, that not all brands are primed to pin.
10 ways to use Pinterest for your business This is the second article in a 10-part content series on Unified Marketing, which will bring to light collaborative marketing principles and successful strategies in areas including marketing, branding, PR, social media, mobile and other digital practices. Unless you’ve been meditating with some monks in Tibet for the last few months, you’ve probably at least heard of Pinterest. The virtual “pinboard” social network exploded this winter and went from fewer than 1 million users to 150 million in just six months. The simple functionality of easily sharing and organizing photo and video content fulfilled the original promise of media-based social networks such as Flickr, making Pinterest a huge hit with users. Many people are even calling Pinterest addictive. Download a free infographic on Pinterest best practices for business When used properly, Pinterest can be an amazing tool in your social media strategy. 1. Do you have a lot of photo and video content on your site? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Pinteresting stuff for business Have you joined the latest social media kid on the block? Pinterest is a flashy new platform that allows users to create pinboards, share images and even sell products online. With more than 9000% growth in the last few months and boasting 18.7 million users (according to ComScore) Pinterest is now one of the top four social media platforms. Is it just a place for brides to gush over and compare dresses, flowers and cakes or does it have tangible benefits for your business? This is the multi-million-dollar question. The answer is both. Pinterest is still in invite-only stage. Once you request an invite, it can take a couple of weeks depending on their volume, or you can find someone who is already using Pinterest. With eCommerce providers like Big Commerce integrating Pinterest into their platforms, it is clear that this one is here to stay. What can it do for your business? I liken Pinterest to window-shopping. Social curation at its best This really is the ultimate in social curation.