Monday, September 10, 2012

10 Best Pinterest Practices


In the world of social media there are few mediums that go untouched, but there are those that are significantly more prominent than the others.
10 Best Pinterest Practices
Facebook and Twitter being the reigning kings and others trailing behind with users unsure of what to do. However, Pinterest is proving to be an extremely useful tool for businesses to engage in.
So why should you be be interested in Pinterest. Recent new data is showing that it has now become the 4th largest referral network after passing Yahoo and now only sits behind Google, Facebook and Twitter.
Its referral traffic grew by 43.7% from June to July and grew again by 33.33% from July to August.  In the last 12 months according to Experian it has grown 5,124 perecnt.
It is a visual niche social network that is proving to be  a driver of significant traffic driver for image rich eCommerce sites. Walmart is considering plans to include trending pins (Pinterest posts) as one of the signals it listens to in its own eCommerce search engine as signalling buyer intent.
Here are some tips from when it comes to Pinterest and your business:

1. Plan

Create a content strategy that is centered around the lifestyle of your target audience. Avoid “me syndrome” and only pinning your products and your information. Dive into the interests and aspirations of those that matter most: your consumers.

2. Set Goals

Define your goals. Are you looking to create brand awareness? Drive traffic to you your website? A good benchmark is that 25% of all website traffic should come from social; decide how Pinterest fits into this equation for your brand. Decide how you will be tracking and reporting.


3. Align

Position your brand to align with popular, timely and topical conversations; i.e. if you are a shoe company, pin trendy shoes. “News Year’s Eve” shoes (timely), or “prom shoes” (topical).


4. Optimize

Google LOVES Pinterest! Focus on the keywords that matter most for your brand, align this with what you know about how your audience searches (and what they are searching for) and incorporate them into your board titles and pin descriptions.


5. Engage

Pinterest is a social community that requires two-way engagement. “Repin,” “Like” or comment on pins and boards of others. Interact with your followers and take the time to participate.


6. Organize

Sort your boards well. Also, while keywords are important, have a little fun with how you name your boards. Finally, be sure to set the board “cover image” to a pin that best conveys the topic of that board.


7. Diversify

Pinterest is a great opportunity to reach all the segments of your audience. Create boards and pin items that appeal to every segment of your consumer base!


8. Integrate

Be sure that the content on your website is easy to share. Incorporate the “Pin It” button into your social sharing lineup.


9. Evaluate

Measure your success. What boards and pins are seeing the most “Likes,” and “Repins?” Is Pinterest driving traffic to your website? Evaluate KPIs like bounce rate to ensure that the traffic you are driving to your site is directing to the right place and leverage your ability to use specific links for tracking.


10. Enjoy

Have fun with this awesomely visual medium. Encourage others to pin your content with contests or scavenger hunts, tracked by tagging (@) or hashtags (#).
Guest Author: Suuny Rodriguez from ZOG Digital, a search and social technology marketing business.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Google Update Still Brewing: Penguin? Panda?


I've been trying, trying hard, to get Google to give me a statement. Normally they respond within 24 hours with a yay or nay on my question if there is a Google update. I've emailed them three times and no word back.
This morning, I am seeing another surge in SEO and Webmaster chatter around a possible Google update. The chatter is coming from two WebmasterWorldthreads and the uptick in communication around this started late last night and early this morning.
Just to bring you up to speed. A week ago today, we reported on update rumors, which Google has not confirmed or denied. On Tuesday, we provided an update on those search results fluctuations and emailed Google again, with no response. This morning, I am seeing even more speculation and emailed Google early this morning asking again for a response. So far, nothing.
So either the Google PR team is on vacation, the Google PR team hates me, or something is going on but they cannot comment.
I suspect that yes, they Google PR team hates me (hate is a strong word), but also yes, something is going on, they are testing things and a full roll out is about to happen.
I suspect a Penguin refresh. We are expecting the next Penguin update to be jarring and jolting and we know we hadn't had a major refresh in over three months, since thePenguin 1.1 update.
I can be wrong, I am often wrong, but something big is coming and I feel it in my bones.