You’ve probably been hearing a lot about the new social networking site, Pinterest. Tons of people and brands are hopping on the Pinterest bandwagon – the site now has over 11 million users and the number just keeps growing.
For many companies, Pinterest represents a great opportunity to introduce your products/services to people who may never have seen them before. It’s also a good way to find out what people find interesting about your company and its offerings.
And, even though big companies are creating buzz on Pinterest, small companies are starting to see big results too. For instance, through Pinterest, a landscape architecture firm based in Calimesa, CA has attracted 30,000 more visitors to its site each month.
Another company, The Wedding Chicks LLC, says Pinterest is the reason it earned an estimated $540,000 in revenue last year compared to $340,000 in 2010. Amy Squires, The Wedding Chicks co-founder, also says that Pinterest is better at driving traffic to their website than Facebook and Twitter.
Whatever the size of your company, here a few tips to help you get results from Pinterest.
#1 Don’t pin directly to Pinterest. Post content on your website and then pin it. By doing it this way, the content will link back to your site which can help increase your site traffic. And, to get people who visit your site to follow you on Pinterest, put a Pinterest follow button on your website.
#2 Be specific in the About section and on your boards, i.e. if you’re a Rancho Cucamonga bike shop that sells discount bikes and gear, put that in your description. Then, name your boards using the products/services you offer such as sweet mountain bikes or neon bike jerseys.
#3 Blend in. Act more like a person, instead of a company. Don’t force your products or services on people, just share interesting, relevant images and videos and let potential customers come to you.
#4 Look at which companies are successful on Pinterest, i.e. the ones whose content is constantly being repinned and liked. Then, see if any of their strategies will fit with your content.
#5 Get on the waiting list for Pinerly, a new analytical tool that allows you to measure how effective your pins are.
If you have a few extra minutes this afternoon, request an invite to Pinterest. It’s one of the easiest ways you can attract lots of attention for your company and boost traffic to your site.
At Echo-Factory, we all have creative outlets – activities that allow us to express our creativity freely without rules, billable hours or time constraints. Creative outlets provide inspiration, helping you come up with new ideas or put a fresh spin on old ones. The more creative you are outside of the office, the easier it becomes to be creative while on the job.
Carl, Mustafa & Mike – Echo’s Favorite Boy Band
Here’s the creative stuff we do when we’re not at work.
Dea designs jewelry from natural and found materials. Making jewelry started out as a hobby for her, but it’s become a lucrative endeavor. Her jewelry was picked up by Indigo Art Gallery in New Mexico last year and has been flying out of display cases ever since.
Mike’s hobby also turned profitable. He began taking photos at an early age and eventually started his own photography studio. But, his expertise doesn’t stop with the camera. He’s also really good at taking embarrassing shots of others on his iPhone. Well, to be fair, it’s only embarrassing if you’re the one in the picture.
Ray’s a bit of a photographer himself. He takes pictures of wildlife, abandoned homesteads and other scenery when he rides through the California desert on his dirt bike.
Mustafa spends most of his free time trying to make it big in Hollywood. He’s actually come close – he almost landed a role on Entourage a few years back. He’d like you to know he’s available for autographs anytime.
Then, there’s Andrew who’s writing the next great American novel. He won’t tell us what the story’s about but we have a feeling dragons will play a huge part.
Denise is addicted to Draw Something, a mobile app that lets you show off your verbal and artistic skills in order to beat your friends. If she ever asks you to play, don’t. Trust us when we say you’ll only get hurt.
And, though Carl’s our agency’s version of the Hulk, he’s got the soul of an artist. He paints, draws and works on large-scale mixed media projects.
Roni likes to get together with her girlfriends and knit. We keep hoping she’ll knit scarves for the whole office. So far that hasn’t happened.
As for me, I’ve been writing comedic monologues about life in the South versus life in California. It’s a good way to laugh at myself. For instance, I thought macaroni and cheese was a vegetable until I moved here. Frightening? Yes. But, also pretty damn funny.
If you don’t already have a creative outlet, think about getting one. It will make you think more creatively, and any job can benefit from more of that.
Getting people to trust your brand is critical to your company’s success. But, how do you build trust? According to a study of 1,220 U.S. consumers conducted by The Values Institute, the following five values influence brand trust. See how you measure up.
Ability – This speaks to both your performance as a company and the performance of your product(s) or service(s). Can you produce the results you say you can? Will your product/service perform as promised? In order to succeed, you have to think of a customer-business relationship like any other relationship which means don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Concern – Whether it’s by providing exceptional customer service or giving customers freebies now and then as a thank you for doing business with you, it helps to know you care. The same goes for your employees. Remember how upset people were when they found out Apple’s factories in China had poor working conditions? Most people value human lives over products, and they want to know that you do too.
Connection – Customers want to do business with companies that value the same things they do. As a company, it’s up to you to ensure your values align with your customers. For instance, if your customers value customization, make sure you do everything possible to ensure your offerings can be tailored to fit the customer’s needs.
Consistency – This is the one time where it’s good to be predictable. Customers need to be able to trust that you can produce the same level of quality and service every time. But, consistency doesn’t just apply to products and services, it applies to every aspect of your business. This is especially true for your marketing. You can use different creative and multiple media, but how you talk about your brand needs to be the same every time. No exceptions.
Sincerity – Be open and honest about everything you do. Share as much information as possible with your customers. Provide a forum for criticism and questions. Make it easy for customers to connect with you either online, in person or by phone. Most importantly, admit your mistakes. People put more faith in a company that admits when it’s wrong and takes steps to correct the problem instead of trying to cover it up.
The most successful companies are the ones with a customer-centric approach. By following the values above, you’re putting the customer first which will ultimately build trust in your brand and increase your profits.
*To see how Starbucks, Coca-Cola and other top brands measured up on this study, check out the article in the April 2012 issue of Entrepreneur magazine.
Before this crazy thing called the Internet came along, the Yellow Pages was a necessity. Need a plumber, go to the yellow pages. Pizza delivery? Yellow pages. Nowadays, though, people use a variety of media to find products and services, not just the Yellow Pages. So, if you want to attract potential customers, your best bet is to develop a presence in a variety of media.
If you’re spending a lot of money on Yellow Pages advertising, a good portion of that money could be more effectively spent creating and implementing an integrated marketing campaign.
With an integrated marketing campaign, you’ll spend money on a range of media. But, since all the media will deliver the same message, you’ll have a better chance of reaching more of your target audience more often. And, research shows that people are more receptive to your message the more times they hear it.
Is there room for the Yellow Pages in an integrated marketing campaign? Absolutely. Being in the Yellow Pages won’t hurt your business, but spending all your marketing dollars on the Yellow Pages will.
That’s why no matter what your marketing budget, we’ll always encourage a multi-media approach. For instance, let’s say you’re a local company looking to hit 18 to 34 year olds in the Inland Empire. Your media mix might include local TV and radio spots, ads in local newspapers and magazines, press releases distributed to local media outlets, and a strong SEO/pay-per-click campaign to boost your online presence.
And, that’s just one example of a multi-media campaign – the possibilities are endless. At Echo-Factory, we’ve created a million different media combinations for clients and we’re coming up with new ones every day.
Now, one last thing before we go. Some of you do a lot of co-op advertising, and you’re wondering whether you should give up some of that co-op money and spend more money to market yourself. We say promote yourself.
While there’s nothing wrong with co-op advertising, it usually ends up favoring the product and not the company selling it. By spending money to market yourself, you can create a campaign that focuses on you and the story you want to tell potential and existing customers. With your own campaign, you can create a connection with customers and build loyalty for your company, not just the products you sell. In the long run, promoting your own brand will also lead to a greater return on investment.
So, if your 2012 marketing plan is just Yellow Pages and co-op advertising, don’t stress. There’s still time to build an integrated marketing campaign that will promote your message and generate sales. Give us a call – we’d be happy to help.
Ray – Our Personal Branding Tour Guide
A few weeks ago, one of our clients, Dr. Karen Sibert, a Princeton alum, invited us to speak at Princeton Global Net Night 2012. For this event, Princeton alumni groups get together in different cities across North America to listen to speakers discuss topics related to the Internet’s effect on the world. Our topic was personal branding.
So, this Wednesday, we went to L.A. to meet the Southern California chapter of Princeton Alumni group, and listen to Ray speak about personal branding.
We’re really glad we did. We got the chance to meet some very interesting people. For instance, we talked to Dr. Martin Monti, an assistant professor in UCLA’s Cognitive Psychology department, who spends his time studying how the brain processes thoughts, behaviors and emotions. And, we can’t forget Beata Pozniak Daniels, an actress featured in Oliver Stone’s JFK, Babylon 5 and a ton of other American and European films.
We also got the chance to hear Ray give an awesome talk on building a personal brand online. The talk was so good even Mike stayed awake to listen to it.
If you’re interested in creating your personal brand online, check out what Ray said to the Princeton group.