Pinterest has become a leading social network since its inception 2 years ago. It has recently been driving more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined! Is your business using this social platform to your advantage? We have 4 tips on how to market your business with Pinterest.

1. Images are Important

Being a visual platform, the most important aspect of your social marketing strategy should focus on images. Be sure to pin unique and original images relating to your industry. Not only should you post images of your products, you should post images of your products in action. Consumers love to see how a product can be used.

2. SEO is Key

Pinterest has a simple search function which makes using keywords and phrases in your pins extremely important. When writing pin captions, and naming image files, use phrases that a person might use to search for your company. You will also want to make sure your pins are linking back to your website. While using a search engine optimization strategy with Pinterest may not help your company show up more often in search engine results, it will help pinners get back to your website easily.

3. Show your Presence

Pin, repin, comment, and like… often! Show your followers that you are active. Don’t only pin images relating to your company. Pin images that your followers may have an interest in and also relate to your company and products. Show followers you are not just a company, but a personality. Not every piece of content you pin should come from your website. Learn what your followers are interested in, that compliments your company, and pin away!

4. Making Connections

Pinterest should not be the only social media platform your company is using. Connecting your Pinterest account to your Facebook and Twitter gives you the option to display your pins with one click across all platforms. Using multiple social networks increases your following and shows that you are active.

Being a leader in visual social media, Pinterest is a great place for marketing your business. Let your existing customers know you are on Pinterest by telling them. Spread the word via social media and email marketing, and remember: pin, repin, comment and like. It’s as simple as that!

First, what is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is what you should be doing to help your business show up in search engines. Optimizing your website for readability, usability and key phrases helps your website get traffic from organic listings on search engines. Content on search engines are listed and ranked in accordance to what is most relevant to the search being performed. Now, how can your business use SEO? Below we’ve listed 4 steps to keep in mind while building and maintaining your website.

1. Content is King

Have a clear Internet marketing strategy when it comes to developing your website content. Make sure that your website content is engaging to your visitors. Keeping your content relevant keeps them on your site longer. Posting information that strays too far from the point will discourage people from coming back to your website.

2. Check Your Links… and Check Them Again

No one wants to click on a link and end up on a 404 page. The most frequently linked pages on your website should often be checked to ensure that the links are not broken. If people are clicking on an expired link they will get frustrated, resulting in them leaving your website and, usually, never coming back.

3. Go Mobile

With an increase in mobile usage, you need to make sure that your website works properly on mobile devices. Creating a separate website made specifically for a mobile device will increase your opportunity for capturing a lead from a visitor on-the-go. Remember to optimize your mobile website like you would your desktop website for Internet marketing success.

4. Utilize Google+

Google+ is owned by Google, the #1 search engine in the world. Why wouldn’t you use it? With new features, Google+ makes it easier for your company to spread content across its platform, allowing users to share your content with others. Being active and sharing links relative to your business will help increase your ranking in search results. Be sure to optimize your posts for the optimal results.

SEO is essential for your company. Without optimizing your website and content, your business will not rank high in search results. Without ranking, your in market customers will purchase from someone else. Do you want to give your customers to your competitors? We didn’t think so.

Contact our Internet marketing consultants today for more information on how Search Engine Optimization can help your company.

Photo Source: Raging Creations

Have you been pinning like crazy this year? How about snapping tons of great photos and sharing with your friends on Instagram? Well you may be in for a treat! Many Pinterest enthusiasts have tried to re-create the social mega site, but there are none that have yet to succeed. Until now…

Enter: “Pinstagram”, a completely free service that combines both Instagram and Pinterest. Instagram users can visit Pinstagram.co and sign in using their existing Instagram accounts. Your dashboard looks almost identical to Pinterest, but instead of pins from all across the web, you’ll see your friends’ latest Instagram photos. From there, users can choose to “Pin,” “Like,” or “Comment.” Here’s where your Pinterest account comes into play; when you hover over an Instagram photo and select “Pin”, you will be prompted to login via Pinterest and continue with your pin as you normally would.

So far, Pinstagram seems to do a great job of combining two of the most popular social sharing sites of all time. The site features great search functionality that Instagram otherwise lacks and offers Pinterest and Instagram users one-stop shopping for their pinning and photo-sharing needs. Have you ever taken a great photo on Instagram and thought it would be perfect to share on Pinterest? Now it’s as easy as logging into Pinstagram and pinning away!

Pinstagram also offers a better use for the “Popular” section offered on Instagram. Browsing the “Popular” section via Instagram, you are limited to merely “liking” or commenting on photos. With Pinstgram, you can take it one step further by pinning popular Instagram photos to share with all of your Pinterest followers.

Pinstagram has already become somewhat of a literal overnight success. The site was created by Pek Pongpaet and Brandon Leonardo as a weekend project. And get this; the concept started as a complete joke! These two Silicon Valley designers merely wanted to find out what would happen if they combined two of the hottest social sharing sites out there today.

Since it made its web debut just about 2 weeks ago, Pinstagram has already been featured on major tech review sites like Tech Cocktail, Mashable and The Huffington Post. Only time will tell, but we want to hear from you now! Comment below and let us know… Would you use Pinstagram?

Source: Mashable.com

Google’s privacy update kicked off on March 1, with some users having concerns for what that could mean for how they use Google products. Google has decided they will integrate their 70 privacy settings into one document which they say will be easier to understand and that the essence of its privacy controls are not changing. This means that Google needed to grant itself permission to sync all its products together for the future.

Google’s products will still look and function the same but they will now do things such as sync your calendar with your Gmail contacts. You will also be seeing a lot more ads tailored to you. If you are researching car dealers in your area, Google will now show ads that relate to certain car brands you’ve searched for. Google is no longer the same for every user, it is made to be specific for each individual.

Some users are skeptical whether or not this is invading their privacy. Google is adamant about not sharing your information with advertisers but it will now use your information in conjunction with the ads that Google has already purchased.

To learn more about Google’s privacy update click here.

Facebook, being the most popular social networking site on the Internet, is great for staying in touch with friends and even making new ones. What some people don’t know is that Facebook can be great for business as well. Internet marketing becomes more popular daily as more companies, both big and small, have success with it. This Social Media Examiner article provides six habits that if done daily can greatly improve your chances for social media marketing success.

Source: Social Media Examiner

Facebook marketing, when done right, is an extremely powerful tool. It can increase your leads, attract highly targeted prospects and position you as a sought-after industry leader. To reap these business-building benefits, the key is to develop daily habits.

The following list of six daily habits will keep you focused on what really matters when it comes to Facebook marketing: real fan engagement.

#1: Become addicted to solving problems

When you regularly solve problems and answer questions for your fans, you not only foster trust, but you also set yourself up as the go-to expert in your niche.

A surefire way to create engagement on your Facebook page is to regularly offer your expertise and insight. One great example of a master problem-solver is Facebook expert Mari Smith. Mari encourages her fans to ask questions on her Facebook page. Because she is quick to respond with valuable responses, she’s turned many Facebook fans into loyal followers and customers.

But she doesn’t stop there. Mari takes her support a step further by providing a resource center directly on her Facebook page. She continually keeps this resource link up to date and full of valuable information. As you can see in the image below, Mari has set up multiple info tabs including Changes, How To and Rules & Safety, all related to Facebook marketing.

#2: Talk to individual fans daily

I make it a habit to comment on other people’s posts 3-5 times each day. I do this because these comments are the real conversations that build relationships.

Taking a minute to comment on a fan’s vacation photos or adding my two cents to a peer’s recently posted video is my way of letting my fans and peers know that I genuinely am interested in what they are talking about online.

To check out what your fans are posting on their own pages or profiles, first check out which fans are posting on your page. When fans post on your page, you can click on their avatars and you will be taken to either their pages or profiles, depending on how your fans have posted on your page. You can then post on their pages (or if you are also a friend via their profiles, you can post on their profiles as well).

Here are a few tips when commenting on fans’ posts:

• - Use first names. When your fans know you are paying attention to them, they are much more likely to speak up and tell you what’s on their mind. Knowing what your fans are thinking is invaluable!
• - Be yourself. Talk to others in the same style you would talk to a friend over dinner. Before you click send, read your post and make sure it really sounds like you.
• - Be brief. If your post is too long, it will be overlooked easily. To get more people reading your post, get to the point faster.

For the full article, click here.

To learn more about social media marketing solutions or other Internet marketing solutions, visit this Internet marketing company’s website or click here to contact us!