Posts from the ‘Web/Tech’ Category
As marketers scramble to figure out Pinterest for their clients and to add another service to their roster (Pinterest board strategy and creation), the buzz has been that Pinterest is a great way to reach women online. Well, yes and no. Women do make up a majority share of the Pinterest population. But as with any online site, network or forum, it really depends on who you are, who you’re trying to reach, and what you’re trying to get them to do.
Just because there are women on Pinterest doesn’t mean it is the right tool to use to reach them.
Another misnomer about Pinterest is that it is nothing but crafts and doilies and other fancy stuff, all feminine and pretty with a parade of Martha Stewart wannabes pinning away.
I thought it was just me or my computer or my Facebook account. But every so often, the custom Facebook App (Custom Tab) image I’ve uploaded to my Facebook Page switches to a random image.
Today, on my Crowdsourcing book page, there is an image of…Michael Jackson?!?
Here is what it should look like:
I’m guessing I am not the only one experiencing this. It also happens when uploading the new Custom Tab image. Sometimes, the image from my computer doesn’t show up, and there is a random image from who knows where in it’s place (not something I’ve uploaded).
So keep this in mind and do a quick check of your app images on a regular basis until this bug is resolved.
What other buggy things are you experiencing on Facebook Timeline?
In 2008, I wrote a post for Web Worker Daily about the way Twitter was have an impact on the way we communicate (How Twitter is a Communications Game Changer). One of the points I made was how Twitter was spawning imitators (at the time, Jaiku and Pownce, Plurk, blippr and Kwippy, to name a few). Today, Pinterest is the target (or inspiration?) for a slew of copycat sites, even down to uncanny interface similarities. (Tell me Pinspire isn’t a direct imitation of Pinterest but for the European set.)
Here are just a few:
1. PinView – This app lets you browse Facebook in the same way you browse Pinterest and presents images and information in a decidedly Pinterest fashion.
2. Pinvolve – This Facebook app let’s others discover content from your Facebook Page in a Pinterest-like manner by creating a new area on your Page that presents your photo posts as a pinboard. You Page fans can then easily pin things from your Facebook Page directly to Pinterest.
3. Friendsheet – View Facebook photos, pictures of your Facebook friends, pictures of you and your own photos in a Pinterest-like format. (Note: I couldn’t get it to work for my own account which could be tied to my privacy settings.)
4. Gentlemint – If Pinterest is “for women,” then Gentlemint is decidedly “male.” The visceral impression you get when you arrive at Gentlemint versus Pinterest is pretty striking. Stereotypical? You be the judge…
Trippy – I heart Trippy. It’s like all the wonderful aspects of Pinterest but totally focused on travel and travel planning and with more features. Log in with your Facebook account and “share travel ideas with your friends.” You can not only build up your own “boards” for places you’ve been and places you want to go, but you can create a travel planning board and connect with friends who have actually been to the place you’re going (or live there) and can make highly personal recommendations. I’m just getting started with it – including planning a trip to Costa Rica – but here’s my Trippy page. And here is my Costa Rica trip planning section.
5. Indulgy – This is like Pinterest, but with a black background. Fashion, interior decor, food, luxury products…
6. Fancy (thefancy.com) – Instead of pinning something, you can “fancy” it. The layout of Fancy is a variation on the theme of blocks of photos with greater size variations. You can also view the images as a slideshow.
There are countless other “create and share your inspiration” type sites including We Heart It and Piccsy, but so far none of them have seemed to capture the imagination, attention or numbers like Pinterest. Many of them have Facebook integration, but all of them have two major things in common: they are very visual and are very easy to use (save Trippy which is much more feature-rich and takes a little figuring out).
What do you think of these Pinterest dopplegangers or the influence Pinterest is having on the way we publish, share and connect online?
I’m hosting a free teleseminar this week – on Tuesday, March 6 at 2:30pm PT (5:30pm ET) – with Katy Tafoya of Success for Entrepreneurs who will be talking about Authenticity in business, life and online.
And if you missed my QR code teleseminar, you can still sign up to access the MP3 download, my QR code handbook and some slides showing QR codes and their destinations with some commentary from me about what works and what doesn’t. Sign up here for the goodies.
There will be more teleseminars and webinars coming soon so stay tuned!
What does “Authenticity” mean to you?
As I work with brands on their digital strategies, I’m finding that Pinterest is worth exploring for a number of reasons: to build brand awareness; for consumer or constituent interactions in social and mobile spaces; and for leveraging visual content easily and integrating it into other online channels, just to name a few.
Pinterest isn’t complicated to use, and even my self-professed “non-techie” clients are able to start pinning in minutes including from their smartphones. Like with any new communications or marketing tool, we work hard to make sure business strategy leads the adoption and use of Pinterest.
So far, my clients love Pinterest – both the use of it and the results they’re seeing, most of which are tied directly to their business or organizational goals, but some of which are surprising and unexpected. I’ll post some Pinterest case studies here over the next few months. In the meanwhile, I wanted to point out three things that brands should consider as they begin using Pinterest.
1. Make sure your website is “Pinterest-Ready.”
Using a lot of Flash? Chances are, Pinterest will not be able to find an image or video to pin on that page. If you are hoping people will come to your site to pin your images (which can then drive traffic back to your site), they’ll get frustrated when they come up empty on pinable images. Of course, they can also do a Google search and find a related pinable image to use (although it may not lead people to your website), but why make them work to promote their love of your brand? If you feel your target audience fits the Pinterest demographic and that you have pin-worthy images, you may want to rethink your site for ways to provide pinable images.
2. Rearrange Your Boards
Many brands are out there with big blank spaces on their main Pinterest page. Did you know you can rearrange the boards? Log into Pinterest and go to your brand page, then click the Rearrange Board button. Drag and drop boards into the positions you feel works best for what you’re hoping to convey and achieve.
Blanks in boards look…sloppy:
At the moment, I’m helping my clients prioritize their boards from a strategic standpoint (they were also conceptualized strategically although, in some cases, are modified over time) and making sure the most important boards are “full” meaning that at least nine images are added to it so they show up as a complete board on their Pinterest account page. You want people to arrive at your brand’s Pinterest page that looks and feels like there is care and attention put into it.
3. Follow Just the Relevant Boards
If you’re wondering who to follow via your brand’s Pinterest account, my advice again is to think strategically: what industries, companies, organizations and brands are complementary? Look for your vendors, partners, colleagues and customers, too. Follow competitors? Maybe – but you might end up repinning their pins and sending more traffic their way. That is kind and generous of you, but perhaps just keeping an eye on their accounts is a better way to go.
Then when you go to follow other accounts, stop a moment and ask yourself “Do I need to follow all of their boards?” If so, click the Follow All button below their photo or logo (left side toward the top). If not, just click the Follow button under the boards you specifically want to follow.
These are just a few tips and ideas for brands looking to use Pinterest effectively. You’re going to start seeing a lot of advice about Pinterest from many different sources. Whatever you choose to do, always make sure it is rooted in sound business strategy and practices while keeping an open mind to the way Pinterest – and other social mobile technologies – are changing the very way we communicate with our customers.
How are you using Pinterest as a marketing tool?
