The new social network of Pinterest is probably the most exciting new online platform to come along in quite a long time. The number of users are increasing rapidly and the press is raving – but what can Pinterest do for companies?

What makes Pinterest stands out from other social networks?

The virtual pin board was recently a major topic at the 2012 social fresh east conference where marketers discussed their early successes – in particular Nordstrom. The continued success can be explained by the some of the strengths listed below:

• Unlike many other social media phenomenons trying to integrate as many functions as possible, Pinterest focuses entirely on one thing – and does it well. The founders follow the “less is more” philosophy, which has already led to success on Google and Twitter in the past.
• Additionally, Pinterest puts great importance on user friendliness and intuitive operation. This is partly due to the clear functionality and also on the many aspects of their web design that have been done right.
• Pinterest is about things we love: hobbies, wishes, dreams, goals, etc. It is clear that most of the time users “pin” pictures of things they do not (yet) have and want to express their admiration for. This is very similar to the “Like” button from Facebook, but with a much stronger emotional connection.
• Browsing Pinterest is an extremely visual experience - there is hardly anything to read. The experience is made up of photographs and images. This is a new form of communication that is inhabited by other platforms such as Instagram or Path.
• There is no distinction between users, businesses or other institutions. All are treated equally and can use the same functions on Pinterest. This democratization of the community in an impressive manner makes a Pinterest unique among social networks.

A study by ComScore shows that the number of unique visitors (in the United States) has increased exponentially and currently stands at around 11.7 million unique users per month (a 56% change over the previous month).

Furthermore, it appears that the Pinterest effect goes beyond the United States. An example is DIDYMOS, a baby sling manufacturers from Ludwigsburg, Germany that opened a Pinterest and could generate 60 followers in two days.

The other side of the coin…

However Pinterest has two major problems that could dampen their future success:

• Pinterest is so focused on it’s strengths and thus only offers limited functionality. This can be a disadvantage as it makes it very easy for imitators. There are already some clones, such as Gentlemint.com, masquerading as a “male” version Pinterest.
• Moreover, there is a growing problem of spam. Since all links are indexed in Google and Pinterest creates additional traffic to websites resourceful SEO experts will  soon find a way to exploit this and flood the platform with links. This would mean that the current harmonious user experience will be tarnished.

All well and good – how can my company benefit?

Basically there are no generally accepted guidelines for businesses – yet. However, here are some basic strategies that can lead to success:

• Look at the platform as a website for product presentation.
• An important success factor is Pinterest virality: You want to entice other users to pin your own images and increase the awareness of your. Therefore consider presenting your products or services in a creative and compelling manner.
• Experiment. The platform is still in its infancy and there is still a cast amount of untapped potential that can be discovered.

• Take advantage of the possibilities presented by using different “boards” in order to showcase diverse content. An example, is to highlight others or show complementary items and products. For an example check out Build.com on Pinterest.

Pinterest for B2B companies

Although at first glance Pinterest  appears particularly relevant for B2C companies, B2B can also benefit from it as a business platform. The biggest problem B2B often has is the lack of visual content. By nature B2B companies sell rather “invisible” products to the public. Therefore you should look at Pinterest from a little outside the box:

• Use visual content that you already own. Examples are photos of the last Christmas party to demonstrate the company’s corporate culture. Or you can draw on material from trade fairs. Photos of management can also do well on an appropriate board – just provide each photo with a brief biography.
• Does your industry have interesting information graphics or statistics? Have you carried out studies on a particular topic itself? Take advantage of this potential and create boards for specific topics.

• In addition to the products themselves, you can also turn your current product catalogs, brochures or other promotional material into boards on Pinterest.
• Photos of happy customers and similar images speak to other people and can in turn be a helpful way to gain more happy customers.

Also make sure to add links to your site to your pins. As the main purpose of your presence at Pinterest should be to bring visitors of your pins to your web page, which you can then convert into leads or even customers. Special landing pages for certain pins can also be helpful here.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

google analytic screenshot proves that the goal of my website has been achieved.

Hello, my name Borat and I like www.connectedmarketer.com!

follow me on twitter @ericritter

facebook IPO stats

some great facebook facts and stats for the IPO, including 845 million active monthly users.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

OH- “the best part of having an android phone is that my kids never want to play with it”.

— Bryce Roberts (@bryce) January 29, 2012

follow me on twitter @ericritter

on the canvas of bob ross, facebook is a mega mountain with 600 million happy little users, and google buzz (remember that?) is a desert with “swirly tumbleweeds.” bob ross also takes on the lesser known likes of path, color, digg, reddit as well as a bunch of other social web apps.

see for yourself and click the image to see full-size version.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

In essence, the timeline is a visually and very graphic way to present all of your activities. It is arranged chronologically, allowing visitors of your profile to understand your development and see a chronicle of your life. Something similar has never been implemented in any other social network in this form, thus Facebook has definitely created a USP for itself.

Actually, the timeline will not be rolled out for a few weeks, but with a little trick you can already make yourself an impression of it.

After you have enabled the timeline, Facebook offers a tour in order to get to know the new features. Five steps teach the basics to users.

I – Cover
The first and most important eye-catcher for your timeline is on the cover. This allows you to display particularly beautiful or important moments as well as create an emotional impression with visitors. Of course you can change the cover as often as you want and therefore use other images as wanted or needed.

II – Views
In this area, the central or main  information of your profile are presented. Besides your personal information, photos, “Likes”, and other applications, such as where you have checked in are displayed.

III – Activity Log
Clicking the “View Activities” button shows a log of your activities on Facebook. With this you (and only you) can easily view the entirety of your activities since you joined Facebook and make changes to the visibility of them on your timeline – this includes the deletion of posts.

IV – Stories
In the timeline, the activities that you actually want to have published are visually processed and depicted. The extent of what is displayed ranges from status updates to photo and video postings. In addition, it is possible to quickly and easily add contributions to the past. For example, you can supplement stories or as in my case add life events such as wedding or the birth of a child. You simply click on the bar in the middle to create new posts and then place them on any one date.

V – Star or Hide
Of course you can also edit your history. The star icon allows you to highlight specific posts on your timeline. On the other hand the the pencil icon allows you to alter the activity by hiding it or deleting it completely from your timeline.

After completing the tour gives Facebook give you a few more tips for the journey. New events can now be added via the “life events” menu. In addition, you are prompted to integrate new social apps and edit posts regarding their visibility.

Open Graph 2.0
Due to all of the excitement over the new Facebook Timeline another innovation that was actually supposed to be the main component of the f8 conference was virtually overlooked. Facebook has announced new partnerships and collaborations with with film and music streaming companies that will allow user to follow television shows or listen to music.

The key point is that friends are automatically informed of all activities (if you add the apps to your Timeline) and can automatically receive valuable tips and recommendations. This opens new ways of discovering music, movies, etc.

The spectrum of such “social apps” will steadily expand in the future. So, in the future it should be possible to share the video game you are currently playing, your last jogging routes, or even your most recently used recipes with friends.

According to Zuckerberg, some of these apps are advertising based and thus will be free to users, while others will build upon a subscription model.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

is darth vader behind all the recent changes to facebook?

follow me on twitter @ericritter

social network used for ad campaigns.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

besides being pretty darn funny, their blog post illustrates how apple has become more than a tech company or a brand. some people call it a religion, but perhaps for some it has become more.

follow me on twitter @ericritter

i saw this video a while back and have been meaning to share it for a while. it combines my love of infographics, visions of the future, and facts. where will we go next in this exciting digital world we live in?

Digital Life: Today & Tomorrow from Neo Labels on Vimeo.

follow me on twitter @ericritter