How to use Pinterest to promote retail business online

Social media is a growing platform and millions of people are extensively making use of it to create their brand presence online. One such platform which has seen an increase in traffic by more than 145% since the beginning of 2012 is Pinterest. Pinterest is turning out to be the hottest and lucrative social media website for e-commerce businesses. 

But do you know why Pinterest is popular among e-commerce promoters? XG6FRA2EWY8N

E-commerce business primarily relies on images to market its product and there is no better social media platform than Pinterest which can do that. That is because Pinterest is an online ‘Social bulletin board’ which allows users to create, share and link their product images in the perfect manner to attract visitors to their website. Pinterest is considered as one the best visual marketing platform because of its quick and easy to use functionality. No wonder, it is the highest referral traffic provider than you tube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

So if you are a retailer then pay attention because we are going to tell you how to use Pinterest in the most professional way to grow your business online.

Be professional – If you are going to use Pinterest for promoting your online business then make sure your Pinterest profile looks very professional. While creating an account you can add your website name and get it verified which will be an added advantage for you. Also ensure that your pin boards are properly organized and you have given appropriate board covers. The more your profile stands out from others, the better your chances to get traffic via Pinterest.

Product pinning – Pinning a product’s image will definitely help grab attention but for an e-commerce business that is not enough. You need to convert Pinterest users to clients and that can happen if you include the price of the product on your image. By adding a “$” and price “99.99″, your product will have a corner price overlay on each pinned image that includes the price you enter. This is especially necessary when retailers want to include any deals or special offers on their products.

Descriptive image - Although it is said that images are the major form of communication on Pinterest but text is still very important. Adding a liner or 2 would provide vital context to your products images. As an alternate to product pinning, some people also make use of description to announce any promotional deals on specific products.

Effective tagging - If you have a twitter handle, then you must be aware of the tagging feature. Well, Pinterest shares a similar phenomenon with twitter here. As an online retail promoter, you can make use of @ commands and #hash tags to address, appreciate and thank your customers or people who have supported your company. Therefore, tagging allows you to effectively manage your online brand reputation and directly connect with your clients and increase your client base.

Add a Pin it widget to your product pages – Adding a pin it widget to your products pages is essential if you want to increase targeted traffic to your site. When an image from your products page is repined, it will include a link to your site as well as your profile. So when interested users click on your products image, they will be redirected back to the relevant page.
A single image when shared/repined by thousands of Pinterest users can result in significant percentage of traffic increase to your site. Image the traffic to your site when lots of other images as well are repined and shared. See, that’s how beneficial Pinterest is.

Make connections – Pinterest is not just for you to pin your images and wait for others to re pin, like and comment on them. If you expect others to re-pin your images and follow you, then you have to make an initiative too. Interaction never happens one way. You have to notice other users pin boards, like their images, re pin them, comment and follow the users. However, do not lose focus that you are using this visual social platform for promoting your business. When you are engaging in social activities make sure that they are in line to your business interest. Nevertheless to keep things interesting on your profile, you can always create separate boards, where you share funny and interesting pins from other users.

Protect your images – Protecting the ownership rights of your images is very important. Pinterest is lately seeing an increase in copyright infringements. Hence in order to make sure that your products’ images do not lose their ownership even if they are re uploaded or used from an unauthorized source is to add a copyright mark on the image. You could also add your website URL or business name to ensure that you retain the credit of the image even when it is shared.

Do not forget about other social networks – Although Pinterest is the hottest platform for online retail marketing but let’s not forget about other social networking sites which are still very popular till date. It is advisable to link Pinterest account with your Facebook and twitter profile in order to retrieve the maximum benefits from other social media. 

Here are few reported facts about Pinterest which may help you as a retail promoter to enhance your brands visibility and reputation on Pinterest:

1. As of February 2012, Pinterest had accumulated 10.4 million users

2. 80% of Pinterest users are female.

3. The top interests on Pinterest in the U.S. include crafts, gifts, hobbies/leisure, interior design, and fashion designers/collections.

4. A call-to-action pin description sees an 80% increase in engagement.

5. Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.

There is no denying that Pinterest is a fantastic and popular platform for both small and medium sized e-commerce businesses who want to make a mark for their brand in the online world. Pinterest not only helps drive targeted traffic to your website but also gives you an opportunity to create, build and manage your brand reputation online. All you have to do now is start using Pinterest or if you don’t have time, you can always ask for the services of reputed social media marketing agencies.

Does email marketing strengthen or damage your reputation?

Email marketing is inexpensive, immediate, measurable and very easy! Are you tempted to take a plunge into email marketing?
Hold on! There are a few things which you should probably know before you decide to invade your customers’ inbox.

Good v/s bad

So, what is good and bad about email marketing?Well, the good is that it is a smart way to drive traffic to your company website and alongside, customers to your business. And, the bad is that it is also one of the most battered marketing practices followed by many small and large business organizations today.

While good email marketing still thrives in the market, bad ones leave companies tainted with many irritated readers and customers. Unless you know the trick of the game, it is tough to apply it successfully to boost your business.

Think about your own inbox. How many times do you keenly open unsought emails that you receive from random brands? Of the trifling fraction of emails opened, how many do you thoroughly go through? And of this, how many links do you click on? And finally, do you fall for their offers, discounts or products? The bitter fact is that a vast majority of such emails never even get past the subject line!

So then, how does it work?

It all depends on what definition you give to email marketing. If yours is a newsletter with relevant, interesting content that your customers are looking forward to, then it definitely should work. It must also help your clients know you, your products and services.

Email promotions are intended to produce instant action – sales, downloads, inquiries, registrations, review and analysis. Informative newsletters direct customers to stores and pave the way for building brand awareness, strengthening relationships, reassuring trust and loyalty.

However, email marketing is just like preserving a garden, which only bears flowers if managed properly. We know it can work, but only if you get the basics right. The basics include collecting a list of people who want to hear from you, crafting the right message and finally ensuring the emails get through to those on that list.

When does it go wrong?

Most of the times, you are badly hit when you buy email lists to publicize your business. That lands you in the spammers bin and you lose your credibility. Also, if you continue to bombard your customers with too much information way too often, it happens that they are not any more interested. So, it becomes important to survey what your customers need and check the frequency of emails sent to them.

What is the bottom line?

Your ideal clients are people like you. If you consider them as you would like to be considered, your marketing attempts would succeed. Respect your customers’ time and make sure that you don’t get too strident with them. Remember, the unsubscribe button is just at their fingertips!

Social Media in your pocket!

Which do you think is the most engaging activity on mobiles?

a. playing games

b. Social networking

I am sure 80% of us would answer “a. Playing games”, but that’s old news. Today the most engaging mobile activity is Social Networking. Well, if you think of it, it is a match made in heaven! Social networks were built on the notion of sharing. While updating statuses, sharing photos, revealing interests, we socialize and add to it the mobile editing and social apps, what more can one ask for? You can be omnipresently social and personally sophisticated! Let’s delve deeper into the social networking on mobile with a Dunkin’ Donuts example (Trust me, the scoop is as yummy as the donuts)

The other day I walked into a coffee shop to take away a sandwich and as I was waiting for my order it suddenly struck me what if I could surprise my friend (whose birthday I conveniently forgot last month) with a cake from this coffee shop. Then I thought what if I could gift her this coffee shop’s prepaid card and what if there was a mobile app for it (already dreaming of dollars thinking I had stumbled upon a billion dollar idea), only to realize that Dunkin Donuts has been a pro at it. Well, not just it, Dunkin’ Donuts has been a creator of many other successful digital marketing and advertising initiatives. Let’s discuss how my idea (wink wink) was used by Dunkin’ Donuts to launch a new Halloween campaign that drives engagement through Instagram and Twitter, as well as educates consumers about the company’s new mobile payments application.

As part of their Halloween campaign, Dunkin’ Donuts had rolled out new Halloween-themed mobile cards. The main aim of this campaign was to drive awareness for their first mobile payment and gifting app, they offered fans limited edition Mobile Dunkin’ Donuts cards that featured several unique Halloween themed designs. (Random fact: DD has 0.18m Twitter & 13K Instagram followers)

In August 2012, Dunkin’ Donuts entered the mobile payments arena with an iPhone and Android app that lets consumers pay for beverages, food and merchandise at the point-of-sale, but with this Halloween initiative, Dunkin’ Donuts is letting consumers purchase a mobile gift card in several new Halloween seasonal designs with spooky characters asking you to “Stay calm and drink coffee”.

Moreover, the coffee giant encouraged consumers to participate in the Halloween festivities by dressing up their cup for a chance to win a $100 Dunkin’ Donuts Card. Quite cleverly it engaged Instagram and Twitter for this competition, fans were encouraged to tweet @DunkinDonuts on Twitter or Instagram photos of their Dunkin’ Donuts cups cloaked in a creative Halloween costume, using the special hashtag #DresseDD. On Halloween day, the company shared the photos of five winners
 selected for their creativity and Halloween spirit.

This is indeed a very smart initiative by Dunkin’ Donuts. Approximately 50% of Social Media users are people using Social Media from their phone and a research says that people who use Social Media from their phone are twice as active online. This provides Dunkin’ Donuts with an engaged and active user base and what more would they want than their favorite coffee accepting mobile payment and gift exchanges. This whole initiative provides them an interactive and creative experience.

Scott Hudler, vice president of global consumer engagement at Dunkin’ Donuts says “We’re an exciting brand, and we think our guests who expect a little fun from us will really appreciate and enjoy the new Halloween designs as a way to celebrate the season.” We sure do Mr. Hudler. Keep on the exciting work!