Pin(n)ing Away for Pinterest

As social media continues in the spotlight with Facebook's IPO, all the current buzz seems to be about Pinterest's meteoric rise as its valuation soars (recent valuations put the company at a $1.5 billion market value).  For those who have only fleetingly heard of Pinterest, it's an online visually-driven scrapbook where users pin images and follow others.  According to comScore, Pinterest has over 20 million users and growing. 

Beyond browsing for craft ideas, beautiful scenes and other visual inspiration, how can your business benefit from using Pinterest for marketing purposes?  Big brands, colleges, artists, fashion houses and even small businesses have jumped on the bandwagon. 

What makes Pinterest most attractive to some is the potential for referral (website) traffic.  By January 2012, Pinterest drive greater traffic to websites than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and YouTube...combined.  But, this only works for your business if your account features your business name, people understand who/what you are and your interests, your account is linked with other social media (think Facebook and Twitter), and they know how to find you (your url!).  Plus, you've got to be pinning something worth liking and sharing.

While some may say to simply "pin away," my suggestion is consider whether or not Pinterest is brand-right and fully consider the legal implications and ownership of what you are pinning on behalf of your business.  Recently, the Wall Street Journal printed a thoughtful article on Pinterest and the legal implications--particularly copyright law issues--looming on the horizon. 

Before you start using Pinterest for commercial uses, take a look at the terms of services which took effect in April 2012 and consider that what you pin essentially grants Pinterest "...a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable, worldwide license to use, display, reproduce, re-pin, modify (e.g., re-format), re-arrange, and distribute your User Content on Pinterest for the purposes of operating and providing the Service(s) to you and to our other Users," a sticky wicket worth consideration and a conversation with your legal counsel for sure.

Just because it's considered the big thing in social media doesn't mean it's right for your business or worth the effort and time.  Right now, Pinterest is dominated by women (68% of users) with money ($100K+); see who is using Pinterest?  So, if this sounds like your target consumer, it's probably worth considering once you've understood the legal implications.

Like with other social media platforms, it may make sense to follow others for a while before diving right in.  And, it's important to integrate your efforts strategically with your marketing of your brand while dovetailing with what Pinterest is about--a visually stimulating and fun playground of ideas and images.  What you pin (and encourage others to pin...say through a "pin it" button on your website) should be vetted through your brand filter so that you are supporting the pillars of your brand...and it needs to have potential wide appeal for those who are using Pinterest.  Check out this board of brands on Pinterest.

And, like in other social media efforts, what you pin shouldn't simply be a one-dimensional, self-serving rendition of your brand...even if you manage to follow the terms of use.  Brands that come across as trying too hard (think pinning QR codes) may be better off passing on Pinterest.  However, if your brand embodies bright, stimulating, creative and beautifully presented imagery, then Pinterest could be a great vehicle. 

Like any other social media effort, listening is as important as the activities you and your marketing team undertake on behalf of your brand.  Monitoring what is being pinned by others will give you a sense of what's resonating with others...who are hopefully your target consumers or new ones to consider.  And, you never know, it may be a great playground for you and your brand for developing new ideas, products and services, too.

"...increasingly, if it didn’t happen on the Internet, it didn’t happen."

Got your widget, CEO, idea or opinion featured on a major news show or in the Wall Street Journal?  That used to be a PR home run.  Everybody tuned into "60 Minutes," watched with attentiveness, and suddenly the Alar scare had apples all but gone from the school lunch.

These days, according to Stacy Green in 5 Key Trends Supercharging Today's Digital PR, "...increasingly, if it didn’t happen on the Internet, it didn’t happen."  So, once you get the big business profile, rack up that news coverage, or get tapped to be an expert on CNN, it's not enough to sit back and rest on your laurels.  That's just the beginning.  You've got to use your social media arsenal (and that of your PR pros) to take it viral. 

With all of us spending more and more time online, CNN's biggest competition is indeed Facebook in many ways.  When Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston died, so many learned as they trolled their friends' posts on Facebook...

So, in the true spirit of the Internet, let me refer you to Mashable.

Viral PR: The Name of the Game

These days, the world and work of PR is inextricably linked going viral and to smart SEO (search engine optimization) practices by clients who live and breathe in the online, search driven world.  Whether you're managing a multi-million dollar consumer brand or driving traffic to your retail store, online visibility (especially with Google, which accounts for 70% of searches, with Yahoo! and Bing farther behind) -- is the name of the game.

While getting earned media placement is still important to building brand awareness and credibility, the use of online/mobile continues to grow by leaps and bounds for everything from connecting with friends and colleagues (Facebook and LinkedIn, etc.) to product reviews to purchasing.  For those of us with Smart Phones, we often don't make a move without using one of our handy apps (like The Find, which lets iPhone users comparison shop even while at retail).  While not all content has the potential to go viral (nor should), to make the cut, the content needs to be worth passing along to others, AND it needs to be shared widely enough (and among influencers) to benefit from online networking.

According to www.socialmediamarketing.com, we share for a variety of reasons:  it's hilarious, dramatic, incredible, deeply emotional, embarrassing, provocative, or unbelievable; it agrees with our worldview; it makes us stop and think; mainstream media isn't covering it; or it makes you smile.  Visual content (think YouTube) rules, and when integrated with "connector" sites like Delicious, Stumbleupon, Digg or others; Twitter (especially among those with authority); and other blogs, you've got the platform to go viral.  Now, all you need is compelling, brand-right content....often the most difficult challenge.

In terms of SEO (search engine optimization), there's paid and organic search.  Properly executing PR with organic search in mind can help support visibility, rankings, and even serve as a way to own key messaging online--think of reporters, potential clients or other stakeholders "Googling" something germane to your business online...and finding you...again and again.

With Google owning search, in the last year, many of the free PR distribution sites (of which there were once more than I could count) are no longer integrated with Google news.  In fact, what's most shocking is that even some of the paid services waffle about their relationships with Google.  So, for the time being, I like the big, long-time leading services such as PR Newswire and Business Wire, both of which have recently amplified their online distribution....even for state wires, which are well priced.  PR Newswire has an exclusive relationship with the Business Journals, and Business Wire, depending on industry, has great depth of trade distribution.  For free services, I continue to like PRLog.com, PR.Com and OpenPR.com.  ClickPress.com, which use to be a good free resource, recently became a modestly priced option, too.  

Of course, SEO and "going viral" can easily misfire:  Gaining true visibility for your brand still relies on solid, strategic content that is meaningful and truly reflective of your brand.  Posting a poorly written release (that isn't optimized for SEO) or promulgating half-baked content online simply doesn't bode well for your brand.  Like the olden days of PR, compelling, newsworthy content is still king.  We're just serving it up in new ways...