Have you added Pinterest buttons to your e-commerce site yet?

If not, you may want to consider inserting a "follow" button or "pin it" button into, I'm assuming, the already-crowded social space on your web pages.

Interestingly, I didn't originally become aware of this social platform by coming across one of their buttons or browsing headlines, but rather I noticed my Facebook feed was becoming filled with posts from my friends' Pinterest feeds...

As one can see from the article, Pinterest Hits 10 Million U.S. Monthly Uniques Faster Than Any Standalone Site Ever -comScore, the platform is experiencing rapid growth.

What is Pinterest? According to their website, "Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

Google+ Now Available for Business & Brands -- Will You Promote?

Just when you thought you had your social media/marketing plan solidified, Google comes along and throws everything in a tizzy.  Many of you have probably worked diligently to build your Facebook presence and are starting to see healthy returns on those efforts.  Facebook is likely engrained on your website, email, and offline marketing materials.

While Google+ for business has been on the horizon for a while now, I can certainly understand any resulting confusion and uncertainty their roll-out has presented.  Will it be worth my effort and development costs to integrate into my business?  Will users adopt G+ as their sole platform, or will there just be a lot of redundancy with Facebook?  Can I expect to see new customer leads? Conversions?  Much of the uncertainty lies in the lack of data available at this point to justify embracing this new platform.

I've had a G+ account for a while now.  I don't use it.  My updates and shares are solely conducted within Facebook.  I can also say the folks within my circles aren't very active on G+ either.

Whatever your thoughts, here's a couple articles from Mashable to aid in your decisionmaking...

Google+ Launches Branded Pages

Google+ Badges Make it Simple for Users to Connect With Brands

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Marketers Need to Think About Email Marketing Like a Magazine Subscription

I ran across this interesting article today, though slightly outdated, related to Facebook email -

5 Connected Marketing Tactics to Prepare for Facebook Messages.
As new email providers emerge (ISP based, non-ISP based, social network based...), marketers would be better suited to think about their subscribers like good ol' mailed magazine subscription subscribers.

Key points:

1.) Take a look at your subscriber list and see how many domain names are "facebook.com". My guess is probably not many so far but what about your customer segment? Is it likely many of your customers will soon wish to receive their marketing messages via Facebook instead of traditional email channels? Will they look at their Facebook email more often than their standard email. If the answer is yes, it would be a good idea to provide your opt-ed in customers w/ an option to switch their email address very easily. Send them an email if it looks their engagement has been low lately to make the switch. Never hurts to provide some kind of incentive as well. Remember those mailers you use to get in the mail to renew your subscription and receive 90% off the cover price?

2.) Most retailers have a Facebook fan page but haven't really been keeping it up to date. And if you don't have one, now is the time since email sent to a user's Facebook email may never make it there if you aren't in the users network due to privacy settings.


3.) Make sure the emails you send with promotions are updated on your Facebook page and always provide the option to "Like" your brand. And don't forget to send customers (existing and new) back to your website to either update their email address or "refresh" their email address to receive a free gift.

4.) Remember that whether a user adds you to their network or not, is a reflection of who that user is. They won't accept everyone just like you wouldn't sign up for every magazine subscription that comes along. Consider your Facebook fans to be your most valuable brand advocates yet! This means pay attention to what they are saying about you.

Experiment with New Ways to Use Blogging to Your Advantage

Many companies have almost forced themselves into the blogging and social media marketing world because they don't want to be the last ones left. But unfortunately, if you aren't really listening to your customers or taking the time to be actively involved in what you've created, all you are really doing is burning up cash and time.

One great way to get fresh and meaningful content onto your site is to rotate who's doing the posting each day. Many companies find this to be a great way to get all of your SMEs (subject matter experts) posting and they don't feel like it's taking up too much of their time. I would take it a step further and challenge all bloggers to actively commit themselves to reviewing and researching what their customers are saying about their products and services each week and actively respond to or commit to making positive change in the organization as a result of what they are finding out on other blogs and social media sites.

A weekly 15 minute or 30 minute meeting is a great way to circle back with your cohorts and share what people are saying about your organization. In this meeting, decide on strategies for how you are going to react. You'd be amazed at the level of customer service you'd be providing back to your customers especially by responding to them online. Don't be afraid to apologize online! Customers just want to know you care. Go on, give them a little bit of Valentine's Day love today! Happy Valentine's Day everyone.