Pinterest: Basics for digital publishers

In MARKETING
29 March 2018
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In the world of social media, Pinterest stands out. Instead of a chronological feed of posts, Pinterest shows its users a mix of content curated to reflect their interests.

Pinterest users can follow friends or topics like “Travel,” search for more specific subjects and create their own posts called “pins.” Then they save ideas for later by organizing posts on personalized boards. And there are a lot of them: more than 200 million Pinterest users have posted over 100 billion pins.

Although Pinterest is a little bit different it can be a great place to promote your business’s online publications. In this article we’ll explain three opportunities for digital publishers on Pinterest and how you can take advantage of them.

Drive Traffic

Don’t underestimate the power of pins to drive traffic: in 2017, Pinterest was the biggest social source of referrals after Facebook and has continued to show impressive growth. Creating pins that feature your publications is an easy way to help Pinterest users discover them.

First set up a Pinterest profile, then get pinning! Since each pin on Pinterest has an image, a short description and a link, every post is a golden opportunity to bring more readers to your publication. Here’s an example from Wedding Vibes pinned to Calaméo’s page:

You can create posts in Pinterest or pin a publication directly from Calaméo—it’s a breeze! First, go to your account’s Publications tab, select Share for the title you want to pin and click on the Pinterest icon. This will take you to Pinterest, where you’ll be able to choose an image for your pin and add a description.

We recommend that digital publishers dedicate a board on their Pinterest profile to pinning every issue of their publication. This example shows how 95° Magazine encourages curious Pinterest users to browse its archives:

Get Audience Insights

Posting your digital publications to Pinterest as pins can grow your audience by bringing in new readers who find them in their feeds. But establishing a Pinterest profile for your business can bring you valuable insights about your existing audience, too.

Chances are, your publications may already have been shared on Pinterest by your readers! Find out with the advanced statistics in our PLATINUM plan: our analytics include a breakdown of your publications’ social media shares by platform, so you can see how many times they have already been pinned.

The results might surprise you!

To get more information about your audience on Pinterest, we suggest that you set up your account with a business profile. This gives you access to statistics about your audience on Pinterest, including gender, location and interests. Armed with insights about your Calaméo readership and Pinterest reach, you can tailor your online publications to build stronger connections with your audience.

💡TIP: Connecting your Calaméo account to Google Analytics lets you analyze traffic from Pinterest to your publications in detail. Upgrade to PLATINUM to enjoy this feature!

Engage New Clients

Pinterest is a destination for users researching purchases. It has been estimated that 87 percent of the social network’s users have bought something that they saw on Pinterest first. This makes Pinterest a natural platform for posting products, but it’s also a reason to post inspiring content. Inspired users are more likely to become readers, who are more likely to become customers.

To make the most out of your business’s Pinterest presence, pin a variety of interesting material. Pinterest users look for vacation and travel planning, recipe ideas, professional development materials, home design and more. Try posting individual features, photos or articles from your publications to different boards, like in the example below from Hamilton Island:

Organizing your content by subject maximizes the appeal to potential readers and helps engage potential buyers.

These basics should give you some ideas for how to get started sharing your business’s digital publiations on Pinterest. We can’t wait to see you there!

We love covering social media here on the blog. Check out our tips for digital publishers on Facebook and YouTube, or have a look at our guide to polished shares on any social media network.

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MARKETING

How to promote content with Pinterest

In MARKETING
28 May 2020

The Content Creator’s Guide to Social Media

Thanks to social media, delivering content to thousands of people at once is as easy as hitting the “Post” button. But it isn’t always easy to achieve the results you have in mind. That’s why we’re bringing you a new series all about making these channels work for your digital publishing needs. Next up: how to promote content with Pinterest.

Why use Pinterest to promote content?

If Pinterest has been flying under your radar until now, it’s time to consider signing up. The last time we talked about Pinterest marketing on the blog in 2018, there were 200 million users. By the middle of 2020, that number grew to more than 442 million users around the world—an impressive 121% increase in just over two years.

For those who haven’t yet tried to promote content with Pinterest, its role as an inspiration hub for users offers several advantages. According to Pinterest’s research, over 90% of its users turn to Pinterest for inspiration. But they don’t just daydream. More than 80% use Pinterest to make shopping decisions and more than 70% discover new products and brands there. Plus, users love Pinterest: it ranked first in a 2019 survey of customer satisfaction with social networks.

However, Pinterest is not exactly a social network. Despite serving as source of inspiration like Instagram, Pinterest acts more as a search engine than a photo feed. Users, or Pinners, search for ideas among the billions of posts, or pins, that have been saved to the platform. Then, they curate their favorites on personal boards. To reach these Pinners, you’ll want to read through our tips and promote content with Pinterest.

Pinning for publishers

Although Pinterest is easy to use, you may need a little time to get used to its vocabulary and set up your profile. If you are creating a Pinterest account for a business, first claim your company’s website. Because pins can be created from content found almost anywhere across the internet as well as uploaded individually, claiming your website will help you identify pins already saved from your site.

Once you’ve registered your business profile and filled it out, you can get started pinning. Basic uploaded pins can contain a title, description, image and external link. And to promote content with Pinterest effectively, keeping search in mind is essential.

Similarly to classic SEO, you should focus on choosing keywords related to your content and include them in the titles and descriptions of your pins. An eye-catching visual is also a must to stand out in Pinterest search results. Imagine what kind of searches Pinners are making that could lead them to your content, then tailor your pins to help them find it.

In addition to creating individual pins, you can create groups of pins called boards to display on your business profile. Boards make your Pinterest profile more attractive and easier to browse by packaging pins into different collections. Try resaving pins posted by other users to supplement your own content and consider adding video, article or product pins to enrich your boards.

Digital publishers can promote content with Pinterest in lots of ways. For example, build out a new board around each new release with pins related to your publication’s content. Use boards to house your publication archives or link shoppable boards to your ecommerce strategy.

Audience participation

After setting up your business profile and pinning your content, you’ll be able to take advantage of Pinterest’s account statistics. While your Analytics has lots of interesting information, the first thing you should check is your top pins. Seeing which of your pinned content has the most engagements, link clicks and saves can give you a good idea of what works best on Pinterest.

Next, continue to refine how you promote content with Pinterest going forward. You can use insights about your most successful pins as a model for fresh posts, but don’t be afraid to experiment as well! For best results, add new pins regularly to your existing boards. Unlike most other social networks, Pinterest content tends to be evergreen. That means pins don’t disappear from user feeds like tweets and updates. Instead, they can turn up in search results and on Pinners’ boards for months or even years.

As a result, you should always keep an eye on your older pins. Make sure that none of them redirect to broken links, since Pinterest can be a key source of traffic to your website. You can also repost content with updated images, titles or description text if you want to give certain publications a boost. No matter what kind of digital publications you have to promote, Pinterest can be a powerful platform to help new users discover them.  

Ready to start?

Now that you’ve got all the details about how to promote content with Pinterest, it’s time to turn your online documents into great digital publications. Sign up for your free Calaméo account today and explore what digital publishing can do for you!

MARKETING

How to create a successful digital marketing campaign

In MARKETING
5 August 2021

Many marketing campaigns today are entirely digital, but not all of them are successful. Companies should put thought and intention into their digital marketing campaigns so that they reflect the brand and reach the right audience. Here we have compiled the top tips for creating a successful digital marketing campaign.

What is digital marketing?

Before we dive into how to create a successful digital marketing campaign, let’s first define digital marketing. More people than ever are using the Internet for almost everything in their lives. So it’s no wonder that companies are doing less traditional marketing (printed media, billboards, television, etc.). They are now embracing digital marketing, which comprises all marketing that uses the Internet or an electronic device. Due to widespread use of the Internet, digital marketing can of course reach a much larger audience via these digital channels than traditional marketing. So how exactly should your brand approach these potential customers?  

Take advantage of key moments

There are several factors to take into consideration for your digital marketing campaign, timing being one of them. You need to know when consumers will be open to your campaign.

ZMOT

According to Google’s ZMOT model, the Zero Moment of Truth is the stage in the purchasing cycle when consumers research a brand or product online before making their purchase. The Zero Moment of Truth arrives between the stimulus (needing a product) and the First Moment of Truth (buying a product). Consumers make their decisions based on Internet research, consulting several sources. Your brand needs to make a good first impression during this preliminary research stage.

Micro-Moment Marketing

The ubiquity of smartphones has changed digital marketing over the past few years. The ZMOT concept has evolved to now encompass micro-moments. Rather than one moment in which consumers sit down to research (ZMOT), their research is broken up into many (micro) moments throughout the day. These are the small increments of time during the day that consumers are on their mobile devices researching or considering a product or brand. Now, digital marketers have opportunities all day long to grab consumers’ attention and the possibility of engaging directly with them. 

💡 TIP: Read our suggestions for getting started with digital content marketing

Personalize your content

Consumers encounter a plethora of digital campaigns every day because they are constantly connected. Differentiate your brand by personalizing your content to make it unique. Make sure that your brand is recognizable (and that your content is mobile-friendly).

No matter the medium or the channel you decide to use, any material that you put online should reflect your brand ethos and be well-constructed. Otherwise, consumers won’t get a true sense of your brand and will favor another brand that feels more authentic. Consumers consult several sources before making their final decision. There is a lot of competition to vie for consumers’ attention, so make sure your digital presence is strong.

A successful digital presence can be the key factor in consumers deciding to go with your brand over another. Ensure that your content is engaging and the customer journey or path to purchasing is clear. 

💡 TIP: To personalize your digital publications, enrich your content with the Calaméo “Editor” tool!

Make it easy to navigate 

An arduous and time-consuming search or buying process can turn potential customers off. Enrich your content but make sure there is a path for the customer journey. Create an effective and clear Call to Action (CTA) to give consumers some direction. Calaméo users can put links directly in the publication so potential customers can be easily redirected to the website to make a purchase. 

Make it shareable

We all remember digital marketing campaigns that have gone viral. You can instantly recall the brand and exactly what they were promoting. Viral campaigns often include video elements or an eye-catching graphic. Sometimes they are social media campaigns that encourage users to upload their own content, or user-generated content. Not every digital marketing campaign should have the goal of going viral, but it should at least be easy to share! Make sure that your campaign is shareable and optimized for social networks. 

💡 TIP: Don’t miss our Guide to Social Strategy for digital publishers!

Don’t forget about SEO

Remember the ZMOT and Micro-Moment Marketing concepts? Consumers have to start their search somewhere once they realize they need a new item. In fact, 89% of customers begin their research with a search engine. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a valuable tool that will help you nab the right audience at the right time. You do this by using key words and phrases in your campaign that your target audience is searching for. Want to know more about SEO? Read our SEO trends for 2021. 

Analyze your results

You won’t know if your campaign is successful unless you are analyzing all the associated metrics and data. Are you looking at your leads, sales, page views, clicks, “dark social” shares? All of these (and more!) add up to give you a full picture of your digital marketing campaign’s success. If you are publishing with Calaméo, you can easily track your publication’s statistics. This feature is integrated in Calaméo and intuitive to use. Another option is Google Analytics. It’s a great tool for tracking how consumers are engaging with your content.

💡 TIP: Read our article on KPIs to watch for your digital publications 

A successful digital marketing campaign depends on several factors. Make sure you are taking advantage of key moments, creating content that reflects your brand, targeting the right audience, and analyzing your results. With these tools in hand, you will be well on your way to creating a successful digital marketing campaign.