Pinterest is a social photo sharing website that connects its users through theme-based virtual pinboards. The site’s mission statement is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.” Pinterest users organize, save, and share images of everything ranging from recipes and craft projects to home décor ideas and vacation destinations.

How do I create pins and pinboards?

Individual images, or “pins” can be grouped by topic into folders or “boards.” Users can upload photos directly from their computers or add online images by using the “Pin It” feature. By adding the “Pin it” button to your internet browser’s bookmark bar, you can quickly save any image you find online. You “pin” the image to one of your themed “boards”, and Pinterest bookmarks the webpage so you only have to click on the picture to return to the site. It’s that simple—no more scrolling through endless bookmarks you don’t recognize. Just browse the thumbnail pictures on your boards and easily find the website you’re looking for!

Where can I get ideas for pins and boards?

Pinterest is similar to social bookmarking sites in that you can browse through pinboards created by other users and “re-pin” their images to your own boards. Pinterest allows its users to “follow” other users and view shared interests. When you log onto Pinterest, you see a “Pin Feed” of recent pins saved by the users you follow. Pinterest essentially enables you to browse the internet and bookmark the links of others with interests similar to yours.

How do I get started?

Pinterest is an invite-only website. New users must receive an invitation from someone already registered with the site, or they can request an invitation directly from Pinterest’s home page. Once you receive the invitation via email, log in and select a few interests from the options provided. You will see a list of suggested users who share your interests. Browse through their pinboards, and start pinning!

Here are just a few things you can do with Pinterest:

• Redecorate. Whether you are remodeling your bathroom or just looking for a new accent table, you can search Pinterest and save images and websites that strike your fancy.
• Window shop. Pin now, buy later. Pinterest can be a virtual wish list for anything your heart desires.
• Party plan like a pro. Pin ideas for every aspect of your big event, from invitations and menu ideas to decorations and party favors.
• Get beauty and fitness tips. Pin make-up tips, hairstyles, and workout how-tos. Any website with an image is fair game.
• Find crafty inspiration. Search Pinterest for new do-it-yourself projects, sewing tutorials, or handy fix-it tips. The possibilities are endless!
• Try out a new recipe. Search Pinterest for new recipes or even share some of your favorite recipes. If you find some that you like, you can just “pin it” and check them out later.

Now that you know what Pinterest is and how you can use it, start pinning!

It appears that Google+ will be integrated right into your gmail and personalize searches on Google.com. Here are some of the main features that are being touted by Google:

• Instant Upload – Presumably using the Android Platform (will iPhones get some love sooner than later?), people will be able to easily share photos and videos from their mobile device with their Google Places photo album. You can then share that uploaded media with anyone you’d like.

• Hangouts –  Hangouts seems to be a fancy way of organizing Google Chat (both text and Video). Essentially, a Hangout is a chat room involving specific people or ‘circles’. There’s nothing groundbreaking about this, but it could allow Businesses using Google Apps to organize online meetings in one place.

• Sparks – Sparks is Google’s equivalent of StumbleUpon and similar platforms. Add what you’re ‘interested in’ and Google will routinely update you with interesting things to watch, read, or share. This could open it up for “Spark Engine Optimization” based on how Google determines rankings.

• Circles – Circles appears to be an easy way of organizing your contacts. You can simply add any contact into a ‘circle’ and segment messages and things you share with each circle. Again, nothing ground breaking, but could help people split their pleasures with their business.

• Huddle – A simplified version of Group Chat. While it seems to be similar to ‘hangouts’, group chat simply allows you to send texts to everyone in a particular circle. There’s nothing really revolutionary about this, but it does simplify the process of contacting a bunch of people on a team via their mobile devices.

While Google+ is still in testing phases and as of today invites are not being given out due to very high demand, I’m sure there will be a lot more features announced in the coming months. However, just like many other Google projects that have failed in the past few years, only time will tell if Google+ will be a big player in the social media scene. We’ll keep you updated!

It’s pretty easy to simply use twitter. Within a minute, you can register an account, customize your information, and ‘tweet’ out a message.

However, in order to get anything out of your tweets, especially if you’re a business, you need to be able to get ‘followers’ and keep them interested.

Maintaining consistent tweets that are actually helpful and interesting for your customers (such as tutorials or top 10 lists) is a fantastic way of gaining new visitors. However, sometimes that may not be enough. Aside from having a twitter logo and link on your website, keep these things in mind when building your twitter list:

Use other forms of marketing to encourage tweeting

Just because you’re using a new social media platform like twitter, doesn’t mean you should neglect older channels such as email marketing. If you have an active list of subscribers who routinely receive your newsletter, this is a perfect opportunity to build your twitter list. A great way to encourage your email subscribers to join you on twitter is through exclusive offers through twitter. For example, http://www.paywithatweet.com/ is a social platform that allows you to accept ‘retweets’ as payment for something, like an eBook. You could also offer a specific discount to anyone who retweets a specific message you send out. This not only encourages those people to follow you on twitter, but they’re spreading your message to their contacts as well.

In addition to sending out an email, consider adding that same offer on your website, using SMS marketing, or even traditional forms like post cards (though that may be less effective).

Add your twitter to your email Signature.

It’s also a good idea to add a link to your twitter account via your email signature. Most people have their name, position, company and phone numbers within their signatures, so it makes sense to add your social media contacts as well.

If your twitter account is constantly being updated, there’s a good chance that those people who receive emails from you will be happy to follow you. Make sure to make your twitter link visible using a recognizable twitter logo, and you should be able to gain more valuable followers.

Take advantage of free Twitter tools

Tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite, allow users to manage the hectic and fast paced environment of an active twitter campaign. These tools are vital for anyone wanting to keep an eye on what people are tweeting about (for your industry), how many people follow, unfollow, and retweet you. The base service provides by these tools are free, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using them.

Twitter is an easy thing to do. However, it’s a very difficult thing to be great at. With enough time dedication, marketing, and consistent use, it could be a great addition to your marketing mix.

However, it’s not as easy as it may initially seem. While it’s true that social networks are free, and it’s relatively easy to go to Facebook or twitter and create a company account, there’s more that needs to be done and over to truly succeed in social media. The following are three common mistakes that companies make when adding social media to their marketing mix:

1. Assuming that creating a profile page is good enough. More often than not, when you visit a small business twitter or Facebook page, it’ll either not have any messages or interaction, or the activity will be minimal. The fact is that social media is an ongoing and interactive process. By having a twitter page that hasn’t been touched in months, you risk sending out messages to potential clients that you’re not active, well your company is in disarray. Not only that, it gives people absolutely no reason to return to your twitter page and interact with you. An empty social media business page, is equivalent to going to a party and not talking to anyone: you’re likely to not make any sales.

2. Talking only about yourself. How many times have you been in a conversation with someone, only to find that person talks only about themselves and waits for their turn to talk? In most cases, unless that person is incredibly interesting, that conversations could be a slight bit boring. You likely to not look forward to the next time you speak to that person. Social media works in the same way. When you send out a tweet, or share an article, you need to make sure there’s a benefit to the visitor. Give them a reason to return. For example, if you’re a bankruptcy lawyer don’t send the message out to users on how you just want a big case. This sounds like advertising, something that social media users dislike. Instead, share an article on the top 10 reasons for bankruptcy, or the most common myths about bankruptcy. An article that is beneficial to the user, will prompt them to not only come back, but also share resources with others.

3. Talking too much. It may seem hypocritical to advise people not to interact as much after just advising you to not interact so little. However if you are constantly sending out messages to people connected to your social media we can have negative effects. For example, sometimes people don’t like to be bombarded with multiple messages every hour, similar to most people’s e-mail inboxes. Do you risk the chance of people un-friending you, or un-following you. In addition, by constantly sharing articles, news and messages, you dilute the importance of each message. So when you tweet out about important promotion, or changing your services, you lose a priority for that message because it’s likely that more people will ignore it. The rate at which you share information, it’s something that’s dependent on your industry and your audience. On average, sending out messages once or twice a day might be enough. When engaging in social media, determine how much you can handle, and how well your audience reacts to your interaction.

Facebook and Twitter are currently the largest social media websites and they happen to be my favorite. There are many rules and etiquette you will eventually learn, but I’ve labeled the 3 most important rules in the social media world everyone should abide to (with most social media platforms):

1) Update regularly. People are following you or liking your fan page because they probably have some sort of interest in what you’re saying. The more times you can deliver fresh information to your fan base, the more likely they will recommend you to their followers/fans, creating a growing chain of readers waiting to hear from you.

2) Don’t spam your updates. With Rule #1 being said, nobody likes spam and in social media, it’s no different. Don’t post updates every 10 minutes with random crap. Many people will find you annoying and will unfriend and unfollow you. Keep it light initially and gauge your audience to see how frequently they’d like to hear from you. Start with 3 updates a day and increase that number, more when current events and news are hot.

3) Talk to your followers. Obviously, it’s nearly impossible to reply to every person who sends a message or posts a comment on your fan page, but do your best to make an effort and your following will love you for it. Customer services is key in social media and it shows you’re a human on the other end of the computer and they will look to you when it comes to a subject matter that you specialize in.

Social media isn’t difficult and it shouldn’t be. Follow these 3 rules and you’ll find a lot of people coming back to you.