Instagram, Foursquare, and Pinterest – what is in for your business?
Instagram, Foursquare, and Pinterest – what is in for your business?
Nowadays with so many social media options available it can be very confusing to pick the right platform to market your business on. The truth is that ”The more – the better” approach applies for the social media World. However we have to take in consideration how time-consuming the social media management could be, and also analyze what are the potential benefits of using the available platforms for your business. Some businesses are more suitable for certain social networks than others. This month I decided to give you a brief overview of three of the biggest, but slightly less famous (than FaceBook) players on the market.
Foursquare
With over 20 million users, Foursquare has a secure position in the top 5 of the social media market. The platform is particularly useful for businesses that have a physical offline location. In essence, Foursquare is a location-focused application that allows users to “check” themselves on a location which is then seen as newsfeed by the user’s friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Foursqure itself.
Benefits: Through their mobile phones visitors are checking themselves in places they have visited such as restaurants, shops, clubs etc. This often is seen and accepted as a recommendations by the visitor’s friends which are likely to visit the same places. After registering your business, you can send updates, and engage with your clients who have previously checked in using Foursquare. You can send announcements, deals, coupons, and other marketing information to a highly targeted audience (here are your repeat clients!)
Foursquare will allow you to get real live statistics on your clients, such as daily check-ins, recent visitors, frequent visitors, gender of the clients, time of most visits, etc – all of which can help you manage your business and improve the way you target potential clients.
Instagram
Instagram is a photo-sharing application with more than 80 million users Worldwide. It has been widely used by many brands to provide stunning visual content of their products. Although it does not offer business-specific profiles, Instagram’s business applications are not to be underestimated.
Benefits: You can make interesting photo compositions to “Tell a story” rather than direct marketing of your brand. Other social media networks have been optimized for how Instagram photos are displayed, allowing you to share your photos in a very creative way through Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare. A product company can use Instagram to show its followers (potential clients) how the company’s products are actually made or see a comparison of a before-after product application photo. Business taking advantage of Instagram should go for beautiful imagery, humor, and cuteness whenever possible. Show your clients your office or introduce your employees in a series of photos, this can create a stronger connection between you and your clients who will love to share your good work. Instagram is a very easy to use, and if you are creative enough, it will give you an edge over your competitors.
Similarly to Foursquare and Instagram, Pinterest has been growing blazing fast since it first started in 2010. The social media has over 20 million users and surpasses Twitter in terms of referral traffic. In short, Pinterest gives the users a virtual pin board allowing them to share things they find on the web.
Benefits:
Statistics show that 21% of Pinterest users have purchased something they saw on a pin board. Thnk of Pinterest as a virtual showroom of your products. You main goal here is to drive traffic to your website and add people to your mailing list. This is achieved through carefully targeting your user groups, and publishing entertaining and useful content. For example, if you have an auto repair shop – start pinning useful tips and pictures on how to repair a vehicle. Earn user’s trust and when the time comes, they will select your place to for car repair. You can encourage the users to share your content through Pinterest and get viral marketing for your business. Pinterest is all about useful and interesting information – which can seamlessly be used to promote your brand.
The social media market is far from being saturated. There are new platforms rising every year, allowing businesses to promote their products and services in new creative ways. In order to be successful in this domain you have to carefully pick which media platforms are right for your business. Be as creative as possible, and smart when utilizing your time – social media is a time killer which may not generate any results if not done right or if the wrong platform has been selected.
I hope that this article sparked your interest in these “new players” on the market.
We would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Have a socially-successful month,
Alek Chase
