It seems like every day there’s a new social media site sprouting up on the interweb. But at the same time, another once-shining star of social media seems to fade away each day. With all this ebb and flow, it can be hard to keep up. So here’s a quick snapshot of a few powerful but lesser-known social media sites, and a few quick tips for how to use each to your advantage.
Pinterest is probably the hottest new social media site on the market, but it might also be one of the least understood. Referred to popularly as a network of virtual pinboards, Pinterest is an image-driven social media site that lets you organize and share things you find on the web. You can make multiple “pinboards” and use them to plan events, revamp your wardrobe, decorate your home, and collect websites that might be useful to your business.
Who uses Pinterest? Lots of people, but women are especially active on the site. They often use it to keep track of recipes and style tips.
How can you use Pinterest to promote your business? First, follow the “big hitter” Pinterest pros who keep pinboards related to your business. Then keep some well-organized pinboards of your own, and be sure to pin more than products you sell. Pin stuff that’s related to your business, like company blogs and images of flyers for big company events, but also of broad interest in your field. For example, if you own a hair salon, you may pin articles on celebrity hair trends or do-it-yourself styling tips on your pinboard, in addition to links to coupons to use at your salon. Keep your pinboard interesting and you will attract people to your boards and maybe encourage them to repin your stuff, attracting more and more attention to your business.
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is kind of like Pandora for your eyes. When you sign up, you tell StumbleUpon what things you like and don’t like. When you “start stumbling,” the site will “stream” things –articles, photos, and videos – that match your interests your way. When you see something you like, you can “like” it, and you can “dislike” things that are out of line with your tastes.
To use StumbleUpon to promote your business, you can “like” your own business-related blogs, your business website, or articles that mention your product or business. Once you or someone else has “liked” a page, it is eligible to be StumbledUpon by other stumblers. Of course, you are more likely to have success driving traffic to your stuff if you submit things that are actually interesting.
Digg
Digg is an article-sharing community where you make “friends” with other diggers and “digg” articles that strike your fancy. To get started with Digg, follow the simple steps to make a profile, then add friends, starting with your “real” friends that are already using Digg. From there, add more friends, starting by going to the Digg “front page” and adding the people who “dugg” the stuff that ended up there. Then add their friends, too. Once you have a bunch of friends, start digging the stuff you want to promote. You should also “digg” things your Digg “friends” digg. They will in turn “digg” things that you’ve “dugg.” You’ve got to give to receive. Use features like commenting to draw more attention to interesting content. Also make sure to digg cool sites so that more people will want to follow your diggs. If you’re really really awesome or lucky, your article may one day end up on the main Digg page, which has been said to generate “server crashing traffic.”
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. To get started, request an invite.
About Jenny DixonJennifer has been apart of the EliteFlyers.com team for over 15 years. She brings a deep understanding of web marketing, thoughtful strategies, that she's able to design, manage, print, deliver multi-media campaigns to meet all client's goals. Her personal portfolio includes high-end design and printing of business cards, flyers, post cards for elite businesses and individuals from all over the world.
