A few weeks ago we talked about how Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram could help you grow your business and enrich your branding. This week, we’re going to explore how three more social media platforms – Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Tumblr can be used to the same ends.
Keep reading to learn about the features and functions of each of these platforms, what they’re best suited for, and inside tips on how you can make them work for you.
Pinterest is a platform that allows users to upload, share, and collect images, videos, and links which they can then organize into different “boards” dedicated to various topics or interests. Think of Pinterest as a virtual bulletin board. When users find something on the internet or on the site itself that they like, they can “pin” it to one of these boards and save it for later. Most people use Pinterest to plan and explore interests. Content on Pinterest has a tendency to get pinned and repinned multiple times, meaning that the images and links you post have a huge chance of reaching a larger audience.
Use Pinterest to:
- Collect and organize content for your followers. Because the content you pin through Pinterest will be organized into your brand’s own boards, your followers can easily browse through the information and images that you found worthwhile.
- Find new content inspiration. Seeing what other members of your industry are pinning and creating can give you useful insights into ways you could improve your own content.
- Learn the interests of your target audience. Check out what the people who follow your business are pinning on their own boards. What are they interested in? What is important to them? Use this knowledge to find new ways to connect with them.
Pro Tip:
Organize! Pinterest is all about gathering ideas and organizing them so that they can be useful to you later. Make sure that your boards are clearly organized by topic and be strict with yourself about what you put on each board. When users are looking through the content you’ve pinned, they want to be able to quickly find the information and images which apply to the topic they are interested in.
LinkedIn is a social network designed specifically for professionals. While it may not be as useful as other social media sites when it comes to connecting you directly with the customer, LinkedIn does offer you the chance to connect and network with other professionals, something that is never not helpful.
Use LinkedIn to:
- Connect with past colleagues. Every person you’ve worked with in the past has the potential to provide you with new and exciting opportunities in the future. LinkedIn gives you an easy way to maintain these professional relationships through a social network.
- Network with new professionals. Not only is maintaining existing professional relationships important, but forging new ones is as well. LinkedIn can connect you with other members of your industry that you may not know about yet so that you can network with them.
- Publish content. LinkedIn allows you to publish articles on the site in the form of a blog. Reposting blog content that you’ve generated on LinkedIn can help expose it to a larger audience as well as increase your credibility within your industry.
Pro Tip:
Make sure that your profile is completely filled out. Many professionals and employers now check LinkedIn profiles when they are meeting with or hiring new people. Think of your profile as a digital extension of your resume and fill it with information accordingly.
Tumblr is a microblogging platform where users generate, upload, and repost content in the form of text, videos, images, links, and gifs. Tumblr has facets that cater to nearly every interest or group of people imaginable, so it is likely that you will find an audience for your content on the site.
Use Tumblr to:
- Appeal to a younger audience. Looking to get your content to young people? 66% of all Tumblr users are under the age of 35, making this site a great one to use to connect with younger generations.
- Further your branding. Since all of the content you post and reblog on Tumblr gets attached to your personal Tumblr blog, you can use the platform as an opportunity to reinforce your brand. Post images, videos, and text that are consistent with your branding to create a unique and branded vibe on Tumblr.
Pro Tip:
Tag your Tumblr content so that it can be easily discovered by users. Including multiple tags will increase the chances that your posts turn up in search results.