Friday Facts: Why Businesses Should Consider Pinterest

While looking through Pinterest to come up with some Friday Fact posts to share - yes I use Pinterest to find some of these articles - I came across this one which actually promotes the usage of Pinterest for businesses.

Personally, I have set up one of the businesses I work with (Video Game Scoreboard) on Pinterest and have seen some stuff from that.  What's nice about Pinterest - and we will eventually cover that here too - is that they will confirm your brand if you add code to your website for any site you're creating a Pinterest page for as a brand.  So if you're the one running social media for a brand, be sure to talk to the webdevelopers and get them the code needed to verify your account.

That being said, White Glove Social Media provides 7 good reasons as to why businesses should be using Pinterest as part of their social media strategy.  Check out the article here:  http://www.whiteglovesocialmedia.com/infographic-pinterest-social-media-marketing-7-reasons-why-businesses-should-use-pinterest/

Have you seen articles you think others would like to see on our blog?  Or do you have your own social media blog and want us to share some of your posts?  If so, leave a comment with information and a link and you may find your posts featured on a Friday!

Wednesday Words: Hangout

Another week, another term - this time for Google+ and defining the word hangout, which is now apparently a noun instead of a verb as it was for teenagers back in my day.

Hangouts is what Google+ refers to for their chat program as well as their video chat which can have up to 10 users on simultaneously.  You can watch YouTube videos during hangouts, open a Google Doc with colleagues, and  more.

Hangouts are becoming more popular for podcasts and bringing on guests via webcams as well as for streaming games.  If you're interested in hangouts, you should look into some of the ones that happen weekly and learn more about them.  Hangouts can be public or private with a large number of viewers for public hangouts and limited for private ones based on who you invite.

Wednesday Words are a series of definitions released on Wednesday each week regarding a word found specific to Facebook's social media platform, or may be a generic word dealing with social media.  These definitions are to help provide you with a better understanding of common and uncommon terms associated with Facebook and social media.   You can find all the Wednesday Words by clicking on the Wednesday Words tag below.

Tuesday Tips: Put Thought Into It Before Creating Social Media Profiles

Another piece of advice, which seems like common sense but is often forgotten: have a plan before going full steam ahead into creating your social media profiles.

Social media can be daunting and having a plan of action to launch social media incrementally - instead of all of them at once - can be a huge help.  It also helps to consider what forms of social media you really need because chances are you don't need all of them or won't be able to handle them all if you are a small business/organization.

It's always good to start small and grow.  Start with a Facebook page and Twitter.  If you are a crafter and you make jewelry or other items you have to photograph to advertise, consider Pinterest as well.  And go from there.  Not all forms of social media will fit each person/company's need.  You need to figure out what will work best for you and your company and create a plan of action from there.

Realize that you will have to invest time in social media each week, and in many cases each day, to help it grow and get out there.  You may also have to invest some money, but look at that as advertising money to get your name out there.

Figure out what kind of posts you want to post and perhaps even schedule some.  Just remember to check your social media outlets and respond if/when people post back to you.

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

The Monday Search: Job Listings Current as of 3/24/2014

There are many jobs available out there for people knowledgeable about Social Media, but sometimes finding the job isn't easy.

Don't worry! Each week (when I have time) I will be featuring 3-5 jobs currently available as of Monday.  Additional sites will be linked at the very bottom of the article and listed as sources.  Other sites may be listed as well.

3D Systems is looking for a Consumer Social Media Manager in New York, N.Y.

Responsibilities: 

• Activate 3DS consumers on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc.) to increase conversions on both cubify.com and in retail stores. 
• Create content on social media to delight and engage our consumers to build community.
• Manage contests and giveaways and use knowledge of social media to build demand generation.
• Strategically design and implement social media marketing campaigns in coordination with new offerings and product launches, consumer lifecycle events like holidays, etc. to inspire conversation and activation.

Qualifications: 

• Education and Training: BA/BS
• Experience: 2 to 5 years related experience

For more information: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/jobview.asp?joid=163558&c=jfbatl

Rescue Social Change Group, LLC is looking for a Social Media Specialist in San Diego, Calif.

Position Description
Under the guidance of Director of Digital and Social Media, the Social Media Specialist’s responsibilities include:

Social Media Development:

• Develop custom Facebook apps using social media developer programs like Shoutlet, North Social, Wildfire or other equivalent enterprise technology;
• Troubleshoot custom developed apps for bugs and optimize for a streamlined user experience; and
• Build blog posts on a CMS like Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal or other equivalent tool.

Paid Media Management:

• Plan, develop and manage paid media for Facebook, Twitter and Google AdWords campaigns, YouTube video campaigns, and direct digital media buys;
• Maximize impact of ad spend by analyzing ad performance and conducting A/B testing; and
• Review and approve digital media buys from media partners with direction from the Director of Digital and Social Media.

There was a lot more information available for this position, so you may want to check it out here: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/jobview.asp?joid=163540&c=jfbatl

Ignite is hiring Social Media Experts

They are a company focused on social media and are hiring for their Raleigh Headquarters and Detroit office.

They don't post much about requirements or qualifications needed, but they tell you how to apply.

More information: http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/contact/job-openings/

Other listings:

• Media Bistro Job Listings (note not all the jobs listed here are social media positions):  http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter-jobs/?c=stnav
• LinkedIn Social Media Job Listings:  http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-manager-jobs  and  http://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/j?keywords=socialmedia+manager  or  http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-marketing-jobs or http://www.linkedin.com/job/q-social-media-strategist-jobs
• CareerBuilder: http://www.careerbuilder.com/Jobs/Keyword/Social-Media-Manager/
• Indeed.com: http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Social-media
• Simply Hired: http://www.simplyhired.com/k-social-media-jobs.html
• Social Media.org's Big List of Openings: http://www.socialmedia.org/blog/social-media-job-openings-and-new-hires-at-pepsico-monster-macys-and-more/

The Monday Search is a brief listing of jobs available for those in the social media marketing field.  All jobs are found through internet searches and are just featured because they are of interest to me.  Monday Searches will contain links to sites with other job listings in addition to the ones listed here.