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So it’s nearly Xmas and 2014 is drawing to a close. Most of you will already be on vacation, which means you have more time to read longer articles and editorials rather than just skim the blog post headlines like you usually do, right? With that in mind, this week’s Fast Five consists of 5 in-depth articles and recent blog posts that are a bit meatier than the usual pieces I link to. Enjoy!

Here’s this week’s Fast Five:

1) 26 Ways Brand Succeed With Social Media Marketing by Debbie Hemley via Social Media Examiner. A nice round up of how some well known brands are leveraging social media to spawn higher levels of engagement. Take note and see if you can replicate some of these ideas into your own social strategy for 2015.

2) Technology, Self-Promotion and the Death of Public Relations by Shane Paul Neil via Technorati. Having completed my undergraduate degree with a major in Public Relations, this article – joyfully declaring PR to be dead – leapt out at me. Has technology killed off traditional corporate Public Relations and sent spin doctors to the unemployment queue? Best read it to find out.

3) Smarter Education: The Rise of Big Data in the Classroom by Lindsay Rothfeld via Mashable. If technology has killed Public Relations, it has injected new life into education. This written piece (and accompanying video) looks at the role technology plays in the modern-day classroom and how it is contributing to lower school drop-out rates in the U.S.

4) A Brand New World in Which Men Ruled by Jodi Kantor via New York Times. Keeping with the theme of technology and the impact it has had on education is this fascinating editorial delving into Stanford University’s pioneering class of 1994. The class churned out a very large number of (mostly male) tech graduates who each established or contributed to dot com success stories, including Netscape, Yahoo, WhatsApp, Google, PayPal and Facebook.

and finally…

5) Brands That Have Been Naughty and Nice on Social Media (Infographic) by HootSuite via Marketing Land. Well I couldn’t avoid Xmas forever! Here’s a fun Infographic from the clever team at HootSuite that ranks some of the big brands as naughty or nice, depending on their brand sentiment and popularity on social media during 2014. I won’t give too much away, but it looks like Santa won’t be visiting General Motors or US Airways this year. Oh dear.

Have a joyful, safe and memorable Xmas dear readers. I’ll catch you next week for the final Fast Five for 2014.

*Image courtesy of Threadless.

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Hi Kalena

I am the online marketing manager for a medium sized toy retailer. We have brick and mortar stores but also allow people to purchase online from our toy catalog. Increasingly, our web sales are outperforming our offline sales, and we are trying to grow this side of the business.

One of our staff here is a big user of Pinterest for her crafting hobby and she said we should be using the site to promote our company and products.

Can you please advise if this is a good idea and if so, suggest ways we could get started using Pinterest for business?

Thanks in advance,

Liam

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Hi Liam

Your staff member is right. Despite being initially hyped as a site for hobby bloggers, Pinterest has exploded into the online marketing space since its astounding popularity and skyrocketing user numbers were revealed.

According to Mashable, customers who find a product via Pinterest are more likely to purchase it than those who find the product via other social networks. Although over 80 percent of Pinterest users are currently women, I imagine that would be a good match for your target market, given women are traditionally the gift purchasers of the household. You might also want to look at the more detailed lifestyle demographics of Pinterest users.

In terms of how to use Pinterest for business marketing, initially, I would talk to your staff member about how she uses Pinterest and how she thinks it could be used to promote your products. I’m not sure how long she has worked at your company or in what department, but if she has familarity with your products and understands your target market, she will probably have some good ideas already.

If you need more inspiration, there is a free eBook on how to use Pinterest for business. Plus here are some related articles that should tweak your imagination:

5 Creative Ways to Use Pinterest for Business

Boost Your Business With Pinterest

Why You Should Be on Pinterest

Honda’s Pinterest Debut

Hope this helps!

Kalena

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