Pins and Pluses

In recent weeks there has been a lot of buzz about a couple different Social Media sites. The world is beginning to realize that there are far more ways to connect than Facebook and Twitter. Today we look very briefly at two of these sites, and analyze what they can do for your horticultural or agricultural business. The two Social Media venues are Pinterest and Google+.

Pinterest. What’s the point? (Ha see what I did there.) Pinterest is a relatively newer site that allows users to upload find pictures on the internet of things they like and “Pin” them to one or more of their “Boards”. It is essentially a virtual collage making site. Users can make all kinds of boards about weddings, gardens, camping, you name it. Pinterest has a predominately female user base. Another thing about the site that makes content so viral here is that it allows users to follow other users and then “Repin” things from one user’s board to their own board. How do I use that for my business you might ask? It’s actually pretty easy and if done right can have a nice impact. To get a Pinterest account you first have to be invited (it isn’t that hard don’t worry). From there, what I would suggest would be to SHOW OFF. Honestly put as many pictures of your flowers/vegetables or whatever you produce up on an array of boards. However, don’t stop there for instance for garden centers it might be a cool idea to make a board with creative potting ideas and either “Repin” some ideas or upload your own. For vegetable producers maybe post some pictures of harvest and planting and pin them to a board entitled “How it’s Grown”. These are just a few ideas. Also don’t forget to link any picture you upload back to your site. This is very easy to do when you go into “edit pin”. This way when users click on your photos they can explore your content deeper and perhaps lead to a product purchase.

Google+ is a bit of a different story. How long did you really expect Google to keep its hands out of Social Media? However, Google+ has started off a little slower than Google expected. It has not overtaken Facebook or Twitter – yet. I make this prediction now: Google+ will be the next generation Social Media site. That is why although it has a much smaller following than Facebook it is important to become fluent in the ways of Google+. Admittedly I am just getting the hang of it myself. However, just after digging into some of the preliminary features it seems quite clear that there is a great opportunity for getting content out there- and to the masses too! Google+ on the surface handles a lot like Facebook however on with any post you can reach different groups of people that you put in groups called “Circles”. You can even post to the general public. This could lead to all kinds of cool marketing options. Perhaps you are running a sale and you want to notify everybody- you can do that, but maybe you want to reward your “Green Grower’s Rewards Members” so maybe you put all those people in a circle labeled such and you send them specific offers. It also has a wide array of features that let you connect with other businesses and people with similar interests all over the world. Even though it might not be a hit yet, Google+ is sure to be something rather large in the future. As we have seen in the past Google doesn’t let anything fail and I don’t think they are going to start.

Starting next time I will talk about what content to push at what levels of the industry

Green advice is Dirt Cheap!