What is Pinterest?
Pinterest helps you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web– it’s a visual way to bookmark things that interest you. People use pinboards for things like decorating their homes, and organizing their favorite recipes. Folks can also browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share similar interests. As a result Pinterest can definitely be a useful tool in expanding your company’s marketing imprint further, particularly if you’re consumer focused.

So how can Pinterest help you delight with your customers?
Because it promotes the curation of information in a very visual way, people are using Pinterest as a resource to find things they like. More importantly, Pinterest users aren’t restricted to searching information only pinned on their friends’ walls- so you’re able to reach more people than on Facebook. As a result Pinterest could drive a lot of traffic back to your site if you provide fun beautiful content. The network now beats Youtube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January, according to a Shareaholic study.

Some ideas for boards you can create:

• Threads We Love (great t-shirts- yours and others)
• Cool Office Spaces (inspirational locations and interiors)
• Yumz For Geeks (food and drinks themed around computers, gaming, coding)
• Accessories For Nerds (your swag, jewelry, ties, pen holders, etc)
• Crafts For Nerds (diy ideas for tech related projects like 3D printers, robot napkins, etc)
• Great Reads (good books your customers might enjoy)
• Design Inspiration (illustrations & typography)
• Spotted (your swag out and about on fans)

And for additional inspiration, check out some startups currently rocking Pinterest:

1. Airbnb
2. Fab.com
3. Zendesk
4. Zappos

Furthermore, there are now a number of Pinterest knock-offs that might make sense for your company to have a presence on, so be sure to check them out too– like wanelo and more. But where ever you take your brand, be sure it will help you reach the right people and that you add positively to the community!

If you’re working in advertising and marketing for a tech company or start-up, we’ve rounded up the best blogs for your RSS feed:

1.) Mashable: The latest in social media, business, tech (mobile, entertainment, online video, business, web development, technology, memes and gadgets), entertainment and world news founded by Pete Cashmore.

2.) Marketing Pilgrim: Launched by internet marketing consultant Andy Beal in September 2005 this blog brings you the latest news, rumors and reviews of all things related to internet marketing and online advertising.

3.) The Denver Egotist & The Egotist Network: Founded in 2007, this blog offers a witty take on local advertising agency work & creative campaigns.

4.) Copyblogger: This blog was founded in January of 2006 by Brian Clark and provides the advice and solutions that empower people to successfully grow their businesses through social media and online marketing.

5.) PSFK.com: Daily innovation briefing with news from advertising, design and technology industries.

6.) AdAge: The leading global source of news, intelligence and conversation for marketing and media communities.

7.) BrainPickings: Awesome inspirational blog written by Maria Popova, serving up carefully curated news in politics, pscyhology, science, software, the social web, sustainability, technology, video, history and TED.

8.) ViralBlog: This blog helps you stay on top of the latest viral ideas and social trends featuring viral videos, games, advertising, research and social media.

9.) The Inspiration Room: This site features advertising, design, and marketing inspiration from the worldwide creative community.

10.) MarketingProfs: A blog with marketing resources, strategies, online seminars, case studies, conferences ,and events for marketing professionals.

Bonus: What’s Next Blog: Written by B.L. Ochman, this blog covers internet marketing strategy, social media trends, news and commentary.

Did we miss any of your favorites? Comment below!

These tech and startup blogs offer awesome advice and consistent insight, and should make the cut for your RSS reader:

1.) Both Sides of the Table: Mark Suster is a 2x entrepreneur who has gone to the Dark Side of Venture Capital and focused on both sides of the table for Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. He joined GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner after selling his company to Salesforce.com. He focuses on early-stage technology companies and as such blogs about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, how to negotiate successfully, investing, and marketing.

2.) Techcrunch: A group-edited blog about technology start-ups, particularly the Web 2.0 sector. It offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiles of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005.

3.) Signal vs Noise: Weblog by the guys behind 37Signals about usability and good design, with a technology focus. 37signals is a privately held web application company based in Chicago co-founded in 1999 by Jason Fried, Carlos Segura, and Ernest Kim. Its first commercial application was Basecamp; this was followed by Backpack, Campfire, and Highrise. The blog is known for its outspoken voice and strong stances.

4.) Read Write Web: A popular weblog launched in 2003 by Richard MacManus, that provides Web Technology news, reviews and analysis, covering web apps, web technology trends, and social networking.

5.) Wired: A news site covering current and future trends in technology, and how they are shaping business, entertainment, communications, science, and politics. It is known for coining new terms, such as “the Long Tail”and “crowdsourcing.” It is also well known for its annual tradition of handing out Vaporware Awards which recognize “products, videogames and other nerdy tidbits pitched, promised and hyped, but never delivered.”

6.) Fast Company Design: Inspiring stories about innovation and business, seen through the lens of design.

7.) Betashop: Betashop is the blog of Jason Goldberg, founder & Chief Executive Officer at Fab.com. Jason reveals and behind the scenes peak at Fab including customer acquisition, design, metrics, etc and touches on other technology related topics.

8.) Startup Lessons Learned: This blog includes lots of ideas and learnings every startup can benefit from. It’s authored by Eric Ries, creator of the Lean Startup methodology. He previously co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of IMVU.

9.) OnStartups: Written by Dharmesh Shah this blog covers software startups in depth, sharing pain and passion points from his own experience.

10.) VentureHacks: Written by Nivi and Naval, founders (AngelList, Epinions), investors (Twitter), students (life), and advisors (billions), this site shares the best startup advice they can find from others and their own experiences.

Bonus: AVC: The musings of a VC in NYC: Fred Wilson is a VC and principal of Union Square Ventures blogs about helping people start and build technology companies.

Have other favorites? Please share them in the comments below!

When you work for a tech company, by the end of the (60+ hour) week you can use a good laugh. So kick back, relax, and enjoy this collection of the best marketing and start-up reaction gifs:

1.) WHEN I WANT TO TWEET ABOUT TWITTER BEING DOWN, BUT CAN’T.

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2.) WHEN SOMEONE ASKS ME TO EDIT OUT THE F WORD.

Source

3.) WHEN NO ONE CLICKS ON A PIECE I THINK IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.

Source

4.) WHEN SOMEONE HAS A YAHOO OR HOTMAIL EMAIL ADDRESS.

Source

5.) WHEN OUR MEDIA STRATEGY EXCEEDS ALL PROJECTED GOALS.

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6.) WHEN THE CLIENT INSISTS THAT QR CODES ARE THE NEXT BIG THING.

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7.) WHEN APPLE ANNOUNCES A NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH OR IOS UPDATE.

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8.) WHEN I FINALLY GET USER FEEDBACK THAT’S POSITIVE, I’M LIKE:

Source

9.) WHEN SOMEONE CANCELS A MEETING AT THE LAST MINUTE AND I FIND MYSELF WITH AN UNALLOCATED HOUR, I’M LIKE:

Source

10.) WHEN SOMEONE UNSUBSCRIBES FROM AN EMAIL DRIP I SPENT DAYS CRAFTING

Have you seen any others you love? Share them with us below!

There are millions of transaction points over the life of a “social media” relationship. Let’s start with one of the first: right after the follow. What do you do? Follow back? Tweet thanks? Send a DM?

After following a social media brand on Twitter I recently received this DM:

Thanks for the follow SwagLove. Hope you find some interesting stuff on Social Media in Business with us. http://link-to-their-website.com

This is obviously an auto-DM. And I know that link is self-serving without even clicking on it! Go ahead and push your stuff on your website, but on social you have to earn that privilege. Sending a message like this right after someone follow you is not a long enough relationship!

It’s like trying for a home run on the first date

This never works! Instead, say hi. Ask something genuine about the person or their business. Tweet your thanks. Tell others that you followed me. Do something engaging!

What do you think? How do you start off your social relationships?

Surfing monkeys, t-shirts, and social media. Seems to be a winning combination for one of the fastest growing email marketing companies on the planet. Check out MailChimp's recent email blast to solicit customer feedback (via social media) for their next t-shirt design:

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Research In Motion's latest Twitter marketing offer was a t-shirt giveaway for their UK followers. Every 10th person to follow the BlackBerry Twitter Account and retweet the following message won this shirt:

Follow us & RT this tweet by 5pm GMT for your chance to win a BBM T-shirt! Every 10th tweet wins! (UK ONLY) #BBMT4MeUK

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