After getting $100 million in investment funds from Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, the new kid on the social media block got a valuation 50 percent bigger than that of Instagram when Facebook brought it for $1 billion.

So what does the future hold for Pinterest that would justify a $1 billion valuation for the cloud-based vision board?  Pinterest still has a ways to go before it becomes a true platform player for social commerce, marketing and user recommendations.  Here are some areas in which Pinterest will need to develop its business:

Advertising in pictures

Pinterest is the third most popular social media site behind Facebook and Twitter, letting you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the Web. The site also includes built-in ways to incorporate mutual respect, authenticity and properly crediting your sources.

The social sharing site shows tremendous growth in its user base. Over 80 percent of pins are actually re-pins of other people’s stuff, according to findings from RJMetrics.

“Pinterest demonstrates some of the strongest user engagement, retention and virality metrics I have ever seen in an online business,” wrote Robert Moore of RJMetrics. “The company has found tremendous success among its core demographic, and the potential reach of its appeal will be tested in the coming months as attention from broader audiences continues to increase.”

Pinterest can use the existing social platform as an advertising marketing tool for businesses selling easily photographed products and services. The company can look at developing their own tools to render itself a relevant business model with its current platform and projected growth.

To do this, Pinterest can build up an e-commerce platform overlapping e-commerce and social networks where both retailers and consumers can communicate, discover, and curate to make the experience more entertaining.

Charging Advertisers

Several brands are beginning to make Pinterest pages, pinning their own products to the site. Pinterest could potentially sponsored pins in the stream that are paid for by advertisers, similar to the model Twitter’s used to build out advertising on its microblog. Pinterest can also work with advertisers to create customized Pinterest-connected campaigns and pages.

Mobile App

Pinterest has yet to explore the mobile space, lacking a mobile app on any major platform and limited mobile-specific options for the mobile web (like pinning). Pinterest could potentially create a mobile marketplace by developing mobile apps where users/advertisers, instead of pinning products on the site, could upload product photos, price, description, and price etc. on their mobile devices itself.

The mobile marketplace could be modified further into a monetization platform where users can buy the pins and seller would be obligated to ship the product.

The biggest benefit of mobile integration is the added context of location to uploaded pins.  Pinterest is likely going to develop some recommendation tools around its site activity, and as retailers and marketers become more interested in user-generated pins, promotions for local venues can leverage Pinterest as a mobile outlet as well.

Pinterest API

Pinterest has the potential to become a notable marketing tool, but for that, the company needs an interface to interact with social and content feeds – an API could accomplish that requirement.

The API could create an environment where retailers can better integrate their offerings for two-way collaboration and sharing with their customers.

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann hinted in recent past that the company will acknowledge an API in the near future (although the page was listed for only a short time on Pinterest’s site).  In the post Silbermann said the Pinterest profiles will be very different to those of Facebook and other social networks, and will show a snapshot of what you’re really about. Through an API, Pintrest-related app development would further spur the rapid growth of the site, which already reached 11.7 million unique users in January.

Can Pinterest Build a Business Model to Justify $1 Billion Valuation? is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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Rakuten said that this investment helps the site grow in the U.S. and its 17 overseas markets, including entry into Japanese market.

“While some may see e-commerce as a straightforward vending machine-like experience, we believe it is a living process where both retailers and consumers can communicate, discover, and curate to make the experience more entertaining,” said Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. “We see tremendous synergies between Pinterest’s vision and Rakuten’s model for e-commerce. Rakuten looks forward to introducing Pinterest to the Japanese market as well as other markets around the world.”

Pinterest has become the sensation of recent social media history, and has positioned itself as the third largest social network in the US.  Pinterest, where users can share their photos, has grown rapidly in recent months–the website has become the sixteenth most visited site in the US, according to Alexa.  In April alone their user base has reached more than 20 million, up from 1 million in July 2011.

“Our goal is to help people discover things they love, by connecting people through their shared interests. Bringing Rakuten on board gives us an amazing opportunity to move a step closer to this goal,” said Pinterest CEO Ben Silberman.

A partnership with Rakuten could open many doors for Pinterest to expand its presence in Asia. The company sees great potential in markets like France, Germany, Japan, Portugal and Spain.

Pinterest Weekly – New Platform to Keep Users Engaged

Pinterest remains undefined in its business model, at least publicly, and the company has yet to disclose its revenue.  But faced with such high expectations and an outstanding valuation, it’s time for Pinterest to start developing its user engagement and monetization strategies.

One step in that direction is the introduction of Pinterest Weekly, a weekly email board. The company has started sending users a weekly e-mail featuring basic account stats, like their top pins, and other popular boards in an attempt to keep them engaged between pinning sessions. This week’s feature is user George Takei’s “Cats and Dogs” as he shares “Pins You Might Like” from users’ friends.

Pinterest as a social network is more popular amongst the ladies, and has been nicknamed the “Tumblr for girls” as women trust product recommendations reviews from this social networking site. Amazon recently integrated Pinterest to their service in an attempt to drive more consumers to their retail outlet, particularly including women, and power more recommendations.

Pinterest Joins the List of $1 Billion Dollar Enterprises is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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• Can Pinterest Build a Business Model to Justify $1 Billion Valuation?
• Facebook Waited Too Long to Go Public: Initial IPO Reactions

And the strategy paid off well.  Fab reports 15% of all visits to the Live Feed result in a purchase, and that’s an amazing conversion rate for any online retailer.  It’s no surprise Fab’s upping the ante on their social features.  There’s four important new updates to the Live Feed: you can now purchase directly from the feed, post to Pinterest straight from the feed, view your Facebook friends’ likes and purchases in real time, and see what’s trending overall in real time.

The most notable of the new features are the first two–direct purchases and Pinning.  Similar to Amazon’s one-click button, direct-from-feed purchases on Fab are sure to increase their sales.  One thing Fab wants to ensure on the site is the excitement of discovery is maintained without overwhelming the user.  That’s a tough balance for any flash sale site, and many have lost my attention by trying to incorporate new features that don’t add value or interest, or by merely adding more categories to an already saturated site.

The interesting thing about the new Pin It button is that it’s essentially replaced the Google+ button that was once present on every product page.  Fab reports 2% of referred traffic from Pinterest, even before they added the Pin It button.  If Fab wants to stay serious about their social network integration, they’ll continue to follow the users.

“What’s great about Pinterest is it’s similar to Fab in that it’s an individual’s own curation of images,” says Melissa Klein, VP of Communications at Fab.  “We have to follow the member.  They indicate on which platforms they want to share.”

In many ways, Fab is looking to become a platform for retail, layering social, search and commerce for an inclusive experience that thrives on its built-in broadcasting tools.  This is what’s helped Fab really stand out, especially in an emerging culture of curation.  We see this trend developing on Pinterest, of course, but also newbie sites like Threadflip.  Fab’s finding ways to expand the user experience beyond just purchases, building loyalty around brands and designers as well.

Another notable update to Fab is the new Smile pages, which highlight the stories behind the designers featured on the site.  “Every designer has a story, and we really wanted to shine a spotlight on that,” Klein continues.  “We’re looking at ways we can help our designers…we’re more than just a place for business, and the designers are part of our family.”

Fab.com Social Upgrade Swaps Google+ for Pinterest is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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This type of photo sharing forum allows for a multitude of varying uses. You can use it as yet another way to expand the reaches of your business, show off your collection of action figures or even as an exercise tool.

Let’s take a look at a handful creative and unique ways to utilize Pinterests features.

Storefront

These days it seems getting back to “mom and pop” shops is a growing trend. Most people would rather pay a few extra dollars to make a purchase that will benefit a small local vendor, rather than save money on mass produced, sweatshop merchandise from a huge conglomerate chain.

When eBay launched back in 1995 entrepreneurs everywhere watched their small businesses multiply with the help of internet based sales. Since then, retailers have branched out, learning how to use every tool the internet affords them. Pinterest is a prime example of one such tool. Utilizing its easy to navigate platform, vendors are able to show off their goods and provide a short synopsis of what it is they do, as well as where they are located and contact information.

This very unique way of using Pinterest not only benefits the consigner but the consumer as well. Supporters of interesting, small local shops can find treasures that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

One such mom and pop treasure is a Ft Lauderdale local favorite, tiny and tucked out the way, this spot is one of my personal favorites for cool vintage additions to my wardrobe and a friendly beach vibe. Take a look at how ModSurf makes use of Pinterest as a storefront here.

Collection

Owning a bevy of classic comic books or action figures is considered to be an accomplishment. But what good is it if you can’t show it off?

You can use Pinterest to display your collection either in the order you obtained your treasures or in order of your favorite collectibles.

Personally, I am just the tiniest bit obsessed with Batman, so I went ahead did a search for “Batman Collection” in the search box at the top left hand corner of the Pinterest homepage. I soon found I wasn’t the only one with Batman hysteria. Check out the collections I found here.

Exercise guide

When starting a new exercise routine it is important to hold your body in proper form or you can end up with some seriously sore muscles. What about those of us who just don’t have the time to, say, attend a Yoga class?

Pinterest offers a platform where fitness savvy users take the time to pin photos as step-by-step guides to various exercise routines.

Being that Yoga is one of the more popular ways to stay in shape, we’ll stick to it as an example. There are breathing patterns, stretches and an assortment of poses to keep in mind when practicing Yoga. Pinterest allows for how-to explanations on all of this and more when performing these exercises. See a simple step-by-step yoga routine on Pinterest here.

Travel journal

Whether traveling to India in search of shamans and the meaning of life, or a weekend getaway in Cancun over spring break, Pinterest offers a platform to organize and highlight your trip.

You can start by pinning photos of spots you are thinking about visiting and letting other Pinterest users who may have visited those areas comment on your pins, giving insight to local favorites and the better tourist attractions.

Once you have mapped out your trip, go there! Take photos of your own, pinning them up minute-to-minute, daily, or after your trip is over, it’s up to you.

Great examples of travel journals I came across can be found here.

Tutorial 

Do your friends all clamor for a glimpse of your hairstyle? Why not share those talents over the internet in the form of a tutorial?

Pinterest allows you to strategically place photos and their descriptions.

A good example of a tutorial I found on Pinterest is a how-to guide to braiding hair in a very interesting way. In this tutorial we learn how to do an upside down french braid in 10 easy steps, check it out.

Whatever you can take a picture of, you can show it off on Pinterest. Get feedback from other users of the site and possibly become featured on the Pinterest homepage. By putting it out there you can get the attention your pictures deserve and if nothing else you can use Pinterest to store your photo’s giving you room on your digital camera or mobile device to keep clicking away.

5 Creative Ways to Use Pinterest, from Work Out Guides to Tutorials is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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Created for brands and social commerce, the Fan Profiles develop brand-specific profiles for fans and help them to connect to other fans directly on the brand’s Facebook page. Brands then can use this activity data for increased fan engagement and promoting overall brand page activity.

“With Fan Profiles, Offerpop is taking a new approach to social media marketing that really begins to harness the ‘outside-in’ marketing potential of Facebook – letting fans easily connect and help drive the brand conversation,” said Mark Cooper, co-founder and CMO of Offerpop. “The app tracks all fan activity taking place on a brand’s page – helping marketers easily identify active and influential fans. Brands can then showcase fans who are driving high value conversations, like buzz around a new product launch for example.”

The apps automatically creates these fan profile pages and syncs them with Facebook’s Timeline for Brands format to increase a brand’s EdgeRank. Using the app, Page fans can discover, follow and leave comments for a given cause and invite their friends to contribute, creating a unique social experience. There is also an option for brands to categorize, showcase and track the most engaged and influential fans.

The Fan Profiles can work in conjunction with Facebook sponsored stories ads, another integrated feature option in Offerpop’s toolbox. These story ads allow marketers to amplify Offerpop campaigns across the social network and build awareness around new initiatives. The company also launched full translation features for its app on Facebook and Twitter social platforms for advertisers to market their campaign in localized languages.

More tools around Timeline optimization

Facebook’s user engagement tools are increasingly leveraged by companies to promote their businesses, increase more fans and help attract potential customers.  The result is a booming third party market where businesses are offering tools to improve on Facebook’s existing platform, specifically around Timeline integration and identifying influencers. Creative Allies is one catering to the music industry with high-quality graphics, recently introducing a fan engagement contest and community building Facebook application, BandArt.

Then there’s Social Candy, which provides cost-effective tools to create and manage effective Facebook marketing campaigns.  They recently introduced free Facebook-friendly templates and new custom Facebook pages, optimized for the Timeline. The new templates offer website-like functionality with Facebook’s strong social sharing features, providing the social media tools marketers need to build brand awareness, increase likes and collect leads to convert into sales. The new format helps brand to deliver affordable, easy-to-use promotional applications for sweepstakes, contests, coupons, giveaways on Facebook brand pages.

Offerpop Fan Profiles Optimize Timeline, Tracks Influencers is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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These stunning figures are quite attractive to publishers, marketers and software developers seeking new ways to engage with end users.  Tapping this increasingly mobile audience is a critical component for businesses and multichannel merchants in the coming years. But mobilizing your website is not the end of the story, rather this is just the beginning, and there are a few things to consider when planning your mobile strategy. We have assembled a pack of pundits’ tips and tools to address the unique needs driving mobile trends, helping you stand out during one of the largest technological shifts the world has seen.

From the Experts

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Traffic

Focused on building an open mobile platform, Mobify shares a few ways to capitalize on mobility and social media marketing. Their eBook, titled 14 Essential Mobile Marketing Tactics, is authored by Igor Faletski and James Sherrett of Mobify Research and Development, and emphasizes the need for smart strategies to drive mobile traffic:

“A good experience will accelerate the virtuous circle of discovery, sharing, traffic and additional sharing. A poor mobile experience will result in a lost opportunity for revenue, brand engagement and customer loyalty,” reads an excerpt from Mobify’s e-book. “With mobile traffic playing such a prominent role in social media, creating a long-term strategy to engage in this field is critical building a successful business.”

Content and Navigation

I don’t care about org charts and links within links that will take me to the moon, nobody does.  So maximize the mobile screen size to feature actual content.  If I have a tablet with a bigger display, I expect content-rich graphics to take advantage of the larger size. The best way to put this is to use the “outside in approach.”  Keep in mind what the customers want and need first, and not with what you have.  Moreover, insert navigational options behind visibly labeled buttons or images that will allow users to explore content in other pages to dive deeper. It is also critical to consider that most users prefer vertical navigation versus horizontal scrolling.

You may also want to incorporate mobile alerts to swiftly direct users to content faster. On a more technical note, limit the use of Flash.  iOS devices don’t support Flash, and Adobe is already transitioning away from it as well.  Use HTML5 or JavaScript to achieve the same effect. It is also safe to use HTML for contact phone numbers instead of putting in the actual numbers. Simply tapping a number is more efficient for users.

Communication

Communication is also a vital tool to create a good mobile experience.  But most of the time, this is the element that mobile marketers tend to forget.  Don’t just scale down your website and squeeze in as much as possible into mobile devices’ little screens. Utilize mobile development systems to prune your offering to the most critical features only. In this Forbes article, Communications Coach for global brands and writer of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Power of Foursquare, Carmine Gallo points out the common gap from marketing to customer services for companies using Foursquare:

“If customer-facing employees do not know about your promotion (whether it be foursquare or any marketing initiative) then you risk upsetting your customers because they’ll ask about and get a blank stare in return. This happens more often than you think. I ask about promotions all the time and I rarely find employees who have been told anything about it. Here’s how it happens. A business owner will read this article and tell his marketing person, “We’ve got to get on that foursquare thing.” The marketing managers will do what they are told and that’s where it ends. Everyone covers their bases but they forget the most important step: communication.”

“Foursquare is a free and simple way for any brand—large or small—to participate in the mobile social media revolution,” he adds.  ”But if you fail to educate your staff and customers, you have no chance of launching a successful campaign.”

Usability and Feedback 

Usability is another huge factor that can either attract or deter users to or from mobile websites. The challenges you have to consider include slow page loads and interfering web and app pages (those links that will direct you to “download this app” before you can access the main site).  Getting user feedback on the performance of the site and how you can improve it will help you revisit features that need to be changed or updated. Don’t assume that everyone knows how to navigate the site.  It’s healthy to check in with end users regularly.  It will also send a message that you are serious about delivering an outstanding experience.

In a recent interview, Strangeloop President Joshua Bixby gave up the juicy details on how to spot areas of improvements for mobile websites.

“This really depends on the type of site. Obviously, for ecommerce sites, you’re always going to care about revenue and conversion, but these aren’t necessarily as important for mobile as for desktop traffic. For all you know, your mobile user is standing in your bricks-and-mortar store doing some price-checking or reading product reviews. They’re going to convert in your store. For these users, what you care about is engagement, not conversions, which is where KPIs like bounce rate and page views come in.”

Bixby gave a concrete illustration of the probable gap that businesses should examine.  “Site owners should look closely at bounce rate, page views, and time on page for their mobile traffic,” he explains.  ”These numbers should be commensurate with their desktop traffic. If they’re way off — say you’re averaging 2.3 page views per mobile visitor and 5.9 page views per desktop visitor — that could be an indicator that the mobile site is doing something to drive users away. In that case, you should analyze how fast your pages are loading or how usable they are.”

Market Integration

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Retail

The boom behind mobile websites is aggressively being supported by different markets. And what are billions of smartphone users around the world do aside from texting, making calls and sending emails? They navigate the mobile web and make purchases.

I am a self-proclaimed couch shopper who relies on buying things online. It was early last year when I started using my smartphone to shop online, and I loved how I was updated with bids, reviews, promos and discounts even when on the go. This year, I can hardly recall the last time I used my PC in purchasing something over the internet. According to a recent Nielsen report, retail mobile websites beat apps among US smartphone owners for for shopping needs, from researching products and reviews, to comparing prices, finding retail locations, and redeeming coupons.

Local search and advertising

John Burbank, Nielsen’s President of Strategic Initiatives, has some potent observations from the study saying, “the majority of smartphone owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season.  Mobile shopping has reached scale and is only going to grow as smartphone penetration continues to rise.”

“Retailers need to think of their business as a multi-channel environment that can potentially include mobile, online, and bricks and mortar stores,” he adds. “Winning with shoppers requires a consistent experience across channels that reinforces the values you represent as a retail brand, whether it be price, service, reviews, selection, style, or other key attributes.”

Another thing is to optimize online information for local mobile search. Users within a few meters from your physical store could actually be tempted to drop by and buy goods.

Advertisers are reaping the revenue rewards of employing mobile marketing tactics. Traditional advertising will soon be a thing of the past. While some fear that moving to mobile is a big risk, penetrating this market means gaining more subscribers from a broader population that hardly use PCs for web access.  Mobile marketing was an early trend for this space, and it’s already spawned a plethora of third-party tools to get the job done.

Tools for mobilization

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Beefing up mobile websites is not an easy task to be completed overnight. It may require time, a string of trial and error and help from other products with tool sets designed to mobilize websites.

Mobile ads, payments and distribution

Stationed in major cities around the world (Bangalore, London, Tokyo, Nairobi and San Francisco) of the world, InMobi is a one-stop shop for mobile advertising that helps marketers target users on mobile websites and inside apps. They craft interactive ads via the recently acquired Sprout platform, and power mobile payments through SmartPay. Their clients include major global brands like Universal, Zoosk, Disney, Vivendi, Fox, eBay, GroupOn, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Marriott, Lufthansa, CitiBank, HSBC, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Unilever, P&G, Ford, Nissan, AT&T, Samsung, Dell, Google, Unicef and the long client list goes on.

The Indian-bred company has grown at a record pace and is now valued at over billion dollars, thanks to a Japanese funding round worth $200 million.  InMobi has significantly ushered organization to milestones. Google’s mobile ad revenues rose from $1 billion in 2010 to $2.5 billion the same period in 2011.

Testing and development

Also a single-stop destination for those who are looking to build mobile websites, Fiddle Fly, offering an array of services from SEO compatibility, performance optimization, Google Analytics, social media integration and the end-to-end mobile website engineering scheme of designing-developing and deploying.

One you have set everything in place, from content to navigation, it’s time to evaluate the readiness of your mobile website. A free testing tool is mobiReady. It assesses mobile readiness of a website (just provide the URL) with the aid of industries’ good practices and standards.

And as more mobile platforms shift away from Flash, here are some alternatives and tools that can be utilized, especially by small businesses.

HOW TO: Mobilize Your Website, from Design to Monetization is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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Spotify teamed with AT&T, McDonalds, Intel, and Reebok for the latest series of branded apps, and the global partnership with Coca-Cola was also announced.

“Our goal is to make Spotify ubiquitous,” SPotify CEO Daniel Ek stated.  “We want to be everywhere.”

Though apps on Spotify aren’t new, the branded apps bring something different to the table.  The AT&T app, “Surround Sounds,” lets users view maps and locations tagged for where popular songs were recorded.  Reebok’s app creates workout playlists, and Intel’s “Sifter” recommends songs, bands and artists based on what users’ Facebook friends are listening to.

Also, Facebook is said to be integrating a “Listen” button on artists’ pages, expected to make Spotify the preferred listening tool for the social network, though this particular feature is said to be available for other services as well.  The Listen button will also be seamlessly integrated into the Facebook Timeline.

“The new button will give music fans an easy way to listen to songs through their favorite services, such as Spotify and MOG, directly from Facebook Pages,” a Facebook spokesperson explained to VentureBeat.

MOG reaches the land down under

MOG, the on-demand subscription music service, and Telstra, an Australian telecommunications and information services company, announced an exclusive partnership that brings MOG’s music to Australian shores.  This is MOG’s first international deal.

“It’s thrilling to broaden MOG’s reach and bring Australian’s the best music listening experience available on multiple platforms,” said David Hyman, CEO and founder of MOG. “We’ve been working toward global expansion for some time and prioritizing markets based on opportunities. Australia is a key, major music market ripe for disruption and we’re pleased to be the sole provider of on-demand music for the leading telecommunications provider in Australia. We can’t wait for music lovers to experience MOG’s entire catalog of on-demand music from wherever they are and we’re making it easier than ever to do so.”

Pandora’s box reveals secret project

Pandora has been secretly working on a project that not only categorizes music but dissects songs to determine how they fall into specific genres.  With Intel’s sponsorship, Pandora was able to work on the Inside the Music project that tells listeners how songs are categorized in the Music Genome Project, Pandora’s proprietary taxonomy of music DNA.

“For more than a decade, we have been capturing in great detail every aspect that gives a song its unique character, whether it’s the melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, vocal performance or lyrics,” Pandora founder Tim Westergren said in a statement. “We’re pleased to partner with Intel to give people a unique opportunity to discover even more about the music and artists they love.”

Spotify Goes Great with Coke, Launches Branded Apps is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

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• US vs UK: Music Cloud Storms Brew Over Fees, Licensing for Spotify and Pandora
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Klout

Klout is a tool that measures influence on social networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare, Google+ and others.  The most important aspect to consider is Klout Score, determined by the size of your social network, content and how users interact with your posted content.  Klout scores range from 0 to 100, 20 being the average score.

To help brands engage more with influencers, the company is launching a new feature called Brand Squads.  These are dedicated, centralized profile pages that allow companies to better engage with influencers.

“Brand Squads are Klout’s way of giving influencers a place to be recognized and have a direct impact on the brands they care about most,” said Klout’s David Temple.

Brand Squads pages can help users to monitor information about the recent development of a brand, watch the flow of information across social media, and earn access to special Perks.

Google Ripples

One of the least publicized features of Google+ is Ripples, a visual depiction of your content’s behavior once it’s been posted.  With Ripples you can see who’s shared your content, how large their networks are and how much impact you’re content’s had on the network overall.  It’s all graphed nicely with soft colors and circle representations, so you can immediately identify the influencers, learn more about them and add them to your network.

You’ll also find a set of analytics at the bottom of the page, displaying a series of useful stats pertaining to your reach, the number of shares a particular post received, and how far it’s traveled.  Known for its Google Analytics, the Ripples feature offers great insight to your Google+ account and is particularly useful for brands.

What’s more, you can search any Google+ URL on Ripples to see how it’s performed.  This feature has not yet rolled out to all Google+ users, but if you view this public Ripple, you can try a URL search on your own.

Google also updated its social analytics tool recently to help marketers capture the full impact of social media to their websites. The new tool can evaluate traffic coming from social networks, and understand the impact on direct and deferred conversions.  It also helps to understand various activities happening on and off of a site to improve user engagement and increase key performance indicators.

For example, if someone visits a website through a link on Twitter, then come back in a week to buy something, Google Analytics will be able to monitor this scenario for a broader understanding of whether a marketing campaign on Facebook or Twitter is paying off or not.

The tool also includes a tab activity called “Activity Stream” to monitor what people are saying publicly across social networks. The new social reports provide an opportunity to analyze the full range of social information, as well as provide a more complete picture of social influence.

Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights is a tool that can greatly help in measuring the performance of Facebook pages.  The tool helps in defining a strategy for relevant and targeted content.

With Facebook Insights you can measure post performance, determine how many people have created stories, shared, liked or commented on your content, including negative feedback.

HootSuite

HootSuite is probably known as tool of communication amongst social network marketers.  The tool offers a wide range of analytical applications that allow teams to efficiently track conversations and measure campaign results.

The social media dashboard tool is used to manage multiple social profiles, track brand mentions, schedule messages and tweets, and analyze social media traffic.

With HootSuite you can follow the indicators of your brand with social media traffic, you can analyze your pages and you can count the increasing number of fans. Google Analytics and Facebook Insights can also be integrated into your HootSuite account, making the tool even more valuable.

Social Bakers

Social Bakers offers a range of tools that not only help to measure and compare social marketing, but help you improve performance and maximize your ROI across all major networks, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+.

Their Engagement Analytics and Engagement Builder offer a monitoring service that has become a widely visited site for looking up Facebook statistics.

This week the company launched Analytics PRO technology to track Facebook and Twitter campaign performance. The technology helps enterprises, SMEs and small business identify, engage and track their most important social influencers.

The tool can be used to simplify social analytics, provide fan page scores, key performance indicators and competitive analysis.

Social Tools to Measure Your Real Influence and Success is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

In the same vein:

• Klout Kicks in Google Plus
• Is Google Analytics Real-Time Update a Big Data Blunder?
• Data-as-a-Service: When Cloud and Big Data Converge (Trends 2012)
• Google Analytics Gets Social Integration
• How Salesforce.com Deals With Big Data
• Yammer Adds Big Data Social Analytics – Or Does It?

Brand Pages

Popular brands such as Coca~Cola, Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s have taken advantage of Timeline, namely, it seems, for the banner like Cover photo, but also to indulge in it’s features.

Cover photos seem to strike as a hot commodity because they can actually change the look and feel of a product. Starbucks had boasted a Cover of their product at its most bassist form. Coffee beans! They are shined to absolute perfection and look oh so yummy, you can’t help but crave a grande, two raw sugar, extra whip white mocha…. Or is that just me?

ESPN had enticed fans with their cover photo as well, with an iconic scene from the well-known Sportscenter show. This week they are sporting a collage of photos from a variety of sporting events as their cover, giving us something new to look forward to on a regular basis. This form of marketing is brilliant in that it can capture the attention of just about anybody, even those completely uninterested in the topic at hand.

Red Bull made use of the ability for page administrators to receive messages from fans. Red bull used this feature to set up an interactive scavenger hunt and handed out prizes to the winners.

Some brands Highlighted their company history as a marketing tool. By offering glimpses into their past readers of the The New York Times are given access to over 160 years of moments in the newspapers history.

Job Search

According to a recent survey done by Reppler, out of 300 employers 91% use social networking sites to screen candidates, 76% use Facebook to do so.

Suffice to say, job seekers who use Facebook are exponentially increasing their odds of finding a job versus those who are not on Timeline by capitalizing on their profiles as virtual resumes. While you probably don’t want to completely cut your personal life from your Timeline profile, you definitely want to make sure you are not over sharing with potential employers. Things like pictures of your trip to Vegas should probably be kept on a private setting. When looking at your Timeline “resume,” you will want to view it through the eyes of your next boss.

Start with your cover photo, choose something that is a positive reflection of you.  This is where you can show off your personality.

Next, move on to your education and employment history. You can use your Timeline to do this. Be sure to include dates you attended a particular school and/or worked for a company and additionally, tag said school and company if they are also on Facebook.  For schooling, list levels of education and degrees. For employment, incorporate responsibilities, promotions, and any special projects related to your field.

Finally, take advantage of the Milestones and Experiences feature, add finishing touches by promoting any awards or specialized certifications, as well as multiple languages you may speak or relevant skills you wish to make known.

After you have revamped your Timeline profile you can literally turn it into a personal business card with Moo.com.

Band Pages

Timeline makes for a refreshing way for bands to put themselves out there. Looking at a bands page from a fans perspective is an exciting prospect.  Timeline offers the opportunity for a band to highlight their history; how they came together, as well as behind the scenes shots from past shows.

Coldplay, for example, recently posted a slew of old content dating back to the 90′s, including their very first practice together.

Timeline also gives your fans the chance to see upcoming tours dates and record releases. By utilizing the “Pin” feature an administrator of a bands Timeline can update their status which will remain featured at the top of the page for up to 7 days.

By using this perk, bands can also draw attention to charitable events that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Interactive Portfolio

Whether your field is fashion, architecture, photography, graphic design, etc, as an artist Timeline offers a variety of ways in which to display your work as an online portfolio.

Again, you will want to start with your Cover, making sure it is an accurate reflection of what you do best.

In your Timeline, you can show the progression of your level of skill, training and even big projects you have done. Highlighting compilations where you may have had the opportunity to work with a renowned fellow artist or study with them is yet another way to boost your street cred.

Tattoo artists are a prime example of an artist who could benefit from the attention Timeline could bring. A collage of photos of tattoos on skin, placed strategically and aesthetically is pleasing to the eye.

From there, a bio of the artist’s life as an inking engineer, what drives them, what got them started in the first place and so on, are all interesting to the person viewing the Timeline.

Pin a few specials as your status update to bring in business and then turn around and post your work, as it comes; clients and fans will love being included.

Tag fellow artists to branch out and network as much as possible.

Start a Startup

Trying to get capital to start a business is no easy feat. Timeline, however, can act as a friendly tool in accomplishing such a hefty task.

It has become clear by now, the Cover photo, with a minimum width of 399 pixels seems to be one of the best features to happen to Facebook to date. Used correctly, this tool can draw the eye of someone who may never normally have taken a second glance at your ideas. Not only does it take up up a substantial amount of space, essentially acting as a banner, but studies have actually shown that when we view something enticing, we are more inclined to listen to what it has to say…it’s science people!

Getting creative with Timeline means using it in such a way that maybe no one else yet has. Rather than actually making a “timeline” with your page, you can turn it into a presentation of sorts.

Take a business plan as an example. It can be broken down, simplified and condensed to the point that it can be placed on the Timeline, using images to spark the interests of potential investors or partners.

Crunch numbers boasting of past success and throw them under your Milestones and Experiences. This will give outsiders a clear and concise view of what you’re about, where you plan to be and why you think your proposition for a startup will be a success.

Whether starting a new business, reaching new levels of marketing for an old one, looking for work..anywhere, displaying your art or showing off your music talents, Facebook has given us a tool to do all of these things, and more. You just have to get creative. Whether you are an advocate for Timeline or still on the fence, one thing is clear–Timeline offers a multitude of tools to make yourself known.

5 Creative Ways to Use Facebook Timeline is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

In the same vein:

• Who Cares about Facebook Timeline Cover Photos? Not Brand Fans
• Facebook Timeline Becomes an Institution Today, But is it an Asset for Brands?
• The Evolution of Facebook Photo Sharing: from Fickle to Fancy HD
• Viddy Video Rocks Facebook and the iPhone with Linkin Park
• Two Sides of $100B Facebook Valuation, and Why California’s a Big Winner
• A Multilingual Facebook Demands New Tools for Content Marketing

—-

There’s no such thing as normal. We all have our biases and neurosis.

We obsess over ceremony, process, dogma and fear. Did he do the right thing on date number 3? Did she file form number 5? Did they come through the right door?

Our egos, pride and fear get in the way of real connections and meaningful leaps of faith. We classify ‘ideal’ as unattainable ‘fantasy’ instead of a worthy goal. We semi-commit, leverage, tell half truths, white lies or outright betrayals. What if your business model matched your vision? What if your words matched your thoughts. What if your thoughts matched your highest ideals – ideals based on love and openness.

We think we must choose between love, work or self. We are all selfish. But we don’t realize that love is broadening the definition of self to include another person. We don’t realize that success without love is like a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear – it happens but it doesn’t matter. No one gives a shit.

We think we must chose between one person or another. The truth is we are all nodes on a network. We need different types of signals from different kinds of people.

We try to ‘find ourselves’ not realizing that our everyday actions define us. Did you say that kind word to that stranger? Then you are kind. Were you loyal to a friend? Then you are loyal. Did you avoid that confrontation? Then you are someone who avoids confrontation. Did you tell your complete personal truth? Then you are honest.

We look for the next best thing instead of recognizing that truly getting on the same page with someone is the rarest and most astounding miracle of all. Achieving that kind of collaboration – even for a moment – should be cherished in the moment and for a lifetime. Sometimes it happens like a lightning strike. Most times it takes hard work, communication and trust.

There are so many stories of people breaking up because they were ‘too young’ and now, years later, they long for that lost connection. We’re different now. They have a girlfriend now. They are happy without me. Why did you give it up in the first place? Why not try again? Are grand gestures only for the movies?

There are so many stories of high-school sweethearts that wake up one day resenting each other. Do they resent each other, or do they resent missed opportunities. Being trapped. Missed freedoms. Did they communicate? Did they give each other freedom? Did they create opportunities for each other? Did they leave when the relationship finally no longer served their evolution?

Maybe most relationships are temporary – a day, a week, a year, a decade. We try to have ‘clean’ breakups. Contracts. Lawyers. Relationships are not clean. They are messy. Love is messy. Life is work. Work is life. A relationship is not defined by what you think it should be or what the contract says it will be – it’s defined by every day. Every hiccup. Every earnest effort to do the right thing for the other person.

Time is not running out. We overestimate what can be done in a day and underestimate what can be done in a decade. Breathe. Take your time. Pay attention. Keep perspective.

These things are only cliches because they are true.

[Cross-posted at Are You Paying Attention]

Ruminations re: Relationships is a post from: SiliconANGLE We're now available on the Kindle! Subscribe today.

In the same vein:

• Trapit Gets Yahoo Veteran as Chief Content Officer
• Compelling Behavior
• Massively Multiplayer Online Games as a Model for Business Collaboration
• Facebook Games Helped Create 182K New Jobs
• Summer 2011 Merger Overview
• Real Names Getting Real Attention