Cathy Earle

I often questioned myself years ago when I used the phrase “social media integration” it almost felt as if I’d coined it myself, as it really wasn’t the common web design catch phrase it is today.

I can now safely say not only has it earned its position as one of the Internet’s most overused terms, but it’s also one of the most commonly misused catchphrases now being thrown about in the world of web design.

Some clients get really excited about integration when questioned if they’d like it added to their new website design. “Oh yes,” they say, “I definitely want social media integration.” But do they even know what it means? From the way I’ve seen it used, the answer would be a resounding . . . no.

Let’s start with what it’s not. If you have some social media icons on your website, sorry folks this is not “integration”. Worse yet, if clicking those icons just sends you to Facebook.com or Twiter.com . . . that too is not “integration”, and it’s just wrong, so please stop doing this!

On a really basic level, you could possibly get away with saying you have social media integration. For example, when clicking the Facebook icon on your website directs you to facebook.com/yourpage name — it’s really not what integration is all about, that’s just a link from your site to your social media channels.

So what is social media integration, and what’s the benefit of incorporating it into your website?

One of the biggest benefits of having your website connected to your social media accounts is that it can help with your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

The process of integration, means you’re distributing content directly from your website to your social media channels, and in turn driving traffic from your social media channels back to your website.

When you add a blog post to your website, the integration happens much the same way, except it’s an automated process. By simply posting a news story or blog on your website, that content can then be pushed to your social media channels and distributed to your email subscribers. Once the blog post reaches its final destinations, the automatically generated links are then directed back to your website.

And there you have it — Social Media Integration 101!

Let’s discuss what Pinterest Rich Pins are and why you should be using them.

Pinterest is a social network that allows users to share, and discover interests by posting or “pinning” images to their own or another user’s board. These images are clickable objects that link back to a webpage containing the Pinterest image.

Pinterest users can create boards to plan upcoming trips and pin things they’d like to do on their trip such as sights they’d like to see, places to eat or activities they’d like to do. Or a board may be created for an upcoming party, pinning concepts for table decorations, venues, activities or catering ideas.

Pinterest is all about the visuals and the content linked to those visuals and that’s why brands that have visual products or online stores should be taking advantage of this platform.

If your market is mainly female, Pinterest should be on your radar, as 80 per cent of Pinterest users are women between the ages of 25 and 44. And, if your products or services are something that can be visually represented, such as a clothing, or food, then Pinterest would also be a perfect fit for your brand.

If you’ve now determined Pinterest is the right platform for your company it’s time to dig deeper, and that’s where Rich Pins come in.

Rich Pins, are pins that include more information than a regular pin. There are six different types of Pinterest Rich Pins.

• App Pins: allow Pinners to install your app without leaving Pinterest.
• Place Pins: display information about a location: map, address and phone number.
• Article Pins: include a heading, author and story description, which help pinners find and save stories that are relevant to their boards.
• Product Pins: are useful to businesses that are running eCommerce sites, they make it easy for users to buy products. They include price, availability and direct links to purchase a product.
• Recipe Pins: include ingredients and cooking times.
• Movie Pins: include ratings, cast members and reviews.

The information displayed on Rich Pins is obtained by pulling data directly from the linked pins website. Therefore, when a change is made on the linked website such as a price change, that new price is automatically reflected on the Rich Pin.

Rich Pins can also help to increase online sales or increase site traffic, in turn exposing your products to new consumers who may also share the pinned product on another social network.

In order to display Pinterest Rich Pins, meta data needs to be added to the backend of your website. Once the correct data has been added, your site then needs to be validated by Pinterest. Validation usually takes a day to complete.

Happy pinning.