Pinterest Soon Out With Animated Pins!

Pinterest is intensifying its efforts at going after more advertisers as Adage reports that the company is refining its ad-targeting tools and audience targeting products. The company, according to the report will be offering advertisers more ways to promote their products and services.

According to Pinterest’s head of partner marketing who spoke Adage, the company is offering advertisers “a more precise” opportunity to reach their target audience beyond the 30 different categories for pins including food & drink, hair & sports. 

He said as an example that a marketer will now be able to target a specific sport like soccer, which is different from what was obtainable where interests was not specific, but broad. Hadley also said that advertisers would also be able to target users by audience citing “outdoor enthusiast” in particular.

In the next couple of months, Pinterest will start testing a new ad format, which Hadley calls animated pins. He however, didn’t give more insight into what when the service will be made available. 

Pinterest is likely to follow its usual style of testing its service with select advertisers before rolling it out; and animated pins may follow similar pattern. The company’s decision to roll out will eventually depend on the feedback it receives from its test.

While this is one move that is likely to generate more revenue for Pinterest, it remains to be seen if users will be thrilled with this latest move by the company. Whether they would love animated pins might not be the issue for users, but follow them as they scroll on the website is something to ponder about.

On Pinterest’s plans to add a “buy” button that would let users on the platform buy pinned items without having to leave the site or app, Hadley offered no comment.

Pinterest had caused a stir among marketers in February when it band third-party marketing links on its platform. This caused a bit of uproar among affiliate marketers who said the company took such step in order to make some more money. 

The company however, explained that its decision to ban third-party links was based on its plans to provide “best possible experience for pinners.”

“Recently, we observed affiliate links and redirects causing irrelevant Pins in feeds, broken links and other spammy behavior. We believe this change will enable us to keep the high bar of relevancy and quality Pinners expect from Pinterest.”


http://socialbarrel.com/pinterest-soon-out-with-animated-pins/97613/

Pinterest Bans Affiliate Marketing Links!

On February 12, 2015, Pinterest announced that it would “automatically remove all affiliate links, redirects and trackers on Pins.” This is important news because merchants with affiliate marketing programs could see a drop in revenue from that channel, depending on how many affiliates use Pinterest to drive traffic.

…merchants with affiliate marketing programs could see a drop in revenue from that channel, depending on how many affiliates use Pinterest to drive traffic.

Pinterest is a social media platform that enables users to curate collections of most any online content. For example, a fashion blogger can create a collection of links to her favorite denim jeans. These collections are known as “boards,” and each link is called a “pin.”

The fashion blogger has fans that she built up via her blog. Those fans could follow her to various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

And whenever those fans see a product recommendation from her, no matter what platform it’s on, they may be inclined to click through and complete a purchase. Pinterest is simply another way for bloggers to interact with their followers.

So how is this related to affiliate marketing? Say that the fashion blogger monetizes her content through affiliate marketing. She has a blog post on her site that features a review of various denim jeans, and that post contains affiliate links that her followers can click through to purchase the jeans. This is traditional affiliate marketing.

Pinterest vs. Affiliate Marketing

However, with the advent of social media, the blogger can now post those same affiliate links on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social sites. She is simply communicating her product recommendations across multiple channels in the hopes that her followers will click her affiliate link and complete a purchase, thus generating a commission to her.

But now, Pinterest is blocking all those affiliate links. The pins remain, but the links are blocked — the pin still appears on boards, and can be shared, but click-through functionality is removed. 

This is not a surprise to affiliate marketers, as Pinterest has blocked isolated affiliate links in the past. But this is the first time that the website has issued a comprehensive ban on all types of affiliate marketing.

Revenue for Pinterest

The ban comes at a time when four-year-old Pinterest is considering how to generate revenue from its 70 million users. In April 2014, Pinterest launched a test for “Promoted Pins” that enabled brand advertisers to pay for promotion on a cost-per-click basis. 

There is also industry speculation about Pinterest partnering with payments company Stripe to add its own “buy” button to user-generated content within the next three to four months. This move could place Pinterest in the role of the affiliate.

In fact, Pinterest experimented with the affiliate role in 2012, when it partnered up with Skimlinks (an affiliate marketing tool) to auto-convert pins into affiliate links. But the Pinterest abandoned that practice after it came under fire for not disclosing the practice to its users.

By banning affiliate links, Pinterest could be paving the way for another attempt at affiliate marketing, perhaps a transparent attempt at monetization.

Reliance on Pinterest? 

There are still methods for affiliates to benefit from Pinterest. For example, the fashion blogger who curated a board featuring her top denim picks could link each pin to her own blog post, which could link to the retailer’s e-commerce site for affiliate commissions. 

While this approach could work in the interim, affiliates should not depend on Pinterest for that traffic. If Pinterest implements a “buy” button, the blogger’s traffic from Pinterest would likely reduce.

If a retailer wants to benefit from a blogger’s Pinterest following, the retailer would likely need to work directly with the blogger, outside of an affiliate relationship. The retailer could compensate the blogger for curating a board, paying her a fixed amount instead of a commission.

In short, if a retailer’s affiliates use Pinterest as part of their marketing mix, that retailer will likely see a decline in affiliate revenue based on these changes. However, affiliates that depend mainly on Pinterest for their revenue may not be adding any value to your affiliate program anyway. 

These affiliate are building their success off a single site, instead of creating unique value — the heart of true affiliate marketing.

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/81802-Pinterest-Bans-Affiliate-Marketing-Links 

Pinterest Kills Affiliate Links As It Readies A Buy Button!

Social networking site Pinterest is banning the use of affiliate links and redirects according to VentureBeat, which broke the story on Thursday. 

The news came as rumors surfaced that Pinterest was planning to launch a buy button later this year, possibly in partnership with payment service Stripe. But the company denied it was blocking affiliates due to monetization purposes.

"This is 100% about the Pinner experience and ensuring relevant content on Pinterest," a spokesperson told Mediapost, which pointed out that Pinterest was, nevertheless, "aggressively pursuing various monetization opportunities."

In 2013, for example, Pinterest launched an ad format called Promoted pins.

Pinterest issued a statement to reporters saying it had observed affiliate links and redirects causing irrelevant posts (Pins) to show in feeds as well as broken links "and other spammy behavior." 

The company said, "We believe this change will enable us to keep the high bar of relevancy and quality Pinners expect from Pinterest."

The Wall Street Journal said Pinterest claimed it had been automatically removing affiliate links for years but had allowed some exceptions that were "maintaining good quality."

"RewardStyle, an affiliate network that caters to the fashion industry and works with 9,000 bloggers, websites and other publishers, was among those that had been allowed to link, until yesterday," the Wall Street Journal wrote on Friday. 

It quoted a Pinterest spokesperson who said, "We have noticed their Pinner behavior going downhill. This has caused slower delivery of Pins and less relevant Pins in people's home feeds."

VentureBeat said Hello Society, a company billing itself as a "Pinterest marketing agency," was also affected by the new policy.

Online sellers are using Pinterest, but as a marketing tool rather than an ecommerce platform, according to Ecommerce Bytes readers participating in the annual Sellers Choice Awards in January.


http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m02/i16/s03

How To Write Better Affiliate Marketing Content!

Maybe you are just dipping your toe in, or maybe you’re in the deep end. Either way, you’ve found yourself in the affiliate marketing pool. Now you want to take it to the next level. Your content is good, but you know it can be great. Where do you start?

A few months ago, we shared a great affiliate marketing infographic. It showed how important it is to have fun, relevant content for your audience. But what does that content look like?

Well, for starters, it:

1. Speaks From Personal Experience
If a friend recommended a snack bar to you, but hadn’t actually tried it, would you want to to buy it? Probably not.

The same goes for your readers. Any products or services you mention, you should have experience with. Your readers will have questions, and they’ll want you to answer them. Those answers should come from personal experience whenever possible.

Personal stories keep people interested. They want to know about the time you got lost on your way to the mall and this app saved your life, or the new restaurant you tried. Stories are fun to listen to. Getting personal will improve the content that needs to convert.

2. Keeps The Reader In Mind
The first rule of marketing is, “if your audience doesn’t want, they’ll never buy it.” Amy Lynn Andrews talks a lot about this in her post on affiliate marketing tips. Think of what they will buy, when, and how much they might spend.

Finding the right products and services for your readers is important. It’s also important to highlight why they’re are a good fit for your readers.

Do busy moms read your blog? Then how can this new mixer help them? Why is it worth the investment? Put yourself in your audience’s shoes. This will help make your content more persuasive.

Keep this in mind when you’re building your audience, as well. Before you have an established audience, you need to do the reverse. Find readers for the products and services you’re promoting.

3. Connects Content And Promotion
No one gets on Twitter for the promoted tweets, or goes to a webpage for the banner ads. People want to hear what you actually have to say. Your entertaining content might include a brand mention. Your readers will read that too.

Readers don’t want a long string of funny tweets from you, and then an awkward sales pitch. Try a funny story involving brand X, Y, or Z instead. People don’t mind promotion when it’s entertaining.

4. Is Honest About Flaws
Readers expect you to be honest, which means including negative feedback now and then. When every product is your “new favorite,” it starts to sound fake. Mentioning anything that you didn’t like helps balance out your reviews.

Holding off on five-star ratings also gives them more punch when something truly great comes along. Just like in school, when that one teacher would never give anything a 100. You knew any project he or she gave an A was top notch. You want to be like that teacher, so people know you only recommend the best.

5. Has Variety
Even if your blog or Twitter account is great, variety is the spice of life. Try new methods of promotion to reach new people. Maybe an email newsletter, a Pinterest account, or pay per click advertising. Think of new ways for people to find you. Have a friend with a similar blog? Maybe ask if they would let you write a guest post. Look at that, there’s a whole new audience for you.

If something you try doesn’t work, feel free to stop using it. But continue to try new things. You never know what might be your next big break.

What truly sets the best affiliate marketers apart is their content. Personal, relevant, and honest content will win out.

http://www.business2community.com/affiliate-marketing/write-better-affiliate-marketing-content-01132488