Pinterest Gets Mobile, Yelp Gets Social, Instagram Gets Even Cooler … And Other Hot Topics

Don’t you love it when companies listen to the requests of their customers? I do! And that’s exactly what happened this week with three social companies.

Pinterest users wanted a better mobile experience: they got it.

Yelp users wanted a better way to connect with friends: they got it.

Instagram users wanted to better tell the story behind their photos: they got it.

Plus, a boat load of people are searching on Google … and there’s a good chance they’re doing it on a smartphone.

Read about these stories and more in this week’s news roundup.

1. Pinterest releases new iPad, iPhone, and Android Apps

Pinterest users, it’s time to step away from your desk and begin to start exploring the world… and pinning at the same time. With a brand new app for Android, and a redesigned app for the iPad and iPhone, more and more Pinners  will now be able to discover, save, and organize the their boards that interest them, on-the-go.

Bottom Line: Pinterest said it best, in a blog post announcing the apps on Tuesday:

“It may sound funny, but our goal has never been to keep you online. Instead, we want to inspire you to go offline and do things that you love. Today, we’re making it easier to take your inspirations with you…”

Want to start sharing your own inspiration on Pinterest? Here are 10 things you'll need to do to get started.

2. Yelp gets social

A new redesign from Yelp is putting a greater emphasis on you and your friends. Announced on their blog on Tuesday, the changes will put more of a focus on promoting the social aspect of the popular review site – letting users see photos and tips left by their friends on Yelp, events they are going to, and places they’ve checked-in.

Bottom Line: With 78 million unique visitors in the second quarter of 2012 and over 30 million local reviews since the site was first launched, there is plenty of potential for Yelp to become a much more social network. Yelp’s success has always been tied to the fact that it provides users with access to real reviews from real people. With  a more social approach, the company’s future could be tied to connecting people with reviews from the people they trust most: their friends.

3. Instagram adds geo-based browsing with Photo Map

Instagram introduced a feature this week that will let users browse photos based on location. The new geo-based photo browser displays a map to show the location of photos when they are tagged by you or your friends.

To access the new feature, users will have to update their Instagram app and then click the new “Photo Map” button under their profile. Users will also see a new option to “Add to your Photo Map” when sharing photos on Instagram.

Bottom Line: Photo Map is all about giving users the opportunity to better tell the stories behind the photos they share on Instagram. But Photo Map also presents a unique opportunity for small businesses, as they, too, can be part of that story.

If you’re using Instagram to take photos for your business, make sure to put them on your Photo Map by adding your business name and tagging your location.

4. 95 percent of consumers use Google search, YouTube to find content online

In what should come as a surprise to no one, a report from AYTM Market Research found this week that 95 percent of consumers rely on Google when searching for content online. What may come as a surprise, however, is that of those people who rely on Google to access information every day (40 percent), 46.8 percent access YouTube for information just as frequently.

Bottom Line: It’s never been more important to have a strategy for getting the content you share online noticed by potential clients or customers. A key to that strategy, at least when it comes to getting discovered on Google, is creating content with a focus on SEO.

If you’re looking to develop a strategy for getting discovered on YouTube, there are plenty of ways you can make online videos without spending a dime.

5. Half of all Americans now have smartphones

A new report this week found that for the first time ever, more Americans own more smartphones than home phones or feature phones (regular mobile phones). According to the report, 50 percent of all Americans now own smartphones – a number that is expected to continue to rise, as smartphone sales made up 70% of all US phone sales in the second quarter of 2012.

Bottom Line: Smartphones are changing the way consumers engage with your content and therefore, must change the way you deliver it. Your website, emails, social media updates, videos, and blog posts aren’t only being seen on home or office computers, they’re being seen by customers who are on-the-go. If you haven’t taken some time to reevaluate the ways you deliver content to your customers, now is a good time to think about how mobile marketing can help your business.

Author: Ryan Pinkham