Now that Pinterest is open to everyone we can expect many new users to jump on board this increasingly popular social network. And if you have a business then you should be on there too.
Hubspot offers some suggestions for how businesses can reach out to customers through Pinterest boards and images.
Write a short description
Write a description for your profile in as few words as possible; something short and sweet that gets your brand message across.
Create boards with images that relate to your brand
Think of creative ways to visually represent your business or product and post related images on your boards. And since Pinterest allows you to create as many boards as you want so there is no reason to limit yourself.
Lindt Chocolate has 15 boards in which they post all kinds of pictures related to chocolate, from recipes to images with quotes about chocolate. Etsy has 30 boards with 1592 pins
Divide your boards into the same categories that you have on your website
If you take a look at Mashable’s Pinterest boards you’ll see that they are organized into similar categories as are on their website. In this way Mashable is able to share with Pinterest users the same information that they share with visitors to their site, but through images instead of article.
Send users back to your website
Try to find ways to send Pinterest users back to your website through your pins.
One way to do this is by making sure that each of your images includes a link back to your website. You can also include a link to your site in the image’s description.
Other, more creative methods, can include contests or giveaways that require participants to visit your website as part of the entry or activity.
Pin frequently
According to RJ Metrics, over 80% of pins are re-pins which means that it’s important to keep pinning new content.
Identify your audience and design your boards with them in mind
Pinterest’s main users are women aged 25 to 35/45 years with a college education. If this is already your target audience then that’s great and you probably already know that kind of content that interest them. Some of the most popular pinners are ones that primarily pin wedding-themed images. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t reach other audiences as well, you just need to figure out what they want to see and create boards that will attract them.
For example, AARP, an organization for people age 50+ pins interesting images that will attract people outside of their target audience, such as their children and grandchildren. And these users may help bring it the target audience.
Pay attention to what’s popular
You can tell what kind of images are popular on Pinterest because they are the ones that are most frequently repinned.
Sites like Repinly can help you identify the most popular pins and figure out what kind of images you should be pinning.
Drake University recognizes that pictures of cute animals are popular on Pinterest so they have a board just for pictures of cute bulldogs, which relates to their school’s mascot, the bulldog.
Other categories that are popular on Pinterest are food, motivational quotes, home decor and do-it-yourself crafts.
Post interesting content
Even if your business doesn’t translate so well into attractive images try to find something interesting about your business or product that you can share in a picture. For example, General Electric’s boards feature picture of some of the cool technology that they have produced.
Be Creative
After looking through the different boards that are out there try to think of a way that you can make yours stand out. Modcloth does this by focusing on black and white images for their boards, highlighting their vintage clothing.
Engage your customers
Post pictures featuring your customers with your products. Or you can create boards that allow your customers can post to themselves.
Pinterest is a fun and exciting new social platform that offers an array of ways to attract new customers and interact with your current fans. With these tips you’ll attract visitors to your Pinterest boards and drive traffic to your website.
