Pinterest is a popular photo and content sharing site in which users “pin” images, videos and other media from all place on the internet to their personal boards. These pins can then be shared among other users, liked, and commented upon. Boards can range in topics from home and food to fashion and weddings to cars and science. But with most people using Pinterest as a personal outlet, how can it be changed to a business platform?
Pinterest can easily be used by businesses to promote products and engage with customers. It was found that buyers spend more money, more often, and on more items from Pinterest than any of the other top 5 social media sites. In order to get the best response and following for your business, check out these guidelines for starting and growing your Pinterest profile.
Your Pins:
Don’t pin all your products: On your boards, you should stay away from pinning too much. Followers of your brand want to see the personality and ideology behind your business not another storefront of your products. To avoid this, only choose a few of your favorite or best selling products to pin. It will bring in customers who want to see more of your products to view your actual site and not just skim through your pins. Another good idea is to use “teaser” pictures. Pin images and links to events and products that could directly relate to your product without being the exact item.
Information update: Pinterest recently did an update that now provides additional information on pins that are products, movies, or recipes. For products, it gives pricing, availability, and location for purchase by staying connected to the original website it was pinned from. This is a great feature for companies with unique products and direct links to pins. One factor to remember is to keep your company website up to date in order for Pinterest to keep their information current as well.
Vary your images: A great way to add interest to your boards is to pin images of things other than your products. Including a photo of your staff or workplace can show that your business prides itself on the work its employees are doing. Another idea is to pin videos of your products being used. It is a great way to allow your followers to see how the product is used in an easy way without being pressured to immediately buy it.
Pin often: Like any social media network, you have to be consistent in your efforts or else you don’t get noticed by potential customers. To keep your business in the forefront of your followers’ minds, pin as often as you can. The more pins you have, the more others can like, comment, and repin.
Think of the layout: It has been proven on Pinterest that images with vertical layouts attract more views. A way to go about this is to combine multiple photos into one grouped photo. A combined photo can be used as a how-to of a product or a collection of items with a certain genre.
Your Boards:
Don’t make only one board: Some businesses begin a profile with one board and one board only. Again, in order to help your business gain a following you have to give your company a personality. Pin different categories to allow your company to seem well rounded in its image. Users want to see a brand not just its products. One idea is to create boards on some of your own interests and also think of categories that can be indirectly related to your product or service. For example, a gym might have boards on healthy habits that include small exercises, healthy food recipes, and workout wear. Think of your company as its own person. What type of things would it be interested in?
Create boards for specific projects: A great part of Pinterest is that you can separate your ideas into endless categories and boards. For business, it is an easy way to organize your ideas and inspiration into particular projects and clients. It makes gathering your information easy and clean. Plus if your client is already on Pinterest, they can see for themselves what you are doing and if they approve.
Use secret boards: Pinterest has a unique feature that allows you to show certain boards to a certain group of people. This can also be handy for clients who want their project a little more private. It can be useful to coordinate with employees and other staff on ideas and company projects as well. An idea for a business directly based on products, you could have a secret board for VIP customers to show new products or special styling tips.
Your Followers:
Add buttons on home website: Get customers you already have to join your Pinterest followers by adding a direct link button to your site. It can also allow users to take images from your site to pin on their own boards. This makes it even easier for your company and its information to spread.
Get customer interaction: Create a direct connection with your following by repining, liking, following and commenting on their pins as well. It can help to gain a personal connect and can open the doorway for direct customer feedback. Taking it the step further, you can also allow followers to post directly to your boards. Another pin idea is to feature one of your followers that helps spread your brand by commenting, repining, or liking many of your posts. It’s a nice way to show that you are paying attention to what others are doing for your business and encourages others to increase their involvement.
Create a contest: Spread your company brand by creating a contest that consists of followers repining a specific picture to enter. This helps to get your business known by those outside of your following and encourage interaction by all.
Pinterest is a great asset for the visual-oriented business and can help to expand your company’s client base and customer interaction. Hopefully these tips can help you to start and succeed with your business’ new venture into social media.