Pinterest, the social pinboard site, has grown astronomically in the last two years, hitting 48.7 million users in February. Like Twitter and Facebook, the two powerhouses in social media, businesses have realised that Pinterest has great potential as a marketing and networking platform. The powers that be at Pinterest have also realised the potential of their site, creating business pages and releasing in-depth analytic tools for companies to measure the impact and success of their pins. One of the best things about Pinterest is that users can pick and choose what sort of content they see by following pinboards rather than pinners. You need to make sure that your business’ pins are interesting and, just as importantly, that your pinboards are well named, well maintained and relevant to your business.
1. The Basics
Even before you start looking for images, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Firstly, the names of your pinboards are extremely important. To differentiate your pinboards from the crowd, use original names. There are so many boards entitled ‘For The Home’, which is one of the default names on Pinterest. Make sure that your titles contain industry keywords, of course, so that they can be found by relevant searches, but be creative with the rest of your title. Be concise as well: convey as much about the pins on each pinboard as you can with only a few words.
When you start searching for and uploading images, make sure that they are of a good quality and that they are suitable for Pinterest. Pinterest images can only be 554 pixels wide, so panorama-like images are not particularly suitable. The best images are long and thin, requiring the user to scroll down to see their entirety. If a whole image gets cut to fit in the usual Pinterest column view, make sure that enough is on show to persuade users to click and enlarge it. My final piece of advice in this section is that you should make sure that the file name of your image reflects the subject shown.
2. Stay Relevant
Ensuring that the majority of your pins are relevant to your industry is of vital importance. There is no point in creating boards that have nothing to do with the products or services you offer because, even if they become very popular, you will be promoting completely the wrong image for your company. If you are new to pinterest, why don’t you search for industry keywords to get some inspiration. Have a look at your competitors and compatriots boards, see what they pin. If you already have some boards set up, you could repin images you come across while searching.
Don’t get too caught up in looking for inspiration, however. There are an awful lot of pins on Pinterest and an awful lot of pinboards as well, so it is of vital importance that you identify your company’s niche: what makes you different to all your competitors and how you can illustrate this niche in your pins. It could be your commitment to staying green, or the family atmosphere you have within the business. Once you’ve worked out what makes you stand out, try to work this into your pinning strategy. Finding something that differentiates you from the millions of other pinners on the site will help you stand out from the crowd.
Separate your ideas into categories which will later become pinboards. If you sell tangible objects, you could just have a pinboard entitled “Our Products”, containing photographs of each product you sell. This, however, is a bit boring, especially if your products aren’t very photogenic. Try to be creative in the way you display your products. Many home retailers, for example, create virtual show homes containing their products arranged in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. If you sell products that aren’t photogenic, why not show them in action. If you own a B2B company selling industrial printers, for instance, create pinboards of images showing what your printers can print.
If you are particularly proud of your advertising, show it off. Create a pinboard showing all the advertising banners and copy that you have displayed. You could even create image-focused advertising campaigns specifically for Pinterest. Make sure you don’t go overboard with advertising, however, only pin the best designed adverts that you have created – after all, Pinterest is a social media site first and foremost.
As I said earlier, if your business has a family atmosphere, celebrate it. Post images of your staff members enjoying themselves in the office. You could even post pictures of the office you work in. If you attend any conferences or hold any events, take pictures and create a board. By posting pictures of your employees hard at work, you are humanising your company and making it more approachable. On the SMF Pinterest profile, there is a whole pinboard devoted to the most recent business show we attended. You could also celebrate milestones achieved by your company, such as a move to a new office or a successful business venture.
3. Have Fun
Not all of your pinboards have to be solely about your business, or even your industry. Create some pinboards about the things that interest you and might interest potential customers. Arguably the three biggest categories on Pinterest are Fashion, Food & Drink and Humour. We at SMF have created pinboards which celebrate elements of the industry we work in as well as one of the big categories: ‘Geek Treats’ contains images combining the world of baking which that of geek culture; ‘Web Humour’ contains funny images from around the web, many of which are about the web; on ‘Digital Meets Fashion’, we have pinned some images of cool technology-themed clothing items.
Combining your industry with a sense of fun isn’t difficult, especially when one of the greatest tools in your arsenal is the infographic. Infographics have shot to popularity in the last few years, exploring subjects as diverse as the Syrian crisis and Dr Who villains. Infographics display data and information in a visual, easily-digested, attractive way. Think of what infographics you could create with information relevant to your business. If your images are fun and interesting, they are more likely to be repinned, hence widening their potential audience and getting your company noticed. Don’t be afraid to repin things on your ‘fun’ boards, however, as the better the pins on the board, the more likely people are to follow it.
4. Group Boards
Creating group boards is a great way of networking and building up a following on Pinterest. To create a group board, all you need to do is invite other pinners when you are given the option. You can also make existing boards into group boards using the same process.
Be discerning with your invitations. Invite clients, affiliates and employees to pin on boards that are relevant to them. Don’t just invite everyone, as not everyone will want to be involved. Likewise, don’t just accept any invitation to a group board, only contribute to those that could benefit you.
Group boards are labelled with a little group emblem – the silhouette of three heads – beside the number of pins they contain. There are numerous benefits to creating group boards: the ‘Follow All’ button on group boards encourages users to follow all the pinners on said board, which could help build your following; the increase in traffic could lead to more repins and hence a wider audience for your pins; inviting certain users to pin on your boards could make them into brand advocates; there will be less work for you as everyone else will be pinning content on your boards.
Of course, don’t forget to moderate and monitor boards that you are involved with, so that you can leave them or delete them if they get off-topic.
5. It’s Not Just About The Images
The writing you surround your images with is just as important as the image itself. You are allowed 500 characters to describe you image which, if anything, is too much. In this description you should put a link to the page where it originated. For example, if you post a picture of one of your products, include a link to a page from which it can be purchased.
Include keywords and hashtags in your description so that your images can be easily found. It is also a good tactic to include relevant hashtags which are popular or trending at the time, as it could get your pin a wider audience. In the case of your pinboards, a well titled pinboard, with an original but relevant name, could get to the top of a search.
The rest of the description needs to be relevant to the image and relatable for the audience. There is no point in writing complex technical descriptions if your target audience won’t understand it. Write something understandable, informative and compelling that potential customers will understand and enjoy.
How do you manage your Pinterest account?
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