Tumbling down the PinHole
I have had limited personal experience with Pinterest; perhaps because its main user base is female, maybe because I don’t actually purchase much online, most likely because in the evenings, the channel’s prime engagement time, I avoid screen time as much as possible. Either way, it’s not my bag, and as a business owner hitting two out of three of the above reasons, it’s probably not been your bag.
However, as I say time and time again to new social media clients:
“Just because a social channel is not your thing does not mean it is not right for your business.”
Pinterest is our number one recommendation to businesses looking to increase revenue. It will do this by shifting more of your products and/or making your brand more renowned. Consider this:
– Pinterest refers more traffic than LinkedIn, Google+, and YouTube combined
– The average annual household income of a Pinterest user is $100k (£65k)
– Pinterest retains its users: more than 84% of women still pin in their fourth year of membership
(Click here to see more facts in this infographic)
What do all the Pinterest stats mean?
It means that if your business has no presence on Pinterest, you are missing out on one of the most influential traffic referrers on the web. Bottom line? You’re throwing money away every week you’re not pinning.
5 Tips to Get Going on Pinterest
Start on a personal level
Head over to the channel and sign-up with a personal account. Spend a morning or evening (yes, that long) tumbling down the “pin hole” and see where you end up. Don’t worry about setting up a board of your own just yet: instead, get a feel for what people are pinning, read their descriptions, and begin to see a pattern in pinboard subjects. Pinterest will guide you through any features, both on the site and by email, so don’t concern yourself with the “how”.
Revisit your company website
You’re looking for striking, original images that define your brand. If you sell products, make sure you have high quality photos of them uploaded; if you sell services, ask yourself whether the imagery is powerful and clean enough to share; maybe you’re not selling directly, so look for graphics that are interesting and might drive traffic by tempting clicks.
Either on a piece of paper or in your mind, start grouping the images into categories or brands: Nike, shoes, colours, stats, accomplishments, landscapes, etc.. Make them as tangible as you feel meets your business’ tone of voice and personality.
Open your business profile
Head back to Pinterest and register as your business. Remember to pick a really secure password (try a random generator) – I don’t need to tell you how much damage could be done if you don’t.
You might like to save time by installing the recommended browser plug-in: it means you can just click rather than the ol’ cut and paste.
Next, go back to your website and start pinning the images to your pre-planned boards. This will take some time, but stick with it; once you have done all this back-work you’ll find it a lot easier. You really must write a few interesting lines in your description, and do use hashtags to help people find all your hard work!
Add some personality
I understand not every company can do this, but I really recommend you try to in some manner. Social users are just like you, even if you don’t use social channels, and you don’t like “corporate” being planted in front of you everywhere: have some soul to your profile! I suggest giving your staff (under guidance if necessary) access to their own pinboards on your channel. Ask them to share and pin their favourite things, from design inspirations to hobbies, favourite films to book reviews – more is more, and some humanity really piles on the clicks!
Make use of secret boards
Not all your pinboards have to be public. You’ll notice a section on your account page, near the bottom, that says “Secret Boards”. These are pin collections you can share with a select person or people and are a fantastic way of working with clients. We’ve used them to create mood boards or creative collections, sharing ideas from across the web in frenetic design conversations – yes, even whilst on a conference call. Try it out.
It can even serve as a reference point for working out of office, or an important limitations of agreement decision.
So, there you have it: my five starter points for Pinterest. I know I haven’t mentioned Rich Pins, but get in touch with me if you would like to find out some more. Good luck, and happy pinning!
References
http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/study/2344068/4-statistics-about-pinterest-users-you-need-to-know-study
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/234257618087475827/
https://econsultancy.com/blog/64821-84-of-female-pinterest-users-are-still-active-in-their-fourth-year-stats/
