Pinterest is a fairly new social networking tool that is attracting people of all types. At its core, Pinterest allows a person to organize clippings from the web, upload their own pictures or re-pin things that they find interesting. Each person has an unlimited number of boards that organize their pins, these boards are then categorized into one of the main Pinterest categories that allow other users to browse through recent pins and follow the pins or boards of people they know of simply have similar interests with. Pinterest can help a company build its brand through creating interest and enthusiasm about the company.
Integrate Pinterest Into Your Website
Pinterest allows users to install a “Pin It” button directly on their website with just a small snippet of HTML code. This will allow browsers to pin images, videos and products from the website to their Pinterest boards with a single click. This can create a significant amount of web traffic simply from people clicking through to find out more about the pin. Companies should also encourage their current customers to pin things from their site and share the images with other Pinterest users.
Sell a Lifestyle, Not Products
The average Pinterest user does not browse boards and pins looking for things to buy. Additionally, Pinterest does not encourage people posting items for sale and treating Pinterest like a classified ad. However, there are many ways to showcase a product or a brand without running a for-sale ad. For instance, a company can pin images that are related to the products they have for sale or pin tutorials or recipes that will use their products. A great example of this is a quilting and fabric company posting beautiful images to free sewing patterns. This is not an item they are trying to sell, but it certainly generates interest in their product.
Inspire Your Customers
Most people who use Pinterest on a regular basis view it as an unending source of inspiration. By providing interesting and exciting boards for users to follow, a company can build their brand and reach new customers. A good example of this would be a hair salon pinning interesting hair styles or outfits to a fashion-centered board. A well curated board will attract a lot of attention and help show people what the business is all about, in this case, a high-end, stylish salon.
Run a Contest
Though Pinterest discourages rampant self-promotion, there are ways to ask users to promote a brand on a company’s behalf. A great way to do this is through a contest. This can be as simple as asking consumers to pin images from the company’s website, blog or catalog and include comments about the items. This will quickly insert hundreds of images into the Pinterest stream on a constant basis for a very small prize investment.
Participate
Like every other social community on the web, Pinterest is only as strong and as interesting as its users. Therefore it is important that a company fully participates in pinning, commenting, and following other boards. Users will quickly be able to tell which companies are trying to cash in on Pinterest and which are using Pinterest as a way to grow their brand while supporting a community. For small businesses, this may mean the owners should spend a little bit of time on Pinterest every day. For a large corporation, there may almost be a full-time job for someone to curate boards and leave comments on behalf of the company.
This guest post was written by Harrison L., whose favorite hobby is growing his own bonsai trees and sharing his interests on Pinterest. Recently he has written an informative article on his blog about indoor bonsai tree care and the tools and materials required to take care of your own bonsai tree at home.
