Pinterest is currently the fourth largest driver of traffic on the web, according to Pinterest master and successful entrepreneur Melanie Duncan. Chances are you’ve pinned a few images by now, but are you using Pinterest in an optimal way for your business? Using Pinterest to create inspiration boards for your next vacation or to collect images of all the shoes you wish you had in your closet is one thing, but using it for business is quite another and the two should be kept separate unless of course you own a shoe boutique.
Customers are shopping on Pinterest, they’re interacting with brands, and looking for inspiration on what to buy next and where to select services. As a business you should be creating the right type of content to build your brand, increase your visibility, and actively engage your audience so that you ultimately get more sales.
First, let’s lay the foundation for best business practices on Pinterest:
1. Be Pinnable
The first step you should take is to make sure the content on your website and blog can be easily pinned to Pinterest. There are many pin-it button plugins you can find for your site, either that place a pin-it button over each image, or at the bottom of each post. This ensures it is easy for viewers to pin images and content from your website in a simple click.
2. Get A Pinterest Business Account
By creating an official business account you can take advantage of the features Pinterest is constantly rolling out new features for businesses, such as analytics for your Pinterest page. If you started a personal Pinterest account for your business you can convert into a business page.
3. Serve Your Audience
Connect and share with them. Promote pinning by creating content that is useful to them and that they will naturally want to re-pin. 80% of pins are re-pins! This is fantastic because people are sharing naturally, and doing much of the time-consuming work for you. What kind of pins can you, as a bank, create for your audience? How about home remodeling trends, space-saving design, infographics about home refinancing, car loans, or saving for college? See five powerful pin ideas in Part 2.
4. Promote Content Circulation
You can do this by creating your own original content. If you are simply using Pinterest to re-pin other pins you are just leading more traffic to the sites that those pins came from, not yours. Create original content with CTA’s that link pins to your opt-in email list, for example.
5. Integrate Your Social Media Efforts
Place a Pinterest tab on your Facebook page, for example, so that you can leverage your audience in multiple places.
Go to Part 2 >>
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Article written by Naomi Farr for The Element Group.
