How to Use Pinterest for Business

When it comes to social media, Pinterest is often seen as the odd one out; it may have been founded in the same year as Instagram, but it wouldn’t be fair to say it shares quite the same reputation. That being said, it certainly has a LOT of potential. In fact, it was actually the fastest growing social network in 2014, with Tumblr claiming the silver medal. For the right industry, making the most of Pinterest can do wonders for your brand and engagement. Read on to find out how to use Pinterest for business.

 

Step 1: Is Pinterest the right choice for your industry?

From fashion to films, sports to science, no matter how niche your market is, chances are, there’s a place for you on Pinterest. No, we can’t guarantee you’ll see instant success – there are simply too many variables involved to make such promises! Undoubtedly, though, it’s a social media platform that is best-suited to those with a more visual offering. An example would be something in the food industry or perhaps interior design, as the nature of both is highly visual.

Having reached over 200 million active monthly users (that’s an increase of 50 million from last year) and expanded its ad offerings, Pinterest could be a really good tool to utilise for your business. It’s also worth noting that unlike platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Pinterest provides a much longer-term stream of referral traffic. Essentially, this means that your contributors/followers on Pinterest are much more valuable than those on other platforms; as your engagement goes up, people will continue pinning, sharing and interacting with your content for longer.

 

Step 2: Create a Business Account

If you want access to your Pinterest account’s analytics data (heads up: you do!) then you need to make sure you are set up as a business account. If you’re already up and pinning on a personal one, this can easily be changed in your settings.

 

Step 3: Post High-Quality Images

The key to getting people to interact and pin your photos, ideas and products is having worth images. There’s little to no point investing your time on Pinterest if your images aren’t up to scratch. Being such a visual platform, it is essential you are using professional, clear and relevant images on your Pinterest profile. Text overlays and informative captions with links to your website can help get potential customers and fellow pinners clued-up from the outset.

If you don’t have a wealth of product images to hand or your industry isn’t naturally visual, you can use websites such as Canva to create images including quotes and other graphics.

 

Step 4: Make Sure You’re Pinnable

There are a multitude of reasons to fill your website content with imagery; encouraging customers/users to pin is just one of them. Make sure you have plenty of images and visual content on your website. Installing a Pinterest Plugin is a great way of actively persuading people to engage with and pin from your page.

 

Step 5: Get Personal

Like most social media platforms, Pinterest provides a good opportunity to show a more personal side to your business/company. And let’s face it: we can all be a bit nosy and curious from time to time! So, try using this platform to showcase your interests. Cultivate Pinterest boards that not only represent your business and products, but demonstrate a little bit more about who you are.

 

Step 6: Stay On Top of the Updates

With the platform continuing to grow, Pinterest is going through some significant changes. Earlier this year saw the introduction of their own version of QR codes as a way of encouraging people to explore and save content. This strategy, though not without some flaws, seems to be offering companies a way of getting products in front of an audience in a way other social media giants may not be able to.

Most recently, the platform has implemented a chat extension, which allows for the seamless sharing of content and ideas over messenger. Staying on top of and capitalising on these updates can be of great benefit to your Pinterest profile and business.

Source: VentureBeat

 

Hopefully, you’re one step closer to knowing how to use Pinterest for business. Now it’s time to get out there and pin to your heart’s content! If you want any tips or advice on navigating the world of social media, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!

 

FSM.