Pinterest is all the rage these days. No doubt you've seen articles, blog posts, and status updates on Facebook. You may be seeing "Pin It" buttons on blogs as well. And for good reason. Pinterest as grown nearly as fast as the speed of light in the last few months. [Not sure what Pinterest is? Click here for info.]
Naturally my interest is in how to use it for business without being spamy. I joined Pinterest a few weeks ago and set up boards for Business Blogging Tips and Online Visibility Tips, in addition to personal boards for travel, running and books. My intention is to share not only my own posts on blogging and visibility but great content by others as well so there is a well rounded selection for visitors to choose from.
Quickly I observed dozens of "likes" and "repins" of my posts. And, new traffic to those posts. Cool!
Next I set up a community board for Social Marketing Tips. I've invited people in my LinkedIn group to share content on this board too. [If you want to contribute your posts and other great content to the Social Marketing board, let me know in the comments below and I'll add you to the community. Be sure to include your Pinterest profile URL so I can follow you, too.]
I don't know how this will evolve for businesses, but from a visibility stand point, I'd recommend anyone who deals with visual arts in any way to get started, if you're not already. Restaurants, photographers, crafts people, builders, artists, architects, and designers of all types can benefit. If you demonstrate your product and services visually, get those images pinned and linked back to your site.
Tips for Getting Started on Pinterest
- Take the time to fill out your profile completely, including your bio. I've clicked through to a lot of profiles that have no bio info. This is a an opportunity to tell your visitors about you and your business. Include your picture. Set up a few boards and pin a couple of things right away.
- Add links to your blog, Facebook page and Twitter account
- A recommended tactic is to post your images on your blog FIRST, then pin to a board. This is an opportunity to attract people back to your site where they can go deeper into your content.
- If you create your own images and photographs, take the time to add a watermark with your URL. Courtesy of Elizabeth Cottrell, here's an article reviewing several watermark plugins for WordPress.
- Connect your Facebook profile to your Pinterest account with the Pinterest app, if you want to share your activity with your friends. I'm getting more activity on Facebook since I added the app.
- Add the Pin It button to your blog and make it easy for your readers to share your images and posts. The Pin It button is included in the Digg Digg social sharing plugin and there are stand alone Pin It plug ins as well.
- Encourage your readers, friends and followers to pin your content.
Encourage your friends to Pin your images.
I saw this post (image above) in my Facebook newsfeed. This is an excellent way to enage your friends. I clicked through to the article and then pinned the image to my Running board. The only thing missing was the Pin It button on the actual post (a missed opportunity). I had added a Pin It button to my bookmarks tool bar so it's easy for me to pin anything on any site.
Another cool feature is that people can embed your Pins on their blogs. This one is from Tom Treanor's board about Pinterest tips…
Source: theblogstylist.com via Tom on Pinterest
So much has been written about Pinterest for business in the last few weeks. I've curated a list of posts for you that I've found helpful if you're ready to dig deeper.
Top Tips for Brands on Pinterest from SimplyZesty.com – there are some great tips for all businesses in this article.
How an Alaskan Mom Brings Millions to Her Carpentry Blog - a great case study on Social Media Examiner
To Pin or Not to Pin: An Indepth Look at Pinterest – detailed article by Kathryn Rose
10 Tips on Using Pinterest for your Business
thenextweb.com1/20/12
The most obvious use for Pinterest from a business perspective is to market and sell your products. By adding a price to your pinned item, you can direct users to your online shop, and your post will be automatically listed …
Pinterest Drives Enormous Blog and Business Success | Business 2 …
www.business2community.com1/30/12
This is Kate. She's a hairstylist, jewelry maker, and all-around crafter based in North Carolina. Kate started her blog (thesmallthingsblog.com)
10 Pinterest Ideas With SEO Benefits | Business 2 Community
www.business2community.com1/27/12
If you haven't heard of Pinterest, it does what it says on the tin – a virtual pinboard of interesting things. You find something you like, you Pin it to.
How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business [Infographic ...
How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business [Infographic]. One of the “new kids” on the block…..Pinterest is doing very well in 6 months…….read 11 million visits in a week in December 2011 obviously you need to have a …
At the time of writing this post, Pinterest is still invite only. If you would like an invite, post your request in the comments and I'll send one to you. If you'd like to contribute to the Social Marketing Tips Board, post your Pinterest URL in the comments and I'll add you. If you'd like to connect with me on Pinterest, click here.
Feel free to share your tips and thoughts about Pinterest below…
Subscribe to the RSS Feed
