How to use Pinterest to Market Your Business

Pinterest – The Basics

So – what’s all the hype about Pinterest? In this blog I’ll do my best to explain how to use Pinterest to market your business and hopefully this article will encourage more business owners to consider using this relatively new and interactive social media platform to drive more business to their websites.

Pinterest In A Nutshell

Pinterest is a social book-marking tool used to ‘pin’ images found around the internet into categorised collections, or boards. Pinterest combines two of the most compelling elements of social media: visual content and sharing who you are.

With Pinterest, you can follow users, share their content and make comments. You can create as many boards as you like and people can choose to follow which ones they like.

Eason’s example – Click above to enlarge

Eason’s example – Click above to enlarge

Eason’s example – Click above to enlarge

Think of Pinterest as an interactive, sharable scrapbook. You can create your own online pin-board for various themes or categories and ‘pin’ items to the board.

This can be done by:

• Uploading photos or videos straight to Pinterest from your own files.
• Use the ‘pin it’ bookmarker button located on websites to pin the item to your pin-board.
• Re-pin other user’s pins to your boards.

Any guides I can watch?

 I’ve uploaded 2 guides below

This first ‘YouTube’ video is for people who are brand new to Pinterest and want to set up an account

 

The second ‘YouTube’ video is for anyone who wants to create a Pinterest Business Page

So, what are the Pinterest numbers?

It’s no secret that the internet loves Pinterest. Users are now spending more time on Pinterest, than they are on Facebook. Here’s what you need to know about Pinterest user demographics. Pinterest is a newbie. It was launched in 2010, the site grew from 1.6 million visitors in September 2011, to a whopping 11.1 million visitors in 2012, with this figure climbing rapidly each day.

It attracts an average of 1.36 million users daily – the social photo pin-board has taken the web by storm and top retailers such as Apple, Dell, Honda, Coach, Gap, Starbucks, Gucci – are using this photo-driven community to successfully drive web traffic and generate sales. Last year, Pinterest was the most important new social sharing site and gave online marketers a new way to engage with new customers and boost sales.

The Users

The audience on Pinterest is different from the major social networks because most people use it to find inspiration, whether they are interested in travel, buying their first home, creating new recipes or taking up a new sport. In other words, many are using Pinterest to help guide their buying decisions. If a user finds something they like on Pinterest, there is a good chance they will at least click the source link and, at most, make a purchase.

How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business

1. Get Your Product Discovered

Pinterest levels the playing field for smaller brands that don’t have the budget to compete in search results. Say for example I want to buy a new sound system and I search on Google – this search could throw up a bunch of brands I already know – but it mightn’t lead me to smaller, local brands.  This is the beauty of Pinterest – businesses can use it to get their name out there – it helps people discover new products, brands, styles etc they ordinarily may not find in general internet search. 

It’s also worth nothing that people you follow on Pinterest may have similar taste to you and you can check their ‘pin-boards’ and see pins of products that you might be interested in. If you wanted to buy a new camera, Pinterest followers could show alternative brands that you may not have considered. These results change each day as users ‘pin’ up new products each day.

2. Understand That More Men Are Using Pinterest

When Pinterest first appeared, the majority of users were located in the States in the 25 to 50 – demographic. In 2013, this demographic is rapidly changing. In UK, male users of Pinterest are rising daily. Any advertisers targeting men should sit up and take note of this growing statistic.

Male Pinterest in UK – Click above to enlarge

Male Pinterest users in the UK now have the highest income bracket and use ‘pin-boards’ to focus on items such as venture capital and investment. Social media trends that start in the UK usually find a similar uptake happening in Ireland.

3. Visual Appeal

When it comes to Pinterest, images and pictures take the driver’s seat. As you browse through your feeds and boards on Pinterest, you’ll notice that the stream contains images with captions and nothing else. On Pinterest, it’s crucial that the images and pictures that you share convey the essence of your content in an effective manner. In other words, images shared on your boards should be powerful enough to appeal to the viewers and portray the true identity of your brand.

Pinterest for work example – Click above to enlarge

Pinterest for work example – Click above to enlarge

Pinterest for work example – Click above to enlarge

Take a look at this blog – 7 Pinterest Boards to Follow for Your Career – visual content is vital in using Pinterest to market your business.

4. Encourage employees to set up their own accounts 

Build clout as an industry authority by letting your staff showcase how passionate they are about your field. For example, this graphic designer, Kate Spade  has a few pins of her company’s products,

Click above to enlarge

but more importantly she demonstrates she’s a tuned in part of the fashion community by being active on this network.

5. Add a Pinterest Icon

Pinterest Icon – click to enlarge

Let your audience know you’re here by adding a Pinterest icon to your other on-site social buttons. Even if you are not going to set up a profile on Pinterest, you can still get your brand involved by including the Pinterest icon on your product pages or blog posts. You can also add the button to blog posts using the WordPress Pinterest plug-in. 

6. Organise ‘Pin-to-Win’ Contests

Many businesses are hosting ‘pin-to-win’ contests on Pinterest, which can create a tremendous amount of viral excitement around your Pinterest presence.

• The main points to remember here are:
• Make it easy to enter
• Offer a good quality prize
• Have Things Worth Pinning – use good quality images and videos. Stay clear of bland images.

Click above to enlarge

• Support the Contest on Other Networks, Media – let followers, fans, and users know that a pin-to-win contest exists and how to enter.
• Reward everyone who enters – E.g. offer all entrants a ‘coupon code’ that gives a small percentage off future purchases.

Conclusion

Anytime a new social network comes along, it is tempting for businesses to jump in. Given that Pinterest is toeing the line of a niche community, this network is not — and never will be — for everyone.

Brands that find the most success on Pinterest will be the ones that put aside self-promotion and add value to the community in a way that is unique to their business.

Thanks for taking the time to read steps on ‘How to Use Pinterest to Market your Business’ and we hope you found our blog useful.