Pinterest seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment. Since Iowan Ben Silbermann started Pinterest in March 2010, the company has entered the top 10 social networks and had 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in the U.S. by January this year.
Pinterest is a virtual pin board for organizing and sharing stuff people come across on the Internet. Pinners (Pinterest users) can pin up the things they like and have an interest in and use Pinterest for organizing, planning, and saving. Pinterest brings people with shared interests and preferences together. These people can find inspiration from each other and also repin posts.
So how can companies and organizations take advantage of this and use Pinterest as a marketing tool?
First of all, let’s take a look at the people using Pinterest. Pinners around the world might look different, but the average user in the U.S. is:
- a woman
- 35-44 yours old (the group of 25-34-year olds is almost as large)
- has some college education
- $25,000-49,999 as the household income
- has crafts, gifts & special events items, interior design, fashion, and blogging as interests
(See the specifics and some info about the British pinners here.)
If that sounds like your target audience you have no excuses not to be on the hottest new social network.
Here are some tips for creating a Pinterest presence and to further build your brand:
1. Get started
Choose a profile name that matches your brand and your other social media names. Your profile pictures and information from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. can be used on Pinterest as well. Create many boards to cover a broad range of pinners’ interests (e.g. Whole Foods has twenty nine).
2. Center Around Interests
Make sure that you show the idea behind your brand on your Pinterest boards. Express your companies’ products, but also display your core values. Say that your company sells products that are made with reused materials by people in developing countries working under fair trade practices. People are likely to not only be interested in your products, but also in the environment, sustainability, and social issues. Have your boards reflect all these topics in order to emotionally connect with the pinners around your shared interests with them.
3. Be Inspirational
Don’t try to use Pinterest as an outlet for sales and self-promotion only – it’s not an advertising board. Pinners come to Pinterest to get inspiration. Instead, post a healthy balance of promotion and a variety of content that is inspirational, educational and most importantly – related to your business. Be natural and pinners will come to you and see you as a resource of information. You can also post products from other companies. E.g. if you sell tea you can promote a company that sells cups and mugs and its products.
4. Use Visuals
Just as I recently wrote in my blog post on Facebook’s Timeline for Pages: A picture is worth a thousand words. Pinterest is about images and not about long blocks of text. Also, pay attention to what users repin and give them more of this, it’s also cheaper than a focus group.
5. Add a Pin It Button
Make it easy for pinners to pin items on your website by adding a Pin It button.
Keep these five tips in mind when you’re starting and maintaining your Pinterest presence for a smoother experience. And as always, if you have any questions or want to know more – we’re here for you!
Anna
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