As business owners, we are always looking for new ways to generate brand awareness; Pinterest is a platform that is similar to Instagram but with more jazz and aesthetic! It allows users to visually share and discover new interests – people who use Pinterest love to ‘see’ rather than read what you’re posting up. It is all about creativity; pictures that will captivate potential customers. With Pinterest marketing, you can use your images to tell a story and help your customers connect with you on a deeper level.
Like other social media platforms, you create a post – this action is known as ‘pinning’. Your posts will have your main photo, with a small box at the bottom where you can add a direct link or any other relevant information to the picture, taking users straight to the direct source. This is great if you have expanded on the topic somewhere else. You can also make something called a ‘board’. This is a section you can add your pin onto, or alternatively, you can add your pin to somebody else’s board for recognition. Boards usually have a common theme; for instance, if you have multiple pins about PR coverage, you would create a board for this.
So, the more pins you upload, the more they get shared and added onto (non-secret) boards and the more exposure you get – so, you should start pinning! We all need a bit of inspiration sometimes, and Pinterest delivers just that. You can have up to 2000 boards so you won’t run out of space.
Why Pinterest should be a part of your marketing plan
With 459 million monthly users, and growing, Pinterest marketing will contribute to awareness, new business opportunities and website traffic for your brand. Potential customers will want to discover your brand personality, so personalising your page is an excellent way to show this. The social media platform allows you to choose what sort of account you would like to open, but you’re likely to need a business one.
Taking marketing plans into account, it is imperative to know that our content is reaching people and our efforts are worthwhile; Pinterest offers analytics tools that can help you understand if your pins are being received positively and the ability to pay for Pinterest advertising. And don’t forget to incorporate your target keywords and key phrases into your pin and board details to try and be seen within search results also.
Is Pinterest a good match for your business?
Pinterest is suitable for all types of businesses, but particularly, smaller ones. It provides an online space introduce your business and it’s excellent to play about with – we know, new can be scary! It’s also super interactive, so if you don’t have many customers yet, you can track whether they’re re-pinning your posts; something Instagram doesn’t offer! 80% of weekly pinners have discovered a new brand or product, so this is an excellent online destination that you can jump into.
If you have a team it’s also a good way to collaborate with your colleagues as you can all add pins to your board; this way, you can share ideas and learn from one another.
How to manage your Pinterest effectively
We all know that we can join a social media platform and interact, but If we don’t know how to do this effectively, we won’t get anywhere and might waste our time. So, here are a quick few tips we have put together to help you manage your Pinterest account effectively and get the most out of it.
1. Create a Pinterest marketing strategy – it’s time to think SMART goals; researching what is popular and seeking out your competitors to learn what works will help you a lot.
2. Study how users use the app and what they like, what type of posts generate the most likes, don’t forget, Pinterest is a visual app, so really put time and effort into displaying your posts. Try different formats and include videos that will encourage people to head on over to your website.
3. Be consistent! Like all other social apps, staying consistent is one of the most important steps you can take as it will help boost feed coverage; regular posts (schedule reminders if needed!) will aid a steady follower growth. Users will also be more inclined to follow you as they know you’re reliable and it’s a worthwhile follow.
Key questions
How do I get followers?
Building a community on social media can take time; there are a few things you can do to help yourself along, like adding a Pinterest follow button on your website, letting your email subscribers know that you’re now on Pinterest, and following then engaging with other people on there to get noticed.
What exactly should I start pinning?
Think about your overall marketing strategy for visual content, invest in good, on-brand, visual content and upload more than just photos. So, articles, infographics and videos. 
Be sure to upload every time you have a new product or take a picture in the workplace; it will soon help you build your Pinterest board.
What’s the difference between a pin, repin and a favourite?
A pin is very similar to a bookmark; when you find something on your feed that you want to save, you can ‘pin’ it to one of your boards. However, a repin is when you take an image already on somebody else’s board and post it to one of your own. The image owner will get a notification to let them know you have re-pinned it; this helps you keep up to date on your repins. A ‘favourite’ button is the same as liking a post on Insta; it informs them that you appreciate or like their image.
Are businesses successful on Pinterest?
Whether you’re a B2C company or a B2B company, you can grow on Pinterest. Staples grew their audience via Pinterest and learnt a lot from the app.
Marketer, Rachel Stoyle, said: “I worked for a construction company that had high quality photos and videos of the stunning loft conversions they produced. These were used in blog content around ways to make the most of small spaces, ways to keep your loft cool and many other topics. Turning the blogs into useful pins didn’t take much longer and made the most of the visual content. Whether it’s people looking for interior design ideas or people who want to see what the company are capable of, it was another way of being visible – not hidden under cladding or inside people’s homes”.
What if I want to show my boards to people who aren’t on Pinterest?
You can put your boards onto your website for customers to see with Pinterest’s Widget Builder. This is super effective if you want to share your boards with customers who may not get the chance to see them otherwise. Pinterest also has a ‘Pin It’ button and ‘Follow’ (profile or board) widget, all super easy to add to your website.
All businesses can engage with Pinterest; your versatility will offer your existing and potential customers a new way to interact with you. Not everyone likes social media, but we all love a good image or video to cement our understanding or provide evidence of a service or physical product. Let us know how you get on with your Pinterest marketing!
Emily Stepney, Shake It Up Creative