In our last blog post, we introduced you to the wonderful world of Pinterest — your virtual bulletin board. From cute dog pictures to stunning hairdos, examples of clever material to reuse to mouth-watering cakes — you can find pictures of everything on one easy to use site.
For those of you that want to use Pinterest to promote your products or services, here are Three Girls Media & Marketing’s nine best tips to get the most from this latest social media platform.
Best Business Practices for Using Pinterest
Thousands of pictures go up on Pinterest. The second you drag the elevator bar to the bottom it rises back up! So it is important that you spend some time thinking about how best to use this site for your business.
- What do your potential customers want to see? Post visuals that will not only grab their attention, but also be of the most use. You can post a series of pictures, or a series of pictures combined in one .jpg, if your item requires steps to get from start to finish (e.g. a complicated hair-do).
- Use high-quality photos. Excellent photography does count here. Don’t forget to pin them from your own blog or website to Pinterest, having that act as a link to drive more traffic to your sites.
- Show variety or combinations. Pin your product(s) to your boards and show different ways they can be used. For example, if you are a clothing designer, put different outfits together. Show 15 ways to tie a scarf or decorate a bookshelf.
- Tie other products in. Pin complementary products that aren’t your direct competition. For example, if you make flavored marshmallows, pin a picture of your beautiful little puffs next to a steaming mug of hot cocoa and suggest a flavor that would be delicious.
- Tie other services in. If you own a dog sitting service, pin up an easy to read tip sheet on how to prevent pet dander, or promote a great dog grooming service by showing a picture of a dog getting groomed and a caption of the business name.
- Show your staff. People love to know about people. Pin pictures of your staff, and link to their bios or posts on your company’s blog or website.
- Give them a reason! To check you out, that is. Pin up a discount coupon or gift certificate, with a link to more information. You can also conduct a survey or offer a contest with prizes. Decide what action you want your audience to take and create incentives.
- Keep it simple. Keep ease of use in mind. Don’t make your followers guess at what your picture is or make it difficult for them to find you once off the Pinterest site.
- Be a good follower, too. Determine who are “King Pins” (or Queen Pins) in your potential customers’ areas of interest, and follow them. That way you will access their circles of influence.
Remember, there are many ways to promote your business. Even if you think that great visuals are not the primary way to promote your particular business, we’d love to brainstorm with you to see if there is another angle available that you can use to your advantage.
Special Offer: Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. loves working with small and emerging companies to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation. Email info@ThreeGirlsMedia.com to make your appointment today!
Photo Credit: ohmeaghan