Enhancing your online marketing with Pinterest: Top 6 tips to get started

The year 2012 was an incredibly successful for the social networking site Pinterest. The site, which allows users to create virtual pin boards, became the third largest social media site in the U.S., just behind Twitter and Facebook and surpassing LinkedIn and Tagged.

Thinking of starting a Pinterest account for your business? Here are top 5 tips to get started:

1. Set up your account properly.

Make it easy for people to find you by completing your profile. Select a username and a profile picture that are consistent with your other social profiles.

Of course, you’d also want to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts to ensure that your current connections can find you and that you can easily cross-post your pins.

Recently, Pinterest has allowed users to verify their websites and to create business accounts. Take advantage of these functionalities when setting up your account.

2. Set up your initial boards based on your goals.

Have a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve with Pinterest. Is it to showcase your products? To find people who are pinning about your brand or industry? Is it to educate? Keep these information in mind when naming your boards.

Also, think about what your ideal customers might pin and how they might search on the site. Think keywords: use words that are descriptive for your board title and description.

Although optional, categorize your boards to increase the chances of people finding them.

3. Follow the community’s etiquette.

Before pinning your first item on Pinterest, familiarize yourself with the Pinterest etiquette.

When using Pinterest, be respectful in your comments and pins. Authenticity is also important to the Pinterest community — don’t pin about recipes just because many users are doing it. Don’t forget to credit your sources.

4. Pin, pin, pin!

Once you have your boards set up and are familiar with the site’s etiquettes, you’re ready to start pinning! We suggest installing the “Pin It” bookmarklet to your browser — it makes it easy to share photos and videos on Pinterest.

We recommend editing your board’s cover photos to make sure that people who visit your Pinterest page get a good first impression.

5. Pin interesting stuff.

When deciding what to pin, don’t promote just your own stuff. Feel free to pin your products or services, but also pin others’ images and videos if they offer value to potential customers and they fit in with your goals with the site. Pin images related to your brand and your customers.

One idea is to be a resource for your potential customers. For example, educate people by pinning infographics and charts.

Also, give a sneak peek of your brand. Use your pins to showcase your star employees, your company’s values and corporate culture, and your philanthropic efforts.

Finally, avoid overwhelming your followers by spreading out your pins throughout the day.

6. Engage.

Don’t forget that Pinterest is a social network.  Comment on other users’ pins from time to time.  You can also re-pin and and ‘like’ other people’s pins

Check who is pinning your website’s content using the link below  (replace “YourWebsite.com” with your own URL) — and thank them: http://pinterest.com/source/YourWebsite.com/

Pinterest is just getting started!

Pinterest had a huge year in 2012, but the website is still growing and is poised to launch even more business-related features. Start using the website now to engage with your target audience to improve your digital marketing strategy and increase awareness of your brands.

What tips do you have about using Pinterest for your business?

For more information, check out Global Bend’s Slideshare about marketing with Pinterest. Enjoyed this blog post from Global Bend?

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