Whilst you’re focusing on Twitter, Facebook and maybe even Instagram, it can be easy to forget about how important Pinterest could be for your business. However, as of September 2017, Pinterest now boasts a massive 200 million monthly active users.
And it’s not just a site for people saving inspiration for weddings, recipes and home interiors!
If you’re not yet making the most of this key player in the social media field, read below to find out what you should know about Pinterest and how you can start promoting your business on it.
What is Pinterest?
We’ll start with the basics.
Pinterest is a content sharing service that allows its members to ‘pin’ images, videos and other types of media to their own virtual pinboard. Think cutting images out of magazines to stick in a scrapbook; Pinterest is the digital version!
The social media platform is a hub of inspiration and helps users explore, manage and save ideas on most topics. Pinterest now allows businesses to create pages to promote their company – effectively acting as a shop window for brands.
How can your business start using Pinterest?
Once you’ve got yourself signed up, it’s time to start thinking about what you should be posting and how your profile will help you generate more business.
Here’s 5 of our top tips to get you started:
Start with quality content
It’s important to create a place for the type of images, videos and other media you want to share. Although it doesn’t mean you have to become a professional photographer overnight, you should be sharing good quality content. A decent smartphone can produce great photos nowadays.
Above all, your content should be visually appealing, interesting and reflect your brand. Think of your overarching aims for the platform and this will help you determine the content you share.
Be relevant
Although quality is key to demonstrate your professionalism, you need to consider the subject matter or content of your images. Who are you targeting? What sort of content are competitors or similar businesses sharing? What content is your audience already pinning? Think about how your business can contribute.
It’s not just about images
There are a number of ways that you can make use of written copy on your Pinterest profile and pins to drive better engagement. Think about doing the following:
-
Strategically name your files with clear descriptive words and use alt text to make your images search-friendly and easier for users to find
-
Use your pins’ description to add more value to the images (such as top tips or interesting facts) and use as an opportunity to include keywords
-
Include links back to your site to drive greater conversion
Alongside using text, you can help yourself to stand out from your competitors by using different types of content that are often underutilised on Pinterest. Think about sharing YouTube videos, interesting podcasts, educational slideshows or audio files.
Get active
Don’t rely on your customers to do all the activity.
To really make the most of any social media platform, your business needs to be active too. Alongside communicating with commenters on your posts, you could set up a group board to collaborate with clients or create an online community for your customers. Follow other businesses in your industry or those whose profiles inspire you to establish your own page and see what you could learn to improve your own content.
Use analytics to improve
Setting yourself up as a Pinterest business page is a great way to get useful information on how you are performing. Make the most of your analytics page to understand how many users are visiting your page, the number of repins and your best performing content.
Once you have developed a baseline of activity and you are comfortable with the platform, you can implement changes to better engage users.