8 Surprisingly Effective Ways To Use Pinterest

I love Pinterest. There, I said it.

Truthfully, I have always been open about my fondness for this platform. And over the past few years, I have experimented and found many ways to use Pinterest.

In other words, I have pinned more recipes, interior decorating ideas, and fashions than I could ever possibly use. To date, I have collected 5,986 pins but will definitely surpass that number before I publish this post.

I have been attracted to Pinterest since its early days. In fact, back when I got started on Pinterest, the platform only made accounts available by invitation-only.

I remember doing a little “happy dance” the day I received the email with my login information. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that my joy was quite similar to the feelings I experienced when I received my college acceptance letters.

Pinterest has made dozens of changes over the past few years. However, each change has made the platform more user-friendly and attractive.

You’ll find there are plenty of ways you can use Pinterest, too. Even better? You no longer have to wait for your invitation email from Pinterest – you can start right away.

Pinterest For Business …

… because it’s not just for pinning recipes and wedding ideas anymore!

Pinterest began one of its most successful changes in October 2012 when it opened its doors to brands and businesses.

By allowing brands and businesses to open separate accounts, the platform began experiencing even greater growth and became a haven for visual marketing.

I have personally managed multiple Pinterest accounts for a variety of businesses over the past three years.

Since managing Pinterest accounts includes analyzing real data from the platform, I can honestly say that Pinterest has been a powerful and effective marketing tool for each of those accounts.

Many brands (including those accounts I previously managed and currently manage) find that Pinterest helps them in the following ways:

• Increases brand exposure
• Improves website traffic
• Puts their content in front of different people
• Builds trust and loyalty among their audiences

Are you interested in starting a Pinterest account for your business? Or are you looking for ways to boost your current account?

Great! Then let’s get started.

8 Surprisingly Effective Ways To Use Pinterest For Your Business

1) Make it extra easy for blog visitors to pin directly from your site

You know that hovering “Pin it” button you see on some sites? It turns out that this is incredibly easy to activate. Pinterest provides detailed directions here: [https://dev.pinterest.com/docs/pin-it/].

This button makes it easy for people to pin your blog posts and other content from your site. In turn, this helps increase traffic to your blog/website from Pinterest.

2) Attract new followers and increase your brand’s visibility by creating and posting original content.

Here are a few ideas to consider for creating your own pins:

• Original images
• Infographics
• Content you find online
• Quotes
• Funny photos

Source: PostPlanner

3) Consider your target audience on Pinterest and pin with intent for them

Create boards and add pins to them that are specific to your industry and business. Be sure to follow other pinners within your industry, as well as others with the same interests. Doing this serves two purposes:

1. You have more content from which you can curate (called “re-pinning”), and
2. You have more networking opportunities on the platform – which also means more visibility for your content

And finally, because of Pinterest’s enhanced search capabilities, the people (and other brands) who are interested in your products/services can more easily find and follow you when you’re pinning within your niche.

4) Go ahead and be yourself – Pinterest is the perfect place to be creative

From the Pinterest for Business page itself: “Use your boards to show your values, personality, and taste. It’s okay to get creative and be yourself. In fact, we recommend it!”

Keep in mind though that your Pinterest account represents you and your business just as much as any other online platform you are using in your digital marketing mix.

5) Don’t worry that your brand isn’t “sexy” enough – ANY brand can be visual

In fact, there are plenty of “boring” brands who have found unique ways to use Pinterest for mixing things up and having fun with their marketing efforts.

It’s all about being visual, and images are indeed highly effective for marketing.

When you have a chance, check out the Pinterest accounts for General Electric, Constant Contact, and Oreck.

I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how these accounts have found unique ways to use Pinterest for their “unsexy” products and solutions.

6) Create group boards to encourage camaraderie among your audience

Some brands have found that starting group boards, where they invite others to join them in pinning relevant content, boosts their exposure and visibility.

You may also consider creating a group board where you can share ideas with others within your industry for gathering ideas for business blog or other types of content.

Many bloggers have found that Pinterest group boards provide an excellent source of User Generated Content (UGC) for their blogs as well.

7) Share your pins on your other social media channels for increased exposure

Every time you add a pin to one of your Pinterest boards, Pinterest automatically gives you the option of sharing it on Twitter, Facebook, or both.

Use discretion when sharing a pin from Pinterest, however, and keep the content consistent with what you would typically post and/or tweet.

At the same time, occasional “cross promoting” helps introduce your Pinterest account to your existing followers on the other accounts.

8) Pin regularly and consistently

One of my favorite expressions – especially when it comes to online marketing – is that activity begets activity.

The Pinterest “powers that be” somehow seem to know when you are a serious user. I have seen many people give up on Pinterest too soon after getting started because they aren’t receiving hundreds of followers or re-pins right away.

If you are serious about using Pinterest for marketing, then you must commit yourself to touching your account on a daily basis.

All you have to do is pin a few original pins, re-pin a few, “like” a few. Easy enough, right?

There are as many different suggestions about how often to pin and when to pin as there are articles out there about Pinterest.

The “stats” will tell you how many pins you should add per day, the ratio of pins (original vs re-pins) you should add, what times of day you should pin, and so on.

As for me, I confess that I have never paid much attention to the “strict” guidelines. However, I always make sure to touch each of my clients’ accounts daily.

And guess what?

Each account grows and sees some sort of activity every day – as long as I’m doing my part every day.

Are you using Pinterest for business? Which ways work best for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions – please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Jennifer Hanford

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