Pinterest – the hot new social media network –
is starting to catch the eye of many small business owners. And the reason is
simple: It’s a great new way to drive traffic to your website and create leads
for your business. Here are ten tips and tactics for small business success on
Pinterest.
Executive Summary
By Daniel Kehrer
Pinterest – the hot new social media network – is
starting to catch the eye of many small business owners. And the reason is
simple: It’s a great new way to drive traffic to your website and create leads
for your business.
In fact, the early read on Pinterest is
that it’s more effective in some cases than Facebook. And growth on this social
sharing site, which is free to use, has been phenomenal. Pinterest has
skyrocketed to become the fifth biggest social site, ahead of Google+ and
LinkedIn.
Pinterest is a highly visual site, based in
large part on sharing images, along with other content. The platform lets
users visually share things they’ve found online by “pinning” an image,
article, video or other item to their own “pinboard.” Users often create
collections of “pins” around a theme of some kind. They can either pin things
they’ve found on the web, or upload their own images. You’ll also see the
Pinterest button showing up on websites as a way for visitors to quickly “pin”
an item, which might also be a simple URL.
Some small businesses that rely heavily on
website traffic to increase sales are reporting a surge of traffic now coming
from Pinterest. Susan Lyne, CEO of the popular shopping site called Gilt.com,
which offers designer goods at a discount, says her site has gotten a big boost
from Pinterest. In part that’s because Gilt has lots of high quality images of
the items it sells, which is the kind of thing people like to pin on Pinterest.
Here are ten tips and
tactics for small business success on Pinterest:
·
Although it’s already
become the fastest growing social network of all time, Pinterest is still
technically in “beta” so when you go to sign up you must request an invitation
to join. But don’t worry, it’s all but automatic that you’re in.
·
Pinterest doesn’t yet
provide a connection to Facebook business pages, so if your business is on
Twitter, be sure to use the same email address you use for your business
Twitter account to sign up for Pinterest. You’ll be able to sign in with your
same Twitter login.
·
Write a detailed
“About” description of your business, using appropriate key words and
geographic locations so you’ll show up in search. Also make sure the
button marked “Hide your Pinterest profile from search engines” is OFF.
·
Link your Pinterest
account to other social media – especially your Facebook page and Twitter
account – and link it to your business website. But keep in mind that Pinterest
was designed for individuals, not businesses, so there’s really no such thing
yet as a Pinterest “business page.” Just think in terms of using the site as a
person, rather than a business.
·
Your main activity on
Pinterest will be to set up various “pinboards.” You’ll gain traction for
your business by organizing and naming them according to the types of products and
services you sell. You should create these first, before you start trying to
build your Pinterest following. As with Facebook “Likes” and Twitter followers,
you’ll want to build a loyal follower base on Pinterest by catering to topics
that people are passionate about.
·
Once you are on
Pinterest, add the Pinterest follow button to your business website, blog,
social media pages and even your printed materials. This is a good way to
jumpstart your Pinterest presence.
·
Focus first on visual
content. Remember, Pinterest is a heavily visual medium, so you’ll want to use
your best stuff here. If you have great product shots, that’s one option. Some
businesses are pinning photos of their employees and location.
·
So far, Pinterest
users have been more heavily female (about 65%), so keep that in mind as
well. If your customer base is mainly men, Pinterest might not be right
for you just yet.
·
If you have a blog and
are using strong photos there, make a habit of putting them on your pinboard as
well. You can also pin charts, graphs and other graphics.
·
Follow the same social
media “rules” you’d follow elsewhere. For example, concentrate on making
yourself a valuable resource to others rather than trying to overtly sell
