Pinterest has 70 million users spending an average of 14.2 minutes on the site–it’s time your small business gets on board. These 12 tips will help.
Sure, you know Pinterest that social media site where big brands and consumers are posting all those great images. Certainly there’s no room for small-business owners to make their mark, right? Wrong.
Given the meteoric rise of Pinterest, with more than 70 million users worldwide now spending an average of 14.2 minutes per visit, there’s no better place for small-business owners to engage customers, drive traffic back to their company website and, hey, sell some products.
Whether you already have multiple, active boards or you’ve initially dismissed the idea of using Pinterest for your small business (please don’t do that), here are some best practices for establishing your presence and recommendations for creating engaging, eye-catching boards that will maximize your effectiveness on Pinterest.
Getting On Board
Success on Pinterest is all about engaging visitors and suppressing the urge to overtly sell. With that in mind, here are five tips for setting up your profile to attract and retain visitors from the moment they spot your board.
- Set up your Pinterest Business Account using a clear picture of you that shows your personality, an image that represents your business, and a pithy summary of your company written from a “what can I do for you?” point of view.
- Spend time on the “About” descriptions that go with every image and include specific and descriptive keywords.
- Set up a Pinterest Web analytics account to track your progress and learn what visitors find interesting on your boards.
- For maximum engagement, connect your Pinterest account to your Facebook business page. Also, be sure to include a link from your Pinterest account to your company’s home page.
- Let your customers know how they can find you on Pinterest.
Differentiate Your Boards
Now that you have your account set up and you’re tracking your visitors, it’s time to differentiate yourself and your boards from the crowd.
- Follow the most active Pinterest users and, as they say, watch and learn.
- Create separate boards for the different areas of your business.
- Engage with the community by re-pinning and liking images.
- Showcase your goods in creative and informative ways. For example, a bakery can show a mouthwatering chocolate layer cake and include tips on “how to throw a great desserts-only party.”
- Run contests. Using the example above, encourage customers to enter a contest by sharing pictures and recipes from their “desserts-only” party. Remind them to tag themselves in the photos, because this will also increase your exposure on Facebook.
- Include videos. You don’t need high production videos to get likes and shares, so why not post share-worthy clips such as customers having fun or employees in action?
- Use Pinterest to organize and display your website’s content in a new, fresh way. Posting content that leads back to your company website will not only be visually appealing but also help boost your business’s search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your website.
Remember, Pinterest is all about sharing and engaging, so let your personality shine through and have fun.
Christopher (Chris) Litster, SVP, Sales & Marketing / Executive Team Member, Constant Contact
