I have no doubts that you’ve heard of Pinterest by now. I’ll also bet my son’s next tooth (and those are long and hard to come by) that you’re a Pin-holic yourself, or at least know of someone who is. Let’s just set the record straight right now: Pin-holicism is a national epidemic amongst women.
In fact, of the 10.4 million pinners in the online space, 80% are women just like you and me who spend an average of an hour and 17 minutes a day insatiably pinning. But we don’t just pin blindly, 80% of us trust and believe in our pins.
These are rather solid statistics, particularly for our purposes. As mompreneurs and business owners, why wouldn’t we take advantage of it? What could be better than a platform teeming with an audience that’s ready to pounce on our next pinned product, idea or inspiration. Especially for the fact that when they pounce, there’s a strong chance they’ll purchase. In fact, consumers referred to outside sites by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase on that site than visitors from other networks.
That said, as a mompreneur or business owner, it’s impossible not to reap the benefits of Pinterest unless you just don’t utilize it. While some brands are tossing billions of dollars at online advertising, other smartie-pants brands have jumped aboard the pin board.
Sold on the idea? Kudos! Now it’s time to consider these big 10 tips before incorporating Pin-treneurism into your businesses strategy. If done right, you’ll spark profit and interest on Pinterest.
1. Think
Before choosing to pin for business, it’s important to ask yourself if it makes sense. Put simply, it isn’t for everybody. If you’re a jewelry maker or an interior designer, jump on in. If you have a dog sitting business, your place on Pinterest would depend on strategy. If you’re crafty and daring in your endeavors, Pinterest could work for you. Try creating boards around dog humor, best dog products, etc. By positioning yourself as a dog expert in a way that is pinnable, you may race ahead of the pack.
2. Strategize
It’s true, Pinterest is rather basic for everyday pinners and doesn’t require brain fuel. But if you’re a business, you should treat Pinterest like every other marketing effort and develop a plan, even if it’s a one-pager. Understand things like your goals, target audience, ways you’ll accomplish the goals, how you’ll promote, ways you’ll measure success, etc. Plan your boards ahead of time and plan to keep them fresh and exciting.
3. Launch
If you don’t have a Pinterest yet, you’ll need to request one from the site or from a friend. For additional set-up instructions, visit the Pinterest Help page. To begin, write a captivating profile for your business and start creating boards. Keep in mind that simplistic design is vital on Pinterest. Group your products or services on various boards with an intriguing theme for each board.
4. Optimize
When creating your boards and pins, use keywords to describe each pin. If you don’t know how to find keywords, visit the Google Keyword tool. Type in keywords that a consumer would use if they wanted to find a product or service you offer. Play around with variations until you find keywords with low to medium competition and higher searches. This will help get your content higher in Google and in front of more eyes.
5. Integrate
This isn’t a top-secret strategy but it’s often neglected. Make sure each and every one of your online channels are integrated. Whether it’s Pinterest, flickR, your website, blog, whatever – link across all platforms. Also, make sure you’re directing your consumer to some sort of e-commerce platform for purchase, such as your own website, etsy, eBay or whatever. If you don’t have a platform yet, provide contact information where consumers can get in touch with you if they want to purchase.
6. Engage
You can’t expect to spread virally by just creating boards – although you may if they’re good enough. Make it a point for even 15 minutes out of the day to follow other pinners, particularly those that look like they might have the same interests and could translate into consumers. Repin, share and comment as much as possible. If people enjoy interacting with you on Pinterest, they’ll find you on other channels as well, which will also translate into more sales.
7. Build
Similar to engagement, it’s important to build your repertoire. Take the time to follow and engage the Pin-fluentials in your industry. Just like Twitter, if you follow them, they’ll likely follow you back. That’s Pin-etiquette. Also keep in mind that if a Pin-fluential repins your content, it will likely be seen by a large percentage of this person’s followers. Essentially, this Pin-fluential will look like an advocate of your business – score!
8. Play
Top off an engagement strategy with some quality playtime for your followers. Devise some cool promotions that will keep them engaged, such as offering discounts to the highest repinner, creating scavenger hunts throughout your boards, launching a contest where followers create a themed wish list board of your products, etc.
9. Inspire
One of the most important ideas to remember during the age of social media is that the consumers don’t want sold to, they want to be communicated with. Use Pinterest as a way to build and maintain relationships with your customers. Don’t look at Pinterest as just a sales channel, look at it as a way to build your presence and facilitate relationships. Don’t just sell products, be a source of inspiration and solutions for your consumers.
10. Evaluate
I always ask – how will success be measured if success isn’t measured? Be sure to set metrics ahead of time that correspond to your goals. Whether it’s repins, shares, leads, traffic, revenue, or something else, make sure to pat yourself on the back if you’ve met your goals, and re-evaluate your strategy if you haven’t.
Well, there you have it – 10 steps to maximizing your Pinterest presence. Though it may seem somewhat daunting, rest assured that Pinterest is truly simple, downright fun and well-worth mastering. Trust in us, if 8 million other women were able to get the hang of it quickly, you can too!
