Tips on using Pinterest for your business

Posted: January 11th, 2012 | Filed under: just tips, marketing, social media | |

The latest talk-of-the-town social networking site is Pinterest (latest stats is 31 million visitors per month). Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. It is very visual and simple to use. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. Social discovery just got a lot funner.

People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes. More importantly, I’m hearing from bloggers that Pinterest is driving more traffic to their blogs than Twitter and Facebook.

Here are three tips on getting started with Pinterest for your business:

1. Organization is key. After you create your Pinterest account, you can start creating your own board(s). Divide your boards into topics that are relevant to your brand, rather than just pinning your products onto a board. Curate pins that tell the story of your brand. Equally important is to categorize your board (e.g. Design, Women’s apparel etc) so users can discover it. Some of the brands that are doing great job on these two fronts are Kate Spade New York and West Elm. There are brands that are even leveraging Pinterest for contests, such as Lands’ End Canvas Holiday Pin It To Win It Contest.

2. Making the sale. When you are pinning your own products, you can specify the product URL so it takes the users straight to your site. Also, use the $ sign in description to list the product price. When you do that, Pinterest will automatically put that pin into the Gifts category, which will further promote your pin/product.

3. Connecting your site. You can add your site, Twitter and Facebook account to your Pinterest profile. Back at your own site, you can either add the Pinterest follow button so users can follow your Pinterest account, or add the “Pin it” Button(s) next to your product(s) to allow your cusomters to “Pin” your products onto Pinterest. To get the buttons for your site, head to Pinterest’s goodies section.

Have fun pinning!