Pinterest: A Quick Start Guide to Using it Effectively
Pinterest is a popular social media site that allows people to share ideas and inspiration by pinning images and articles.
It’s like a giant virtual refrigerator door, with unlimited magnets.
So, how can it help grow your business? Data shows that people who research products on Pinterest tend to make an actual purchase. Furthermore, 5% of all website referral traffic is generated from Pinterest. That’s just second to Facebook.
Convinced? Here’s how you can grow your business using Pinterest.
Start a Business Account
First, create a designated Pinterest account for your business, or convert your personal account into a business account. Choose a keyword that reflects your industry or service. Don’t forget to fill out your bio with links to your website and other social media accounts, and choose a unique profile photo that will represent your company.
Create Attractive Pins
Like other social platforms, Pinterest has its own set of codes when it comes to making the perfect Pin. Here are the basics to creating attractive Pins.
Vertical images
The ideal image size for a Pin is 735 x 1102. This allows your Pin to take up valuable real estate on Pinterest while communicating the most information possible in a single image. Entire infographics can be seen and read just from the search page, encouraging users to click through or save your Pin for future reference.
Images with text
Search for any recipe on Pinterest, and you’ll immediately see Pins that place text directly in the image. This bypasses the need to read the small text description below a Pin’s image and is proven to be more effective than images without text.
High-quality photos
A picture says 1,000 words, right? High-quality images not only look better but are more professional. Use free stock images, purchase photos online, or use your own eye-catching photos.
Ease up on the branding
Pinterest is a community-based social platform. Avoid overt promotion of your products and services, and keep logos, copyrights and brand names on your images to a minimum.
Instead, enhance your brand image with boards and pins that reflect a lifestyle or attitude your audience can achieve if they use your services.
Grow Your Boards
Now let’s collect your Pins and categorise them into specific boards. Each board should contain roughly ten pins—more than that and your collection might look daunting. Each board should cover a specific interest, with keywords that will captivate your target audience.
As you develop more Pins and boards, consider creating a few boards that are tailored for Pinterest’s top categories, like Beauty, Education, Quotes, Tech and Humor.
Boost your Pinterest Traffic
Engaging with followers and participating in the Pinterest community not only proves you’re human but increases the likelihood of people following and sharing your Pins and boards. Follow individual boards based on keywords, and repin anything noteworthy. Don’t forget to share your Pins across your other social media channels. You can even pay for a Promoted Pin, which will be seen by more people and includes a direct link to your website or product.
Monitor Your Results
Finally, you can see whether Pinterest is generating ROI by checking your traffic on Google Analytics. You can also check Pinterest analytics to see what’s working—and what’s not. Experiment with a little trial and error by tweaking Pins and boards until you find an approach that resonates with your audience.
If you build it, they will come
Taking the time to build a solid foundation on Pinterest will benefit your business in the long run. However, just like other social media sites, the more you participate on Pinterest, the more attention you’ll receive. In other words: don’t let your boards grow stagnant. Make regular updates, interact with the community, and deliver fresh content.
The followers will come, and with them even more business.
