First, let’s talk Pinterest!
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with interest) is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. The mission statement of Pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through shared tastes and the “things” they find interesting. What the Pinterest team has accomplished is a visual picture linking and sharing site that other followers can re-share onto their boards through “Pin It.” It is this “Pin It” feature that makes Pinterest so popular and fast spreading. The original pinned image and link remain intact but get further referenced the more often they get “Pinned” from other people’s boards.
So what are the benefits for bloggers and/or business owners?
If you own a blog that sells a product or service that can be represented visually or through video, especially if it could be categorized in a group, then you need to be on Pinterest. If your blog is trying to reach out to a younger female audience, then you need to be on Pinterest. If you are a blogger or an internet affiliate promoter, than you need to be on Pinterest. If you are trying to get an SEO lift for your business website, than you need to claim your business name on Pinterest.
Books, toys, recipes, clothes, decorating ideas are being pinned like mad. Since the originial image and link stay with the creator, you could create groupings of Amazon affiliates, promote your favorite blogs, products and services and reach a new audience with your business Pinterest page.
Now let’s get down to it with 5 tips for Pinterest
1. Follow Back Your New Followers. Like Twitter, this seems like an obvious social rule of etiquette. However based on your notification settings, quite a lot of people can start following one or more of your boards without you know it. The quick and easiest way to check and follow back is: 1) click on your name, 2) click “followers” and then click “follow” on the ones highlighted in red (see below).
2. Daily Pin One New Item & Link It Back to Your Website. One of the greatest advantages of Pinterest is it gets you followers you don’t know. All new pins you create are advertised briefly on the “Everything” board when you start Pinterest. Thus each new pin is exposed to potentially hundreds of new followers. It is for this reason you should not pin everything at once. Space out and make sure each new link leads back to your website.
3. Re-Pin, Like, & Comment on Other Associated Businesses. Followers like followers that talk, re-pin, and “Like” things. Be actively engaged a little each day that you visit your Pinterest account.
4. Weekly Pin onto Your Existing Boards. You should delete boards you are not using and start with at least nine items on each board. However, once you have been live a week, slowing add a new pin to old boards each week. Each new pin on an old board also sends notification out to those following you as well.
5. Monthly Create New Boards. Much like the previous tip, when you go create new boards it notifies those that follow everything. New information refreshes ideas. Speaking of tips, a blog board that links back to your company’s information is another excellent idea to increase SEO and exposure.
What’s been your experience with Pinterest? What other business benefits do you see in Pinterest?