It is no longer an option for businesses to ignore social media platforms. Each platform has a unique audience of users, and with each audience you may get different levels of engagement - so don't assume that failing to reach one audience means you'll fail to reach any audience on social. We use several social media platforms at Tribute Media. They are all used for different reasons and they all have their own culture while still maintaining our brand. The trick to using it successfully is to know who your target audience is and how they are using each platform.
Pinterest is a stand-alone visual social network built around engaging visual content. Users share images from the web by “pinning” them on to a series of virtual boards. These images then (when clicked on) lead to a web page away from Pinterest. That's where it becomes beneficial for your company. If you can catch a lead from Pinterest through an image, title, and short description - you've got the opportunity to direct them to your website.
Believe it or not, we've seen our own amount of success from using Pinterest. How? By pinning our own blogs, content from thought leaders, and showcasing our web designs. You can see success from using Pinterest as well.
Pinteresting for the Win
Yes, pinteresting is a word. At least, according to Urban Dictionary. It's a slang verb for pinning content you find funny, useful, or true. If your content is found to be any of these three things by users, your content will be pinned to their boards on Pinterest. Then other users see that pin, and maybe they find it funny, useful, or true- so they pin it. Pretty soon, you have exposure building and traffic funneling into your website. Here's how to get started:
Create an Account
- Fill out all information in the registration page and be sure to use a company email address that multiple employees (at least those in charge of social) have access to.
- Complete profile and select a profile photo. The photo should be your logo in most cases.
Set Up Your Boards
- Your boards need to reflect who you are as a company. You can check out our Pinterest boards to get an idea of what we mean by this.
- It’s smart to have a mix of professional and more casual (but related to your company) boards. For example, we have very specific boards related to our services, but then we also have an "Office Productivity Hacks" board.
Integrate Your Pins
- Embed the "Pin it" button wherever you have pin-worthy content such as your or website.
- Notify followers on other social media platforms to also follow you on Pinterest for more "fun" content.
Ponder Before Pinning
- Make sure to double check that your pin links work and are going where you want them to.
- Space out your pins. Pins stay in view for days or weeks due to the cyclical nature of their exposure.
- Pinning for a few minutes a couple of times per week is enough to get you started.
- Make sure it's actually valuable. Like any social media platform, don't just post to post.
SEO Benefits of Pinterest
Google displays Pinterest boards in its SERPs (search engine result pages), so it's important to:
- Use keyword-rich, eye-catching captions, and add #hashtags. Remember to also add categories to your pins.
- Pin original images and content from your website when its possible. This is where you ultimately want traffic to go!
As our own Jillian Fra says, "It's every dreamers favorite place to plan for the future and pin all the things they love." So get out there and start pinning!
Written by Sarah Wai
Former Content, Email, and Social Media Marketing Specialist of Tribute Media. Bachelor of Science in Digital Communication Arts and Master in Business Administration.
