Diving into Pinterest: How to Market Your Brand Effectively Using Pinboards

Pinterest is one of the most popular websites on the net as of late and it is no surprise that big brands are starting to take notice and utilize the influx of users for their marketing efforts. When you first look at Pinterest it appears to be nothing more than a place for people to share photos of weddings, cupcakes, recipes and crafting ideas.  This is true in essence (in large part to their mainly female demographic), and the aesthetically pleasing Pinboards are easy to use, but there is much more than meets the eye. This begs the question, how can one leverage Pinterest to gain more traffic and potential clients for their business?

1. Show off your brand’s personality and taste

Pinterest is a great place to showcase your brands image and work, if you want . . . however it would be much wiser to show off a much more fun and light side of your business. Interacting with like-minded pinners and sharing relevant pins that say more about your company than strictly business is a great way to help grow your following while at the same time remaining relevant to your interests. There is nothing wrong with having a few boards that are related to your company’s image. The best companies boards I’ve seen will not only provide their business boards, but will also show off their staff’s picks of movies and books as well as anything else that tickles their fancy. Making your brand stand out by showing off some personality is a great way to get noticed and help grow your Pinterest profile.

2. Make Sure Your Content is Marked

As a web designer I know all too well the perils of stolen content and potential copyright infringements, they happen all the time. So when it comes time to start sharing my work with the world of Pinterest, I felt like it would be good practice to include a watermark as well as a footer accreditation to my images.  This gives me exclusivity over them and if they are shared and repinned,  the users that see them will know they are my content. This would apply well to any photographers, artists, musicians, and graphic designers especially.  Giving the users a way to find their way back to your website is vital and you will notice the results in your traffic increases once you implement this small but critical step.

3. Lend a hand – Tutorials

Pinterest not only allows for you to pin images, but you can also include videos and this is where the real power comes into play. By showcasing simple how-to’s or tutorial videos on a wide array of subjects related to your business, you can tap into users looking to learn more about a certain niche subject and in turn they will share and repin your posts which means more traffic for your business.

Infographics are another great method of “lending a hand” and oftentimes infographics will provide a ton of insightful info about your business or certain aspects you’re looking to promote.

4. Use Pinterest’s Gift Section

Pinterest not only allows pins, but if you are running an e-commerce platform and have a tangible product or service you would like to offer, you can utilize the dedicated gift section on Pinterest that allows you to tag images by price when uploaded. This gets them automatically listed in the Gift’s section which can help drive traffic and potentially sales for your merchandise or services.

5. Help other pinners find your content

In similar fashion to Twitter, Pinterest allows you to include #hashtags in your descriptions which in conjunction with labeling your pins and boards will make them much easier to find if people are searching for your brand or product. Users can search by pins, boards and people so you should do yourself a favor and make sure you use keywords that are easily recognizable and allow yourself to be easily found.

Pinterest is a great community much like other social networks on the internet today and the same rules apply. Provide quality content, don’t spam your products incessantly and interact and engage with other members of the community to help build up trust and brand awareness. Pinterest has proven it is here to stay, so hop on the pinboard and see what kind of positive results you can drive to your business.

Guest Author Lorne Fade is an Internet search marketer for 9th sphere a Toronto SEO, web design & marketing firm.