**With the recent addition of (link: https://business.pinterest.com/en text: business Pinterest accounts) and an analytics platform, it’s clear that Pinterest is taking marketing more seriously**
With a stronger, more obvious focus on business users, it is clear that (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/why-pinterest-should-be-of-interest-to-your-business/ text: Pinterest really should be of interest to your business). Much like your other social media marketing efforts, you can track your success in a real and tangible way.
So why exactly should you be using this photo-sharing social network? And how can you make Pinterest for business work for you?
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/shutterstock_128286722.jpg alt: Pinterest for business)
More than just a social network
When it comes to small business marketing, strong images are one of the best ways to appeal to your audiences emotions. Whether it is a strong catalogue of products; a great selection of videos; or any visual element, there is one social networking site your business needs to be taking advantage of.
Since its launch in 2009, Pinterest has totted up a staggering (link: http://www.jobstock.com/blog/social-media-statistics-2013/ text: 10.4 million active users and counting). In fact, according to (link: http://socialfresh.com/pinterest-users/ text: Social Fresh), Pinterest reached the 10 million user mark faster than any other independent site in history.
With this in mind then, it is obvious that Pinterest is a powerful tool for business and something that shouldn’t be overlooked. After all, there’s a reason we named Pinterest as one of our (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/best-social-media-for-business/ text: top 5 social media sites for business.)
If you’re still dubious about entering into the world of Pinterest marketing, you needn’t be. Here, we share everything you need to know about Pinterest for Business:
1. Always start with strong visuals
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/visuals.jpg alt: strong visuals on Pinterest)
Your business needs to have a strong visual element to it to succeed on Pinterest.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be running an (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/common-ecommerce-mistakes/ text: ecommerce business); but you do need to have something visual about your brand. For example, Pinterest works really well for (link: http://pinterest.com/marketingprofs/ text: Marketing Profs.)
The marketing blog shares infographics, statistics, and marketing humour on their Pinterest account which has over 3,500 followers. As this demonstrates then, you don’t need to be a fashion retailer to experience Pinterest success.
In fact, with over 34 categories; almost every business can make room for Pinterest in their marketing mix.
The beauty of Pinterest is that you can share images, infographics and videos with your followers. This gives you even more opportunities to share your content, and become an active pinner. As long as the content you share is visually appealing, you have the perfect base to start.
**Note: ***Before you start sharing content on Pinterest, make sure you read through their document regarding (link: https://about.pinterest.com/en/copyright text: image copyright). This will ensure that you always have permission to post the images you do on Pinterest, and avoid any potentially costly issues.*
2. Optimise your pins
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/optimise.jpg alt: Optimised pin description)
Obtaining a Pinterest following and regularly uploading quality content, is only half the battle in successfully marketing your business on Pinterest. In order to make the most of it in terms of link building and SEO campaigns, you need to optimize your pins.
When you upload an image directly or ‘pin’ something from the net, make sure you write a keyword rich description. This will ensure that users on the site can search for and finding content. When you repin someone else’s image, be sure to rewrite the description.
Explain what the image is, and be sure to include your keyword. This is one of the easiest ways to make sure that your content can be found, and shared across the social networking site. You have a much larger character limit than with Twitter for instance, so be sure to use as much of this as you need.
When naming your Pinterest boards, avoid the temptation to be creative and witty with their names. By giving them a specific title such as ‘Mediterranean Beaches’ is much more likely to rank well – and appear in Pinterest searches – compared to “Places I Love.”
Again, include your keywords where possible.
Unlike other social media sites, Pinterest allows Google to crawl your boards and pins for keywords and information. This is great news for your SEO efforts, as your profile and specific boards are likely to appear in searches – just as long as your keywords are present.
3. Using Pinterest to build backlinks
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/links.jpg alt: Pinterest to build backlinks)
In terms of your B2B marketing, the main role of your Pinterest is to provide back links and drive traffic to your website.
When you pin content directly from your site, the URL is automatically attached to the image, giving you one back link. When you upload pins directly however, these links are not in place so take the time to add them yourself. You don’t want to miss out on a link building opportunity.
The more people that repin your images to their boards, the more back links you receive. This is why it’s so important to think before you pin. Post content people will want to see, and try and include different URLs on different images to increase your rankings.
Be sure then, to go through and make sure everything pinned from your site includes an active and relevant link. If you visuals are strong enough, you can drive traffic to your website and grab the conversion.
While this will ultimately be easier for B2C companies; B2B businesses can also drive considerable traffic from Pinterest.
4. Vary the content you share
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/content.jpg alt: Varied content on Pinterest)
We have already touched upon the different kinds of content you can share on Pinterest, and to get the most out of the site you should diversify your efforts.
Share a mix of your own work and research, photographs that reflect your office culture, and videos you’ve made. More than this though, you should be actively sharing a combination of your own images, as well as repins from other users, and images from elsewhere on the net.
You want to be seen as an authority on the site, so you need to make your account authoritative.
To do this, post the kind of visually engaging content your audience will be looking for. Are you providing content that answers their questions, or encourages them to share it on? Always keep your end user in mind, and make sure your content is varied enough to keep them on your page, and remember your brand.
5. Make the most of the analytics
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/analytics.jpg alt: Pinterest analytics)
Up until recently, Pinterest users had to rely on (link: http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/pinterest-analytics-tools/ text: third-party Pinterest analytics) such as Pinerly to monitor the success of their accounts. However earlier this month, Pinterest introduced their own web-based analytics tool.
You can use this tool to track everything from the pin and pinner engagement, through to the number of repins your pins are receiving. You can also track your total impressions, network and reach size and referral traffic.
Whilst still basic compared to Pinerly and Pinfluencer, you should still be making the most of these analytics. When you know how well your account is performing, you will be able to make the necessary changes to boost your Pinterest success.
Pinterest’s analytics are still in their infancy, but will prove extremely useful for both B2B and B2C marketers.
Takeaways
Pinterest is a hugely powerful tool for business, when you take the time to maximise your potential from the site. By following the steps outlined in this article, you will be able to do just that. Pinterest marketing might be simple, but it is certainly powerful.
If you’d like more help and advice on Pinterest marketing – we can help.
As experts in (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/social-media-marketing/ text: social media marketing), we can offer you professional advice and guidance on getting the biggest bang for your marketing buck. (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/contact/ text: Contact us today) to see what we can do for you.