Since its launch several years ago, Pinterest has become known as the unfailingly easy-to-use source for the latest recipes and how-to crafts. Oh, and of course, beautiful photos.
But, did you know it’s also a valuable tool to market your business? If you can capture a remarkable image to tell a sliver of your story – a new pair of your brand’s shoes, a new sandwich at your restaurant – then you can successfully use the social media network to share your message.
How it works
Think of a cork board with thumb tacks and various notes, photos and post-it note reminders. Add the Internet and that, in a nutshell, is Pinterest. The site’s users – all 72.8 million of them – can select their interests from a broad array of topics such as gardening, fitness, parenting, Disney and more. Posts related to the user’s interests (called pins) will show up in their feed. To save items for later, users can choose to Pin It.
Quite simply, the more pins a user follows the more people see it through their network, similar to Facebook.
Businesses on Pinterest
Despite its growing popularity – particularly among women and millennials – the social media platform remains a fairly untapped market for business. According to this article, only 5 percent of small businesses use Pinterest. In all, the network has a total of 500,000 business accounts.
But, before diving in head first and creating an account for your business, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Eye-catching, shareable photos are a must-have
- Boards comprised of a given theme (think “new for fall”) will help to keep your page organized and easier to follow
- Think of what prospective customers might be searching for and name your boards and pins accordingly
- See what your competitors or similar businesses are doing, both good and bad
- Retail is one of the top performers on Pinterest: Nordstrom has hands-down the most engaged group of followers
- Not every business or industry lends itself to success on Pinterest
Would you like to know more about how to use social media to help build awareness and market your business? Call Theresa Katalinas at 215-519-8833 or email katalinascommunications@gmail.com.
