Pinterest: What are the opportunities for business?

Top 10 tips from KISS Public Relations Social Media Manager

It may be new on the social media scene but Pinterest is well and truly gaining traction, especially with the female demographic. The number of daily users of Pinterest has increased over 145% since January 1^st 2012 and its growth has far exceeded that of Facebook and Twitter at the same point in their history - which has left marketers asking the question ‘can I use this for business? ’. According to Laura Brown, Social Media Manager at KISS Public Relations the opportunities are vast for businesses willing to embrace the ethos of the platform. New research recently revealed that Pinterest is now the third biggest referral source to Shopify, which supplies the e-commerce back end to 25,000 online stores, commenting on the research findings Laura said:“What is particularly interesting is that users not only buy the products they pin, but spend more on average than their Facebook counterparts. Therefore any commerce business that relies heavily on driving traffic to their website should certainly consider utilising Pinterest.” So how does Pinterest differ from other social media platforms? Essentially Pinterest is a virtual scrapbook or ‘pinboard’. The site encourages users to share tastes and interests with others by posting, known as ‘pinning’ to their own pinboards usually following a similar theme, e.g. wedding, hairstyles, home decor etc. The site also allows users to browse others pinboards, gaining inspiration and discovering new things from people who share similar interests. In the same way as Twitter and Facebook users can repost, known as ‘repining’ and comment on posts or ‘pins’ encouraging valuable interaction, conversation on the sites, as well as the option to post activity to Facebook and Twitter. Laura continued: “As with any new social media it can be daunting to take that leap and establish a presence on a new site, let alone start interacting and experimenting to see what works. With that in mind I have compiled a list of tips to get stated and make that move a little easier.” Pinterest tips for business 1. Be specific: Organise your boards well and ensure they follow a theme and are titled clearly, this will attract more followers. Also incorporate key words onto boards already used in your SEO strategy to ensure maximum exposure.
2. Cross promote your Pinterest site: Like Twitter and Facebook you can add a follow button to your website. Find out how: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/.
3. Add a ‘Pin it’ button: Similar to a tweet button, the pin it button can be added next to posts on your website, this allows people to easily pin products or posts to their own pinboard. Find out how: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/.
4. Don’t forget pricing information!: Pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without so it is important to remember to include a price on the image, in the description and tag. By tagging the price when uploading your pin your product will be pulled into the gifts section. This is a visual display of products categorised by price, with links through to purchase.
5. Use Hashtags: Think of Pinterest as the social search engine.Like Twitter and Google Plus the platform supports hashtags (#) making content more search-friendly. Hashtags are particularly useful when creating an integrated campaign, across several social medias, for example create a pinboard utilising the tags you are also using on Twitter and Google+.
6. Leverage user generated content: Enable other users to contribute to your board by adding them as contributers . This opens up a fantastic opportunity to include your fans and customers in your marketing and create a sense of community. To do this, you need to invite people to join the board, select ‘me and contributors’ and type in the name or email of who you’d like to add.
7. Competition: Encourage people to pin things by holding a competition asking them to create a board and send you a link, or pin something and tag your company or campaign name. Coolest entry wins a prize!
8. Pin Brand-Related Images: Pinterest gave the following instruction to users: “Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.” In other words don’t just fill your boards with pins of your products – It’s boring! Interject with images of the lifestyle the brand or product promotes and some pithy quotes to express your brand personality.
9. Protect yourself: There has been a lot of talk regarding Pinterest and the posting of copyrighted photos, make sure you know the ins and outs before you get pinning! Find out more: http://pinterest.com/about/copyright</http:>
10. Pin Etiquette: As with any social media there are do’s and don’ts, check out the Pinterest guidelines to ensure you are playing by the rules.

If you are interested in developing a social media strategy for your business then call Laura Brown on 0208 12345 75 or 01223 911123 for an informal, no obligation chat or alternatively email laura@kisscom.co.uk. Follow KISS on Twitter at twitter.com/kisstalk, and keep up-to-date with the industry social media news by following Laura at twitter.com/KISS_SocialM. Or follow us on Pinterest pinterest.com/artofsimplicity.