Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for new verb vernacular in the land of social media. “If you like it, pin it” and “I can’t stop Pinteresting” are the new “tweet” and “tweeting.” For those of us who were early adopters in 2011, this sudden obsession with Pinterest seems like old news. But considering that in January alone Pinterest grew 44% in referral traffic and jumped from 7 to 11 million users, it’s clearly the cool new kid on the block and you should be joining the party.
Here’s how to use your invite to your brand’s advantage:
1. Let your tribe do the work for you.
Add the “pin it” button to your site just as you (hopefully) already have the option for people to easily tweet or share on Facebook the posts and images on your website. Personally, I use the Chrome plugin so I can easily pin an image on any site. But as this is a new platform people are just discovering, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for them to share your images. And remind them to do so. Want to see if it’s working? Visit “www.pinterest.com/source/www.YourWebsite.com” to see who’s pinned your content for others to see and share.
2. Get your pin on and share your best work.
Rather than relying on your followers alone, pin your own images to Pinterest to get your them into the Pinterverse. (Yep. I just made it a noun as well.) However, you don’t want to look spammy. Just as on Twitter, the best brands share more about other brands and ideas than they do their own links. Break up your feed by re-pinning cool images you find on Pinterest or adding to the pool with things you come across on websites and blogs your followers might like.
A great example of this curation is the online magazine Matchbook, which creates a board for each issue produced, as well as pinning images that align with their aesthetic.
Matchbook Magazine uses Pinterest to highlight each issue as it's published
3. Think outside your box.
One of the coolest things about Pinterest is that it allows companies to share more aspects of their brand personality than other forms of social media. Oreck Vacuum Cleaners reminds followers that it’s their “Furry Friends” that make a vacuum a necessity for throwing a “Party Pretty” event. And Gusto Pizza Co certainly lives up to its claim of offering pizza with unique personality with their “Swagger” and “Hasselhoff” boards.
My style blog focuses on fashion for men and women. Yet on Pinterest, not only do my followers get to see a more 360 degree version of me personally with my boards on travel, home, and words of inspiration, but I get to represent a more well-rounded brand essence of the Dean Street Society aesthetic outside of wardrobe alone.
Dean Street Society on Pinterest
4. Content has never been easier.
Many small business owners bemoan the time that social media can take. Get twice the return on your investment in Pinterest by sharing some of your favorite pins on Twitter, Facebook, or a handful as a blog post. Rather than sharing a cool post only on Twitter, pin it as well to double your content’s reach. Rather than pinning only an image, share it on Facebook and create two follower interactions at once. Rather than Google image searching for the right images to accompany a blog post, search Pinterest so you can both pin and blog your finds.
Whole Foods posts their Pins to Facebook
5. Give the people what they want.
We the people are presently Pinterest obsessed, but as the platform is new, we’re still trying to figure out exactly how to use it. The social component is not nearly as strong as on Twitter or Facebook. So far, consumers are mostly using it independently to curate their own boards for cooking recipes or home decor inspiration. Get creative and give your customers a way to spend their time on Pinterest with a creative purpose. A clothing line could host a contest for the best outfit created with their item and shared on Pinterest. A bakery might offer a gift basket to the customer with the best “Easter Parade Party” board. Photographer Mark Eric asks his blog followers to “pin me to win me” by pinning his images to Pinterest for a chance to win a portrait session. Just as photo challenges have become popular on Instagram, you’ll promote your brand and be remembered as a fun and innovative company if you can find a creative way to let your fans play with a platform they’re already excited about. The girls at Bower Power did this with their Pinterest Challenge, which asked users to execute the DIY projects pinned to a board.
Bower Power challenges users to Pinterest Challenges
Bonus Tip: Brand baby, brand.
The biggest missed opportunity I’m seeing these days is even businesses with a huge following not carrying their branding over to their Pinterest page. What if a stranger sees something you pinned and notices the name of your board? Anyone can have a board named “clothes,” so as a stylist, I name my boards either “Style Client: ___” to allude to my profession or “Dean St Soc: ___” to pique their interest in my brand. Consider if Joy Cho of Oh Joy! labeled each of her boards “Oh Beauty!” and “Oh Fonts!” to carry through her brand. What if a stranger visits your Pinterest profile? Your “about” section should include a link back to your website/Twitter/Facebook and a one-line description of your business. N&N has 53,000 followers, but while I like their aesthetic, I have no idea who they are or where else to find them. If you’re going to invest the time in Pinterest, take the extra 15 minutes to make sure you’re on there as a 360 degree professional brand.
Pinterest is a social media tool that takes less time than Twitter or Facebook—a “pin” takes only a moment and should include more than a few words of text. Plus, because each image credits its source, it’s more effective in driving traffic to your site and increasing SEO than Instagram.
Less time with better results? This is a party you’re super glad you came to.
For more inspiration on how brands are using Pinterest, check out the boards these pinners (one final noun) have created:
- Graphic Designer: In Honor of Design
- Fashion Brand: Warby Parker
- Photographer: Joy Harmon Prouty
- Bakery: Butter + Love
- Event Planner: Ryan Hayes
- Social Entrepreneur: Kyle Westaway
Have you explored Pinterest and put it to work for you? Let us know in the comments and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn.
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Hilary Rushford is the founder of Dean Street Society, where she works as a personal stylist for “real people with real budgets” in person and around the world via Skype. You can find her on Twitter @HilaryRushford, for gents only via @DeanStDappers, and giving stylish advice on YouTube.
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