Social media is dominating the digital marketing scene and the online photo sharing platform Pinterest is becoming a popular tool for companies to include in their social marketing strategy to grow their business. When formatting a social marketing strategy, most content marketers go for the usual suspects (Facebook, Twitter and Google+). But with over 70 million users and a big push for brands to incorporate visual content, Pinterest seems to be the go-to resource for engagement, building community and generating leads.
Here’s how to get started with Pinterest and your social marketing strategy :
Brand Your Business with a Pinterest Business Page
Before you can start “pinning” and really utilizing Pinterest as a part of your social marketing strategy, you need to make sure your company has a business page. Having all your social media accounts branded the same way helps to boost your online presence. Make sure your branding is carbon copied across all social media channels. Doing this ensures that when people go to your Pinterest page, it’s the exact same style of content that they would find if they visited your website, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, etc.
Cross Promote Through Social Mediums
To get the most out of any social marketing strategy, you want to make sure that your content is visible and can attract traffic to and from your website. Attach Pinterest links to all of your social outlets, as well as your email to encourage users to want to view your page. Also, include “Pin It” buttons next to images (infographics, how-to’s, pictures) you would want to be shared. The “Pin It” button allows users to “pin” or share content from your website with just one click.
Attract Your Audience Through Good Visuals
The point of Pinterest is to share great images, but how do you know what to share? Of course, you can share branded original content from your business, but that’s not all you have to contribute to the Pinterest world. By creating different boards on Pinterest, viewers can not only learn about your product/services, but they can also browse other categories that may or may not directly relate to your industry. There is a wealth of categories available – don’t be afraid to play around with different ideas for Pinterest boards.
Build Community
Just like with any social media platform, it’s important to engage with your audience. In order to really reap the benefits of Pinterest, engaging with people has to become a key priority for your social marketing strategy. The easiest way to interact with your Pinterest pals is to re-pin their pictures. Much like the Twitter retweet function, a re-pin allows the user to know you re-posted their content. Re posting a pin creates a relationship where the user is more inclined to visit your profile and check out your pins. You can also comment on pictures to build conversations around similar interests and topics. Comments are another great way to engage with users.
Create Public Pinterest Boards
One of the perks of social media is the inclusion factor – people love to share their thoughts and feel like their voice can be heard. Pinterest is a great platform that allows users to directly connect with brands by sharing content. By creating a public board, users can contribute pins and get involved. Pinterest also has a Place Pins feature that allows users to upload photos and display the location the picture was taken on a map. Suggesting users to pin using this feature generates conversation among users from different parts of the world and also helps to boost your engagement.
Optimize Your Pinterest Page
Lastly, make sure that your Pinterest profile and pins are SEO optimized. Pinterest functions as its own search engine and has its own algorithm – bringing the most popular pins to the top. To ensure Pinterest popularity and the best search results for your pin, use relevant keywords and phrases in your title, file name and description. Make sure your profile is concise and contains keywords to target your target audience as well and don’t forget to include a link back to your website!
Visual content is an important part of a social marketing strategy and Pinterest is one of the best and easiest platforms to use. Including visuals with your blogging or other written online content is the one-two punch to any social marketing strategy.
