Pinterest, a relative newcomer to the social media world, is often overlooked by those thinking about publicizing a business.

 Overview of How Pinterest Works

One of the appeals of Pinterest is its functionality. As a Pinterest user, you have the option to follow all or just a select few of another user’s boards.

For those unfamiliar with the site, it’s based on the concept of the bulletin board – you post or “pin” items of interest to your boards. You can create as many boards as you have topics you want to post about.

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When you “follow” a board, every time the board’s owner pins something, the pin shows up in your Pinterest “news feed.” You can just skip over that pin or you can check it out. Be sure to click on the visual, as sometimes links get broken. Then you can decide whether or not to share the pin by pinning it to one of your own boards.

One way to locate boards you might want to follow is by searching for a key word or phrase, which will bring up pins related to that subject. Another is to search within a pre-defined Pinterest category.

Or, you can open the “Everything” option and see all the pins currently being posted. This last option can turn up some fascinating items you might not have found otherwise. Pinterest is known to be “addictive,” so be careful about spending too much time there.

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 Pointers for Using Pinterest for Business:

  • You can either convert your personal account to a business account, or create a separate business account. Business accounts provide analytics to track the impact you are having on Pinterest.
  • Brand your business account with your business name, not your personal name. This helps with search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
  • If your account includes both business related boards and personal boards, make sure that the business boards appear first when a visitor finds you on Pinterest.
  • Remember to use key words when you name your boards, describe your boards, and describe your pins.
  • Regularly search for key words in your industry in the search box on the top left to see what kind of pins come up. This keeps you in touch with what competitors and potential collaborators, suppliers, and customers are posting.

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  • Find others in your industry who have outstanding boards and selectively repin items you think would interest your Pinterest followers
  • Create your own pins, making sure each one has an eye-catching photo, graphic, or video.
  • Avoid being too promotional, but do let people know about your products, special offers, etc.
  • Engage with others via the comment feature, but don’t overdo it. Pinterest is more of a search engine and curation site than an interactive social media site like Facebook.
  • Be sure to have a have Pinterest “follow me” link on your website or blog so people are more likely to follow you on Pinterest.
  • Similarly, have a “Pin it” button on your website or blog make it easy for people to pin your information to their boards.

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Some Helpful Pinterest Resources

 

How About You?

How do you use Pinterest? If you use it for business, what have you learned that you can share to help others? What questions are plaguing you?

 

 About Joyce
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Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.