The Power of Pinterest -- and where to start!
Tips for Using Pinterest to Grow your Small Business
Pinterest seems to be getting a wave of popularity lately. There is probably some correlation between people being at home through so much of 2020 and craving eye candy...and having free access to this huge catalog of beautiful images for everything you can imagine!
But, a fun place to browse recipes or landscaping ideas is not all that Pinterest provides. If you’re a small business owner or solopreneur, Pinterest offers an opportunity to promote your business to a targeted audience. It’s a way to connect with your ideal customers (in addition to being full of inspiration)!
Pinterest is basically a big search engine. And by being a creator of pins, using SEO, and linking to your site, your target audience can find you and discover how amazing your business is and how you are going to make their life even better.
If you aren’t using this application yet to connect with your target audience and community -- here are some basic steps and thoughts to get started.
CREATE PINS TO SHARE CONTENT! Any time you post new content on your website (updates, a new blog post, new services, etc.) use Pinterest as an avenue to announce and share the information. This will be in the form of a “pin” that can link back to your site. While you can create pins that are simply stand-alone images and text with no link back to more info...you should take advantage of the linking ability to bring people to your site or FB page, etc.
Canva and other tools like Canva have Pinterest Pin templates that will give you the optimal size space for your image. Once you create one that you love...you will be able to copy and re-use with modifications over and over.
USE CONSISTENT BRANDING. Once you have created that “perfect for you” pin… stick with the basic color and formatting to establish your branding. Not only is it more efficient for you -- your followers will start to recognize your pins and be drawn to them. Also, when someone clicks on your profile, they’ll see a display that looks professional and cohesive. They will be intrigued and ready to discover what awesome content you’re sharing!
ADD TEXT TO ANY IMAGES ON YOUR PINS (AND ON YOUR BLOG IMAGES). Not only can you create pins from scratch to point people toward your content, but you can also give people the opportunity to “pin” images that appear with your blog straight from your site. Therefore, add some text! Pins on Pinterest will receive more attention if the image does more than show a pretty picture.
BE CONSISTENT IN PINNING. Like most things, consistency is what will make a difference. If you decide to use Pinterest as more than a fun way to browse and save ideas...make it a routine part of your social media strategy. The more you show up, the more traction you’ll get from it. With Pinterest, you are drawing attention to content on your website.
USE TITLES, DESCRIPTIONS, KEYWORDS, AND HASHTAGS IN THE FIELDS PROVIDED IN YOUR PIN CREATION. Take advantage of all the fields that are available along with your pins. As I said, Pinterest functions like a search engine -- so you want your audience to be able to find your content. Having a title and description also helps your searcher when they land on your pin - they can more easily know that they’re at the right place.
There are advanced functions within Pinterest to optimize your value and success through the platform. Once you get started with a business account spend some time exploring the Business Hub and Analytics. Like many applications, there are beginning and more complex ways to use it depending on your goals and growth.
Don’t forget to have fun and use Pinterest for inspiration. I find that it’s a nice break from some of the other social media sites. You can comment and follow but it is less about immediate interaction. Content created also has a longer shelf life than Instagram, making it well worth your while.
Contact me to book a Discovery Call if you’d like to discuss a strategy for getting started and growing your Pinterest presence!
