Pinterest for Businesses: Why You Need To Start Today
English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When Pinterest first launched in 2010, it became a go-to site for a largely female population interested in sharing photos of recipes, home decor, and fashion items. Well, many of those items are still there, but it's not the content that matters. Instead, it's how users actually engage with the site.
Let's talk about how to work Pinterest for businesses
Have you ever used it?
Basically, each individual item appears as an image. People can Like, Repin, or Comment on each of these. Naturally, you want to increase your social network. One of the best ways to do this is to comment on each image to connect with its creator. Give them some positive feedback, share their content with your audience, and you're on step one of the positive reinforcement cycle of social networking.
But really, that's just one small aspect. Let's talk about branding.
I see it all the time, especially with designers and Etsy sellers. Let's say that you own a soap making company out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. You focus on using high quality ingredients and you make very unique scent combinations. For this test, let's go with Lemongrass Coconut. Now, that's a rather unusual combination. When people see it on your profile (and you've attached an attractive picture).
Then, they share both of these items and go back to Follow the soap maker from Tulsa. The person who purchased the Sage Woods bar likes the soap maker so much that they add these items to their "Favorite Stuff" board. Now anytime anyone checks out this fan's personal profile, they see an image of this wonderful soap that they love so much (sometimes even with a raving testimonial about how great the soap maker is).they pause, hit Like, and Repin. One of their followers sees this picture and checks out the Etsy profile. They like the Lemongrass Coconut soap, but find a Sage Woods combo and just have to buy it right away.
My love / hate relationship with Pinterest (Photo credit: madaise)
In this small example, you can see something quite remarkable. With Pinterest, consumers specifically align themselves with various products and recommend them to their friends. Think about your business.
What would you pay for someone to write a glowing review and share it with all of their friends who appreciate your specific market niche?
Pinterest is the ultimate "power of the customer" way of working. Although it might not be suitable for absolutely all business models, it can create intense buzz for product-driven markets.
The best part: it's free. It takes some time to get used to, and of course, it can't all be self-promotion (social media dies when you don't share the work of others).
Simply create an account, and start Liking and Repinning other peoples' work. When you start to increase your audience and get people commenting on your pins, start adding a few of your own items. This is a perfect place to watch a product "go viral," and all it takes is a little social know-how.
Have you ever used Pinterest? How did it go?