Introduction
Twitter and Facebook are not the only platforms that can be used when it comes to marketing and if you are concentrating all your efforts here, you need to rethink your strategy. Pinterest is also a great marketing tool that you should take time to consider. When you compare a tweet and a pin, there is something you will notice and that is how easy it is to paste pins than post tweets. Pins have a longer life than posts on Facebooks or tweets. This means that there is still a lot of untapped potential available on Pinterest today.
Facebook owns Instagram and this is something that is making Pinterest even more valuable within the business market. More and more people are creating Pinterest accounts, this includes big companies, and now there are millions of users on the platform. This should serve as an indication for business to be a part of this platform.
There is so much more than meets the eye where Pinterest is concerned. It is not only about gourmet food, exotic vacations, flower arrangements, and so on. There are many features that can be used by businesses to have a wider reach. There are thousands of business accounts up and running on Pinterest and they are utilizing the resources available to promote their brands. Pinterest is growing very fast and it is gaining popularity.
The account
A Pinterest account meant for business is not similar to the personal account. There is so much more. If you do not have an account on Pinterest, or you have a personal account already running, it is necessary to set up a new business account to take advantage of the potential that is offered on the platform. Creating a business account helps you in ways such as:
• Better terms of service: The service terms are different when they are compared to those applicable to personal accounts. You should take time to go through them one by one and try to understand. The difference has been set because you are aiming at making use of the account for commercial reasons. You will still be bound by the acceptable use policy as well as the pin etiquette policy. There are several guidelines that commercial users need to know. The first is that they should never promote anything spammy like asking the audience to comment several times. Commercial users are also not allowed to run sweepstakes where the point is a representation of an entry. You are also not supposed to ask the pinners to vote using a like or a re-pin. Contests, promotions, and sweepstakes should not be run very often. It is always important to follow the set guidelines to avoid unnecessary suspension of your account.
• Educational materials: the platform isn’t just given. The aim is to come up with marketing materials that are educational so that your marketing efforts can be maximized for business. There is Institute, which is interactive workshops where you get to connect with pinners. It allows you to get better returns on the site. Resources and webinars are also available, especially for the smaller businesses. Visiting the Pinterest blog keeps you in the know and you will always have tips to work with.
• Pinterest analytics: this is a great feature for businesses operating on Pinterest, when the account is verified; you are in a position to keep track of all the important information for your business. It is possible to note the strategies and the kind of content that is working so that you can improve marketing in a constant way.
• Rich pins: with a business account, you are able to choose between five kinds of rich pins. All these come with a lot of information when compared to regular pins and this gives you more sales power. These can include stock updates and price in real time, a direct link to the website as well as map locations that are interactive.
• Future tools: when you run a business account, you have something to look forward to because Pinterest is committed to creating even more for the businesses. The tools that you can use now include widget creation, pin it buttons, and promoted pins. Always keep an eye open for what is new.
• Settings: with a business account, you get to enjoy different settings. You only need to add the name of your business instead of the normal first name and last name formula that is common with personal accounts. The business account cannot be linked directly to your Facebook account and so you have to add a tab within the homepage.
Creating popular pins
It is possible to get great engagement for your business when pins are executed well. Pinterest is a kind of visual site. However, you still need to make it possible for people to find your business account. This means that you need to optimize. If people cannot search for you, then you will be invisible in between thousands of business accounts.
Before you even start pinning, take time to understand the whole culture on the social media platform. Get to know what the audience is looking for and then find the best way in which you can create the most popular pins.
When you are aware of popular areas, you will have a good idea on the boards that can benefit your business. There are some who will show categories by gender. It is essential that we appreciate that there are more female users on Pinterest than males. However, even men have started catching the vibe and more accounts are being set up. The users keep on growing consistently. You need to pick relevant topics if you want to capture the attention of the audience.
When you look at Pinterest, you realize just how visual it really is. The visual impact is important today, images are actually the main thing, and they need to relate to what you share. You therefore need to come up with images that are pleasing visually. Sometimes people will stick around to see even more of what you have to share.
The pin size needs to be considered as well. Because all pins are usually set to be of the same size, you need to consider the pixels that you are choosing. Do not make it too big or too small. Having an ideal size makes it so much easier to size images to meet requirements.
Conclusion
Take time to understand how Pinterest operates and you will realize the great potential that it holds.
Category: social media marketing
Keywords: Facebook, Pinterest, pins
Tags: social media marketing, Pinterest marketing, online marketing
