How Online Marketers Are Using Pinterest to Promote Their Businesses

Pinterest seems to have taken the Internet world by storm. Beloved by its primary demographic (which is said to be affluent, highly educated women under 45 years old), Pinterest also offers significant value to online marketers due this new social media outlet’s ability to direct focused traffic to websites.

On Pinterest, users can share visually interesting items ranging from photographs to infographics, inspirational sayings, and videos. Users can search for pins with specific keywords or browse by category. It’s also possible, as on Twitter or Facebook, to follow the pins of favorite users and repin items from their pinboards.

Although Pinterest officially discourages users from overt self-promotion, online markets can take advantage of this source of traffic. When used like other social media sites, as a way to share engaging links and ideas with interested followers, Pinterest can function as an extension of your company’s About page—leading to increased trust and higher conversion.

Key Strategies for Promoting Your Business with Pinterest

1. Enforce brand recognition

Since Pinterest focuses on images, it’s a great opportunity to provide visual repetition of your logo and key products. Whenever you like or repin someone else’s image, a tiny avatar of your logo will appear beneath it. The site also lets you include a link to your site in the comments field of each pin.

If your business is service-oriented, use Pinterest to share photos of people using your service (after obtaining permission from your clients). Infographics and videos are especially useful to service businesses or those selling informational products.

2. Make it searchable

Pinterest allows you to use hashtags (for example, #fashion) that help users find your pins by using the search function. Searches also turn up other significant keywords in the comments field of your pins. Choose keywords that will direct relevant traffic to your boards and ultimately to your website.

3. Make it local

Catering to a geographical area? Include the name of your city or neighborhood in the comments field, as long as it makes sense in the context of that image. It’s particularly helpful to add a board solely for pins related to your local area.

What if your business is aimed at the global Internet market? It’s still a good idea to add a board with images related to the city where your company is headquartered. When customers can mentally envision you in a specific environment, it heightens trust.

4. Get it featured

You can add a price tag and website link to any pin that shows a product. This causes your pin to be featured automatically under the Gifts category.

Another way to increase visibility is giving each board a catchy title. Keep it family-friendly and appropriate to your brand, but demonstrate human qualities like a sense of humor. Think of your board titles as a headline to draw in users who will then follow your boards, leading to greater visibility for your logo avatar.

5. Make it social

After you’ve uploaded a pin, share it on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter so that you’re generating backlinks. You can also add a Pin It button to your website to encourage Pinterest users to share images.

Remember, social networks are primarily about engaging with others. The majority of your activity on Pinterest should be repinning and commenting on other users’ pins. Don’t forget to “like” pins in addition to repinning them, and take the opportunity to “follow” other uses. As with Twitter, it often happens if you follow a user’s boards, they will follow you in return. More followers means more eyes on your pins—and your website.

Andrew Michaels is a business writer for Indemnity Insurance.net – a dedicated business resource.