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5 Tips on How to Optimize Pinterest for Business

Pinterest may not be as widely used as Facebook or Twitter, but it is certainly giving its kin a run for their money! The social media platform where someone can search for visual content relating to everything from recipes to Ryan Gosling memes and from B2B infographics to home repair “how-to” instructions has taken the cyber-world by storm. Recent studies have even shown that Pinterest is the fastest growing social media platform out there! And with the rollout of Promoted Pins in May of this year, I predict Pinterest to be a frontrunner when it comes to social-media sharing sites to use for gaining brand awareness, and possibly even direct sales.

Unfortunately, Pinterest has been written off as a content sharing network just for women in their 20s to daydream about the wedding rings they’ll never receive, workouts they will never try and outfits they can’t afford. While those facts may be true, Pinterest has much more to offer. Pinterest is a great place to build brand awareness for any large or small business, along with providing useful information for anyone, whether they are male or female, 13 or 63.

So, let me have your attention for approximately 4 minutes to change your mind about Pinterest. Below are five, very simple tips to optimize Pinterest for business, to increase your success rate in leveraging this social platform for brand awareness and website traffic.

  1. Engage with Followers

If you know anything about social media, engaging with your followers is key to a successful campaign. What some people might not know about Pinterest is that they are several ways to engage with followers. Included in this are commenting on others’ pins, repinning pins relevant to your brand, liking pins and creating groups boards that invite others to pin items to your boards. Remember: Pinterest is a social network, not a billboard. Don’t be afraid to become a part of the community.

  1. Make Your Page a Business Page

Taking the step to become a business page is a huge, yet simple step. Follow this link to set up your business account profile. Personal accounts may also be turned into business accounts; you just have to have Pinterest verify your website address. In this case, if you have a blog domain or something similar, go ahead and use that. One of the most important features of converting your profile to a business page is the ability to access your page’s analytics and measuring metrics (GOLD!). Those analytics include impressions, visits to your site, unique users and of course the number of repins.

 

  1. Name Your Pins

It’s all too easy just to pin a pin and neglect to change its description. Changing the description of your pin could create all the difference in the discovery of your brand by relevant audiences. Wouldn’t you be more inclined to pin content that is accompanied by an engaging meesage? One study showed that pin descriptions which are about 200 characters are more re-pinned than others. Pin descriptions with relevant keywords also make it easier for pinners to find your content. The occasional hashtag doesn’t hurt either!

  1. Mix-Up Your Content

Content is what Pinterest is all about. Don’t bore your followers with just photo pins. Stand out from the competition by incorporating different types of visual media. Here are a few to try:

  • Videos from YouTube and Vimeo
  • Podcasts
  • Audio from SoundCloud
  • GIFs
  • Slideshows
  1. Timing is Everything

Personally, nothing is more irritating than a brand that pins 30+ pins all at once. This “pin dumping” is a surefire to lose followers. I recommend pinning twice daily, once from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then in the evenings between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. In fact, as a helpful hint the optimal time to get your golden pins out there is on Saturday mornings.

How do you utilize Pinterest for your brand? Have any of these tips worked for you? Let me know in the comments below!