A lot of businesses still think that Pinterest is only for personal use.
The idea of virtual pin boards doing anything for business seems ridiculous to them. They can get behind the idea of Facebook, Google+, even Twitter… but Pinterest still seems like the sole domain of high school girls dreaming about their weddings and parents looking for family Christmas ideas. Not, they say, the place for serious business promotion.
I beg to differ.
I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite social media platforms (and not just because I get to browse images of honeymoon destinations for hours, though that’s certainly a perk!)
If you’re wondering how your business can put Pinterest to use, well, get ready to start pinning.
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1. To promote your blog.
If you have a blog (and you really should), Pinterest is a great way to share and promote the content your producing there.
My clients in the wedding, event, and hotel industries use a lot of images of their blog, and those are the obvious things to pin. But don’t limit yourself to thinking only about beautiful pictures. Any blog post can have visual content associate with it. And in fact, everything should.
(Take a look at this post if you’re not sure how to do it – Pinterest is great for graphics as well as pictures!)
2. To add context.
Are there other business or products that are related to yours?
The answer to that question is probably yes – no business exists in a vacuum. So make sure your Pinterest boards include those businesses or products to show how you relate to the rest of your industry.
For example, one of my hotel clients has pin boards about packing tips. One of my wedding clients has boards of wedding dresses and flowers to go with their jewelry.
This not only makes your content more interesting and valuable, it also goes back to the key purpose of social media – building relationships with others.
3. Share your products and services.
This is obviously the big one.
Share your own things! Pin your products, your services, your stores, your employee bios. You can use Pinterest to build a complete picture of your business.
4. Spotlight important events.
Do you have a big retreat or retail event coming up? Pin the promotional material.
Have you been featured in a magazine or newspaper? Pin an image of the clip and link back to either the main article or a blog post about it.
Are you having a sale? Pin the flyer for your followers to see.
If there is news about your business, it should always go on Pinterest. And, going back to #1, if there isn’t visual content associated with the event, create it yourself.
5. Map relevant information.
The new map feature on Pinterest puzzled a lot of people when it launched, but I think it’s a great idea. Any locations associated with your business can now be pinned into one big interactive map (or several smaller ones) by board.
For one of my B2B wedding clients, I’m using the map feature to create an interactive board of where are their retailers are located. A hotel could use it to map out day-trip itineraries, or, if they have multiple locations in a city, where each hotel is located.
Upcoming events, stores, travel ideas… it can all be pinned and browsed.
Once you start using Pinterest, you’ll be amazed to find the ways it can help promote your business.
What other Pinterest ideas can you think of?
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