One of my favorite social sites is Pinterest. It's not social media - it's a search engine!
I love how easy it is to peruse and find great content, but more importantly, how easy it is to share your own and grow your audience!
Here are 7 tips for using Pinterest for your business:
- Using Pinterest for Business is not as hard as you might think. Pinterest is search engine marketing – think of it as Google with pictures. It’s a way to maximize and boost what you’ve already created. Make all of that content you’ve already created work harder for you! Podcasts, YouTube, Blogs, E-books: any long form content you’ve already created are perfect for Pinterest.
- Business.Pinterest.com – Number 2 is a hidden gem – and by hidden I mean completely public but completely under utilized. This part of Pinterest’s website will help you create a business profile (or you can convert your personal profile to business.) Then you can walk through their short tutorial to claim your sites. This means your website domain, your Etsy page, and social media accounts like IG FB and Youtube. That way, you get credit for your stuff whenever anyone pins from that site. But remember, you have to be the site owner – with the exception of Etsy, you can’t claim what you don’t fully own. Having a business profile gives you insights to analytics and Pinterest Business resources – getting you on the fast track to using Pinterest for Business success!
- Which leads us to #3, which is under “Pinterest Guides and Resources”. It’s the Pinterest Academy. Here you’ll find a quick overview about Pinterest. (Answers all the, what the heck is Pinterest? And can I use Pinterest for business success???). They’ll even walk you through setting up a business account step-by-step, from how to set up a profile to claiming your sites. So you don’t have to do it alone!!
- Ok, so now you’ve got your account set up. You’re probably wondering, what do you pin? Well, that is what #4 is all about: This is the part where you define your perfect client and create a Pinterest oasis for them. We now pin for THEM and not for us (although you can create some secret boards for yourself.) Follow leaders in your niche or industry. Use their top 5-10 boards to inform your boards. Repin (also now known as “save”) their pins to your boards to get started. Then Pinterest will know what type of content to curate for you.
- Okay, #5, let’s talk about best pinning practices: Your pins (images) and pin titles and descriptions should relate to one another and include a call to action. What this looks like is a button like “read more” or “buy now” … pretty much anything besides CLICK :D. Another consideration is that the pin leads directly to an article or landing page (website page) that relates directly with the pin. This is critical for using Pinterest for Business success. Remember, Pinterest is a search engine. It will drive traffic to your site, but you have to convert. The best way to do that (getting people on your email list, subscribing to your YouTube channel or podcast or buying a product) is to promise something on your pin and follow through and deliver on the click-through.
- Now #6: Where do you get the content to pin? Your first resource is going to be Pinterest itself. Remember in #4 when you followed leaders in your niche? That gives you a jumpstart. Use content you’ve already created (IG Stories and videos, tik tok videos). Do you have a blog? Create pins (graphics) and link them to your different blog articles. The best tool for this is Canva. You can do the same with your podcasts, YouTube videos, and even social media. At this time, Pinterest doesn’t mind sharing the stage with other sites. And video is HOT on Pinterest and they are pushing out stories to Pinterest users like CRAZY! The best story pins are step-by-step type process pins. Bring people behind the scenes and show them how to do something!
- Finally, #7: Do you need NEW content ideas? Tip #7 will help you whether you are creating for Pinterest or just in general. I first heard a version of this tip from Stu Mclaren. Google your services + FAQ or your services + problem. That will give you ideas. Type in your niche or problem into the Pinterest search bar as well – and that’s how you find keywords. Which is how you get found on Pinterest.
So, just to sum up: Using Pinterest for your business is search engine marketing – Google with pictures, or how Tamara likes to say: If FB, IG and Google had a baby, it would be Pinterest!
There is a GOLD MINE of info at business.pinterest.com – tons of guides and resources, including the Pinterest Academy. It’s a free training program but you have to sign up for it. Then jumpstart your Pinterest Business account (which is the oasis for your dream community to gobble up!) by following 5-10 leaders in your niche. Let their top boards guide yours and and quickly pin (save) relevant articles to your new boards.
Pinterest will feed you content based on what you save, so that’s great for you to curate for your growing community! We talked about best practices: using keywords, including CTAs and relevant click through landing pages.
And we covered content resources: repurpose everything awesome that you’ve ever created from all of your social media. It will live on FOREVER on Pinterest. Posts on Pinterests don’t die out in 24 hours. That’s the secret sauce to using Pinterest for Business! They stay relevant as long as someone is searching for what you’ve created!
Using Pinterest for business Is the type of long game that resembles SEO. But it’s return can start generating substantial traffic to your website – traffic that you can convert to email subscribers, social media audience members and eventually, paying customers!
Grab my free Pinterest Business Account Audit guide and get started today!
Good luck and happy marketing!
Crystal, The Pinterest Pundit
About the Author:
Crystal Waddell is a Pinterest expert and marketing strategist who helps creative entrepreneurs build profitable businesses. Crystal started her own company in 2013 and went full-time with it in 2021. Her mission is to help other online business owners grow their website traffic and revenue through Pinterest Marketing and strategic SEO. Each month Crystal hosts a hands-on workshop for business owners who want to learn to use Pinterest effectively for their businesses. For more tips on growing your business with Pinterest and SEO, check out www.pinshop.com or follow @pinshopify on instagram!