Pinterest is a great place to go for visual inspiration. And since people using Pinterest organize their pins onto boards it's highly organized. Think of it as a visual search engine audited and organized by real poeple.
The audience on Pinterest is primarily women and some of the most popular categories are things like recipes and arts & crafts.
Just like Instagram and Twitter on Pinterest you can follow someone. So if you like the content someone is posting you'd follow them so you can keep up with whatever it is they're sharing. Unlike Instagram and Twitter however when you open Pinterest you won't only see a feed of those who you follow. Instead Pintest focuses on delivering a collection of boards you're likely to find interesting. This will include many posts shared from those who you follow but not in every circumstance.
The best way to market on PInterest is to create stunning visuals. That means collections of beautiful photos, graphics, recipes, or creative how tos. The more stunning, the more eye-catching the better. That's how you gain followers and increase your exposure.
Ultimately the goal of your Pinterest account should be to drive people back to your business and that likely means your website. So it's important you include your web address in your posts and possibly in your content. Just be careful not to make your content too spammy. You want it to be shared.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure you're getting the most traffic back to your website as possible.
1. Get a URL that's easy for people to type and share.
If your Pinterest URL is super long or hard to spell it will be less likely to get found and shared just because people wont' remeber it, or remember how to spell it.
2. Make sure you use your business name or the name people would expect to find you in your profile.
There's a good chance the only takeaway someone will get from a pin is your business name. Make sure you display your business name in an obvious way that's somewhat easy to remmber.
3. Include the keywords people would use to find you in your profile description.
Most people will be using Pinterest as a visual search engine. That means they'll be searching by keyword. Make sure you include the keywords people are likely to use when looking for your product or service in your business description and the description of your pins.
4. Make sure you claim your website.
Claiming your website is important because once it's claimed it will be displayed in your profile. The easiest way to get traffic back to your website is to give them a link to click while they're thinking about it.
5. Include your domain name in your profile description and a call to action.
Your web address/domain name will be included once you claim your website but it doesn't hurt to mention it again in the description or in your posts. You want to give people every opportunity to visit your website.
6. Determine what is most popular in your category by looking at the top pins in your space.
Determine what type of pins are getting shared the most by paying attention to successful pins in your categroy. Are they using a certain color scheme, are their photos orientated a certain way, are they including a text overlay? These are all clues to creating pins people are more likely to share.
Again, never underestimate the importance of that stunning visual. An eye catching photo or graphic is more important than anything else I've mentioned in this article. That is, aside from having a website. If you don't have one be sure to create a website at WebStarts. It's free to sign up, easy to use, and we always have friendly help at your service.