While Facebook and Twitter still get the lion’s share of attention when it comes to social media marketing, Pinterest has seen rapid growth in recent times, and counting. In fact, Pinterest currently receives nearly 1.5 million visitors every day and the average user spends about 16 minutes on the site. Another Pinteresting fact is that after its first two years, Pinterest had more users than Facebook and Twitter after their first two years. As a result, it has become a viable marketing resource and can bring in serious traffic when used correctly. With this in mind, let’s go over some ways to effectively integrate Pinterest into a business’s social media marketing campaign.
Be Relevant
Before becoming active on Pinterest, it’s important for business owners to understand that this site’s primary demographic is a female audience. While other social media sites have more of a balanced demographic, approximately 70% of Pinterest users are female. While it’s possible to be successful in many niches, one’s chances are better when the products sold cater to a female target audience. Some businesses that have been really successful on this site are based in the fashion, arts and crafts and home decor niches.
Be Organized
A large part of Pinterest’s appeal is its visual aesthetic and clean appearance. People like this site because information is easily digestible and doesn’t have the cluttered look that some other social media sites have. Consequently, business owners should strive to create highly organized boards where pins fall under a particular category. It’s also smart to create pins with eye catching images that people will naturally gravitate to. This way users can quickly sort through a business’s content and locate the products they are looking for.
Don’t be Shameless
One trap that many businesses fall into is over-promoting their products and essentially shoving their promotions down peoples’ throats. This is a quick way to turn potential customers off and can usually be avoided by also pinning things like helpful tips, products from other businesses or anything else that one’s demographic would enjoy. Doing so is a great way to build trust with an audience and establish a positive reputation within the community. It can also increase the amount of social signals that a business will receive through Pinterest. When this happens, it tends to help a company’s search engine marketing efforts as well.
Interact
Since the whole basis of social media marketing is to be social, consistent interaction on Pinterest is critical for success. One of the best ways to get started is to simply follow relevant pinners with significant followings. Many times, these individuals will return the favor and follow back which can quickly bring exposure to a business. It’s also smart to “repin,” “like” and comment on relevant pins. Besides this, it’s a good idea to integrate a “pin it” button onto a business’s website. This will appear around content like articles or blog entries and should increase the amount of Pinterest social signals. Often, these simple actions can get the ball rolling and help a company build a serious following of its own.
Alternatively, check out this free eBook on why Pinterest’s visual design drives traffic.