1. Pin and Win: Have users create a pinboard that revolves around your company. Users are encouraged to pin images from your site, or upload their own pictures of your products in action or your brand. It is then up to you to select which user has created the best board. Reward as necessary.
Check out what the Major League Baseball ran as a contest for Mother's Day 2012. It encouraged users to pin content to a defined board, and label it as MLB Mother's Day. And who says Pinterest is only for women?
2. Most Repins: In this method, give users the option to take a pin and generate the most repins. This way, users are given that incentive to spread your message by including their social network. As they reach out to their friends on other networks, your pins will gain much traction. Whoever has the greatest number of repins wins the prize!
3. Scavenger Hunt: This one is a tad tricky, but if executed correctly, can incorporate all of your social networks into one. One method to run a scavenger hunt would be to load five images on your site. Each image contains a clue that can be used to solve the bigger puzzle. In order to unlock the clue, users must pin the images from your site. To determine which images need to be pinned from your site, you can offer clues through your other social sites. For the first day, the hint is released on Facebook, the second, on Twitter, and so on.
4. Sweepstakes: Designate one pin as your sweepstake pin, and all users who repin that pin are entered into the sweepstakes. Set a definitive timeframe on this, and at the end, pick one random user as your winner.
These examples of contests are the tip of the iceberg. Creating viral awareness for your Pinterest account can explode while using contests. In order to explore the different ways companies turn to contests for viral spread, we spoke with a varietyof Pinterest users to find out how Pinterest contests have affected their marketing plans. The results from the study were enlightening, showing a correlation among Pinterest, contests, and viral reach.