I am relatively new to Pinterest - but then again everyone is.
Pinterest burst onto the social media scene, and according to social media reports this week, it is already driving more direct traffic than Twitter. By now, no matter the company or organization, marketing strategies are already buzzing with how to incorporate Pinterest.
Think about the next time you visit a webpage and all the social media "share" options appear. How will you decide whether to "Pin It", "Tweet It", "Like It", +1 it or some other fancy new Internet-inspired verb.
So, how can non-profit organizations use Pinterest to sell their message?
SPREAD YOUR MESSAGE THROUGH YOUR BOARDS.
The interesting concept about Pinterest is that you can create your boards to tell a marketing story. Posting status updates and pictures on Facebook or Twitter exposes your audience to your message but leaves it to open interpretation. Pinterest actually takes marketing one step further by allowing you to set up a story with your pins.
In my previous post, I talked about how non-profit organizations can use social media: Educate, Encourage and Re-communicate. The same can be true of Pinterest. Here are some ways to set up your boards:
YOUR MESSAGE
Use a board to explain your work. Put direct links to your website or to news outlets where your work was mentioned. This starts your non-profit story, who you are and what you do. It also gives you a chance to link photos and sites that fit with your message. In other words, you start to build a brand image and association. Building a story is incredibly important for non-profits. People want to know what you stand for and your motivation behind your cause.
EDUCATE
Set up a board that is solely for educating your followers. Resources, statistics and news articles that will let your followers discover more about you.
ACTION BOARD
Set up a separate board with call to action plans for your followers. Let them know how they can get involved with your organization. Spell it out via your pins and direct people directly to websites where they can take action.
COMMUNICATION BOARD - Show what you do.
Use this board to show the results of your work. Share stories from people directly affected by your work or showcase the projects you have worked on. If you can pin to a story in the word's of people affected by your work, it's an even better way to sum up your story.
Using these four board ideas creates a storyboard for your organization. Some more board ideas to add to your story include:
- Where We Work: show places in the world where your organization operates
- Faces: If you can share the faces and stories of people you work with, even better. When running a non-profit is it better to put faces and stories to your work. Hook followers in with an emotional connection.
- Donate or Purchase Board: If your organization focuses on donations or selling items that go towards monetary donations, use a separate board to set that up, sort of like the gift shop at the end of your story.
Above all, non-profits should start taking advantage of Pinterest and its ability to drive direct traffic to websites. Direct traffic drives up the search results for your site as well. It's time non-profits started using all the social media tools at their disposal to spread their message and communicate with people globally. Pin it to win it.