Pinterest is a relatively new social network. It is very different from the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It provides several new features which marketers can take advantage of.
Know technical terminology and metrics
The marketers need to know some technical terminology first. The basic element of Pinterest is the pin. A pin can be an image or a caption. A pin is uploaded by the user. This process is called pinning. Each pin can be repined by other users. A collection of pins is called a board. Then there are the usual social network features like commenting, liking and following other users.
Pinterest provides several metrics which the marketers can use to measure their success. These include most recent, most clicked and most repined pins. Also provided are likes per pin, comments per pin and repins per pin.
On Pinterest, it is best for marketers to base their strategy around themes and not products. Their products can fit into the themes. The entire promotion for a day or a month could be based around a specific theme such as "back to school" or "being the best among your peers."
Engage with the community
Marketers need to actively engage with their community in order to grow and sustain their business. There are several ways to do this such as using hashtags and providing the "pin it" button. Hashtags are a way to group together multiple pins based on some common element. The pin it button allows other users to repin the pins created by a user. These features help to spread the word of the marketers throughout the Pinterest community. This also helps companies in building a better online reputation with their Pinterest community and other networks.
Use Business Accounts
Companies should use the business account feature provided by Pinterest. Then they should upload their real photo, which should be associated with their real name. It is best to maintain a genuine profile, which frequently provides real information about the company such as new employees, new products and new campaigns. In the about section, companies should provide a compelling description of themselves. Pinterest provides a verification feature, which companies should use to their advantage.
Marketers should make several boards on their Pinterest Pinterest page. These boards should contain at least five pins each. These boards should be prominently displayed on their Pinterest home page. Marketers should provide the pin it button on their own website as well. This will take the users directly to their Pinterest page
Provide the right content
It is very important that companies provide the right content on their Pinterest pages. It is equally important to update the Pinterest pages regularly and with relevant content. Sometimes, some pins become viral and spread rapidly through Pinterest.
Marketers should increase the level of engagement on Pinterest. This can be done by offering discounts, coupons and prizes. They can also run contests and the winner could be given a suitable prize. This increases the brand awareness of the company, at the same time winning over a new customer base.
These are some of the tips that can help a company to advance its presence on Pinterest. Companies should take advantage of this platform and build a strong presence on it before their competitors can do so.
Featured image courtesy of socialmediamarketinguniversity.com