I’m sure that all of you are familiar with how to use some of the older, more famous social media networks: Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even Google Plus or LinkedIn. But do you know how to successfully make Pinterest an integral part of your social media campaign? The fact that it mostly seems to be just picture pins, possibly with URLS or a few brief words, can make this seem extremely challenging. It’s really not, however, it only seems intimidating because it uses a unique, new age approach to what is now an age-old tradition in social media. Since many people find using Pinterest intimidating, or even difficult, we have come up with an easy to understand the list of tips and tricks that can help you understand and use this great site.
The Basic Must Do’s
- Take the time to properly set up your account. This means that you need to think about what it is you will be using the account for. Public figures (such as writers, musicians, artists, and actors) will most likely be using the account to promote their own name. Businesses will be promoting themselves, however, and should set the Pinterest account up in their own name, using their logo, so that people automatically know what the account is about and who or what it stands for.
- Always make sure you connect your Pinterest account with other social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google Plus.
- Make sure that you have a firm grasp of what your potential clients are pinning. You can do this by searching under keywords and categories on the Pinterest dashboard. Keep your clients in mind when creating your boards. Remember to answer their questions, feed their inspirations, and solve their problems through those boards.
- Always add a watermark to the original items you place on your boards. This watermark, ideally, will be your website or blog URL. This will make sure you continue the promotion of your brand or self as others re-pin what you have just created. The image you made will always be, in some way, connected to your website or blog, and that is what really counts in the long run.
- Always space out your pins so that each one gets individual credit. Never pin a whole bunch of items all at once. Also, make sure that you make your pins are done at the most optimal times of day- which only trial and error will figure out for you!
- Don’t limit yourself to self-promoting. Make sure you have a fairly even amount of pins relating to yourself and to other people or things. If all you ever do is promote yourself, no one is really going to want to keep coming back to see what you have going on- they will assume they already know.
Applications You Should Make Use Of
- Pin It Button For Websites: Use this application on your website or blog. You can embed the button anywhere you have what is considered ‘pinnable’ content, meaning your blog, pictures, content pages, products for sale, tutorials…almost anything can be pinned if properly formatted.
- Follow Me Button For Websites: You can place this button on your home page, email footer, newsletters, and during your email marketing campaign.
- Pin It Bookmarklet: You can use this as a part of your browser for a very simple way to pin items you find on the web.
- The Pinterest Mobile App: Just what it sounds like- the ability to use Pinterest from your mobile device.
- Pinerly: A content management dashboard for users which includes tools allowing to track campaigns, and access statistics. Pinerly can also suggest to you which pinners you should follow and when the best times to pin are for you.
- Instamatic: allows you to design original pins that include quotes, website clips, music, audio, twitter profiles, whatever you want. It even has it’s very own photo filter like Instagram.
A Few Quick Tips
- Don’t pin copyrighted content.
- Make sure to check the source of the pin you are re-pinning to ensure you aren’t spamming.
- Follow boards akin to yours, or boards that you have an interest in. This will eventually help build your own followers.
- If selling something, add a price to your pin.
- Comment and like other pins. Reply to comments on yours. This is what engaging people is all about.
- Use names to identify the user you are engaging with, and hashtags to highlight an important keyword (like on twitter)
- Remember to use your manners! Thank everyone who re-pins your content and always credit your sources.
- Pin a variety of items (images, videos,etc.) to keep things interesting.
- Always pin with an effort to be noticed, and thinking in terms of both incoming and outgoing traffic.
With all of these tips, tricks, and recommendations, you should be able to easily and successfully use Pinterest as an integral part of your social media campaign. Do you have anything to add to what we’ve already mentioned or a story about how our tips have worked for you? Let us know in the comments below! We look forward to hearing from you!