If you have been considering using Pinterest for your business, here are some resources that you will find of assistance.

A webinar training programme taking place in May 2013 to help you develop more engaging Pinterest images for your content marketing plan – book your place today

Learn how to turn your Pinterest boards into PDF’s and JPEG’s so that you can refer to them offline.

Discover how you can create instructographics with your mobile phone for your Pinterest marketing

Implement these three essential tips in your Pinterest marketing

Learn how many boards you should have in your Pinterest business account

Discover three Pinterest power tips when using Pinterest for business from a super user with over 1.5 million followers

Watch a video on how to track your Pinterest statistics using Pinerly (now called Reachli)

Follow my Pinterest for business resources and training tips board on Pinterest

Find examples of organisations using Pinterest on this board

Find examples of Irish businesses using Pinterest for marketing and promoting their business on this board

If you need assistance in developing an integrated plan for your organisation you can contact me about my webinars and in-house training. I have been covering Pinterest for business in my workshops since Spring 2012 and been providing commentary to the media including the Irish Times and the Irish Tatler over the last year for their articles on the use of Pinterest as part of an integrated content marketing plan.

Access the presentation covering the ten tips to getting started using Pinterest in your business (find the presentation here on SlideShare in the event you can not access it on this page):

How To Use Pinterest For Business – 10 Steps To Get Started

In the Pinterest Training and mentoring programmes I deliver we go in-depth into using Pinterest for businesses and organisations as part of your content marketing plans..

As at May 2013, Pinterest is increasing in adoption across the globe with the top five locations using Pinterest being the US, India, Canada, the UK and Australia (source Alexa.com).

Pinterest is a popular platform for sharing and curation with Pew Internet reporting that 15 per cent of online adults in the US us Pinterest.

Increasingly Pinterest is a source for inbound traffic in the US, UK and Ireland as demonstrated in the presentation.

Here are ten tips to get you started in using Pinterest in your business:

1. Before you start pinning, start with an audit of your current content – there are several parts to the audit that I undertake with my clients one important element is identifying what content has already been shared from your website to Pinterest. Slide 7 in the Pinterest for Business presentation indicates how you can check this

2. Set up your business account - if you wish to transfer your personal account into a business you can also make this change. Create your Pinterest business account here. You can also access Pinterest web analytics and resources to assist you in your Pinterest marketing from that link

3. Create boards that are relevant to your business - in my workshops I cover essential Pinterest boards to have for your business. It is important that your Pinterest marketing is effective and your content is relevant to the people you want to connect with

4. Take care with what you pin and share – unfortunately there are Spam accounts and affiliate accounts on Pinterest so take care with the content that you re-share (known as re-pinning) as that will also impact your online reputation

5. Create engaging content that will help you generate leads – visual marketing through Pinterest requires content optimised for the platform if you wish to maximise your impact. you can share photographs, infographics and instructographics. In addition you can share videos from YouTube, post podcasts hosted on SoundCloud and share your presentations from SlideShare

6. Make use of your three ‘secret boards’ – at the timine of writing this article you can have three secret boards that you can use strategically for example posting content to share with clients in meetings or even curating content that you wish to re-pin at a later time

7. Like, share and comment on content to nurture relationships – unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is not a platform that you willfind many people commenting on, however if you do this strategically you can nurture new relationships and build visibility for your organisation

8. Grow your followers through hosting competitions – Pinterest does enable you to host competitions, however please take note of their competition guidelines. If you are a larger organisation i recommend that you invest in enterprise solutions such as Curalate to help you manage your competitions

9. Connect with influencers on Pinterest just like blogger outreach – as shared in the Pinterest for Business presentation

10. Remember to integrate your Pinterest marketing – as an example you can cross post your content to your other social networks, include links to your Pinterest boards, pins and even account in your website and also include an application on your Facebook Page incorporating your Pinterest account.

Eyecatching Pins Webinar Training

As you learn how to use Pinterest in your business you will discover how important your images are on your website that will help you enhance your effectiveness on Pinterest.

My good friend Melissa Taylor who has over 1.4 million followers of her content on Pinterest is leading two webinar programmes in May 2013 where she will be teaching:

- where to get beautiful photos at no cost or for little cost

- the structure, basics, and method for making eye-catching pins – pins that will get repins and click-throughs to your website

- the common mistakes people are making when creating their Pinterest images

- how to use Pinterest as a visual storyboard that serves your customers.

Note: I am promoting this event for Melissa so if you decide to purchase the programme I will receive a small referral fee. I do know Melissa personally and the quality of her training and she is a great teacher on this topic if you are a small business looking to get started using Pinterest and want to be be able to create your own images for Pinterest.

 Pinterest for business photo credit Theilr

We hear that Pinterest is a really only used by younger females – so let me introduce you to Dan Ashbach, who is a retired airline pilot, just to provide a different perspective. You might have read my article about how many boards should we have on Pinterest where I comment that Dan has just 38 boards (I wonder if that is a coincidence that he has been married for 38 years) that versus many accounts I see with well over 100 Pinterest boards.

Dan recently participated in a Google Plus Hangout with PinLeague and this is a recap of some of his ideas and perspectives about Pinterest as a super user with over 1.5 million followers. Yes I know you usually expect me to share tips about content marketing and social media for business, but I think you will find the ideas Dan shares provides an interesting insight into what a Pinterest super user thinks.

Dan started to see his Pinterest boards grow at a fast rate in 2012, building from a few thousand followers to over a million followers.

He commented that he initially started sharing his own photography which he cross posted from Flickr, but he soon realised his photographs were not repinned, commented on or liked, so he started to share other peoples content.

Dan stated that he avidly tracked the performance of his pins making a spread sheet to monitor which pins were getting the biggest response – of course we can now avail of Pinterest analytics if we have a business account directly from Pinterest and there are other independent Pinterest tools available such as the hosts of the Pinterest Google Plus Hangout PinLeague.

Dan’s biggest board in terms of numbers of followers is his gardening board (examples of the content are in the image on this page) which currently has over 1.46 million followers. Dan carefully manages his account and regularly ‘prunes’ his pins. He explained that he if his content does not get around 150 – 200 re-pins in the first 24 hours he will analyse if that is because his content did not hit the Pinterest feed at the right time. In some cases he re-pins his own content to give the pin another chance of being seen by his followers. However if his content is not responded to well, he will delete a pin.

He also made reference to the fact that he attracts about 1000 – 1500 new followers a day.

His success on Pinterest has attracted attention from some brands who have approached him to try new products and services – consider it ‘Pinterest Outreach’ just as you would refer to Blogger Outreach’ and influence marketing programmes.

Dan summarised his view of Pinterest as being like a magazine and had a healthy warning for brands as he does not want the site to be turned into a catalogue with just product shots. I am noticing some brands treating Instagram in the same way where all they post are products for sale, rather than being imaginative with their visual content marketing.

When asked how to grow your following on Pinterest, Dan commented – “Be objective, we all have our favourite things. If you want to be unique you need to have a niche”. He commented that we need to share content that is different and not what many people share.

Three Tips For Pinterest Business Accounts From A Super User

Dan is retired and therefore his personal use of Pinterest is not going to reflect how you would use the platform for your business, but here are three points worth considering that can apply if you are looking for advice on how to use Pinterest for business:

1. Do not just pin content that you think people will like – analyse what content is doing well and be prepared to ‘prune’ your boards and pin great images

2. Review the times that you post your pins – examine if your content reaching your followers when they are online, just as you plan your content on Facebook and Twitter to ensure you attract the maximum reach

3. Remember that people on Pinterest are not looking for a replication of your website or a catalogue of your products – develop a content plan for Pinterest but stay true to your brand and ensure that the Pinterest boards you create reflect what your business stands for. Some of the most progressive businesses on Pinterest seeing results from investing in the platform have a content policy where they also curate other peoples content.

Additional Resources To Help You With Your Pinterest Marketing

Access my the slides and notes from my recent webinar about how to get started using Pinterest for business plus access to additional resources.

Follow my Pinterest for business marketing tips board that I curate on Pinterest.

Check out my curated board of organisations on Pinterest to inspire you in how your business could use Pinterest in your content marketing plan or contact me about the content marketing training programmes I deliver – most of my open workshops include best practice guidance for using Pinterest.

Discover how to create eye catching content for your Pinterest boards in this training programme.

What have you found is working for you when looking to use Pinterest for your business?

Author: Krishna De     Krishna De on the Web Krishna De RSS Feed

You’ve obviously heard about it by now — the social media site that’s taking the Internet by storm. Now the question is, what do you do about it? Is there a way to use the Pinterest craze to the advantage of your business?

What is Pinterest?

First, for those who aren’t familiar with it, here are the basics:

Pinterest is a lifestyle brand that allows you to create a visual online pinboard, organized around topics of your choice, by category. Seventy percent of the site’s visitors are women age 25-44, and they spend an average of 15 minutes looking around. If that does not make a small business mind sit up and take notice, nothing will.

If your small business primarily sells products or services to men, it’s doubtful that Pinterest would be a worthwhile addition to your social media efforts. On the other hand, if women compromise a sizable portion of your business, it’s time to start pinning. And the more visual your line of products or services is, the better. Photographers, wedding-related businesses, arts-and-crafts retailers (like Etsy.com), and bakeries are particularly strong candidates for Pinterest.

So how can a small business owner, entrepreneur or expert make the most of this new marketing tool? Here are ten ways you can use Pinterest to promote with pictures — all in a non-hype, customer-friendly, low-key, value-added way:

#1. When setting up your Pinterest account, add descriptive, keyword-rich text to your “About” description. This will help your Pinterest account show up in search engine results. Include your location as well.

#2. Promote user-generated content with a guest pinner board. Allow visitors to add videos and photos that fit in with your niche. You may also want to consider running a contest for the most interesting, unique, useful, etc. pins on a topic. Offer a juicy prize and drive traffic with the competition.

#3. Don’t just pin pictures, pin videos. Think segments from speaking engagements, news clips, interviews and YouTube videos that are highly relevant to your Pinterest boards.

#4. Use strong visual images with all your blog posts. The more captivating your images, the more likely they will be repinned. Adding an image to every blog post you put up gives you the opportunity to pin it and drive traffic back to your site.

Social Media Marketing & Website Design – www.medianovak.com

#5. Be creative. Curate the quirky, odd, funny pictures that have some relevance to your brand, products, or services, and that appeal to women.

#6. Put your presentation materials on Pinterest. Are you giving a speech, leading a webinar, conducting a class? If so, why not create a Pinterest board for that specific presentation that you can direct others to who didn’t have the opportunity to attend can share with the attendees as supplemental material after the session is over — or that they can direct others to who didn’t have the opportunity to attend.

#7. Introduce the members of your team. Although Pinterest is primarily an online platform for showcasing your interests, hobbies and lifestyle finds, it can also serve as a way to let customers in on the inner workings of your company by featuring members of your staff. In addition, look for ways to pin photos of your company’s behind-the-scenes scenarios such as conferences, speaking engagements, company events and actual production of your product as appropriate.

#8. Create customer boards. Much in the same way that introducing your customers to your staff creates a more intimate business relationship, highlighting your clients to the world has similar benefits. Use Pinterest to tell your clients’ stories and highlight hot case studies. Just be sure to check first before making their mugs public.

#9. Create a coupon graphic. In order to give potential clients a promotional discount on Pinterest, create a coupon graphic that can be pinned to an appropriate board. Use the description section to further detail the goods and services being offered at a discounted rate.

#10. Create an FAQ for working with you. Think of this as the owner’s manual for your business. How can clients work most effectively with you? What are the most frequently asked questions people have about your business, product or expertise? Perhaps a glossary of frequently used terms in your business would be useful. Once up, you can use this board as a place to send potential new clients for suggestions on how they might best take advantage of what you offer.

#11. Unlike Facebook or Google+, there’s currently no distinction between people and brands on Pinterest. You’ll get more traction if you approach the site more as a person, less as a brand.

#12. Follow other Pinterest users in your local area and/or field of expertise. Comment on and share their pins; they’ll often return the favor. Endorse the pins others share by clicking the “♥ Like” button.

Don’t forget to add a Pinterest icon to your website. This allows visitors to showcase and share things that they find on your website on their Pinterest boards, driving traffic to your Web page and promoting your products/services.

http://pinterest.com/medianovak/

Drawing the attention of millions, virtual pinboard-styled social photo sharing website Pinterest is all the rage these days. From the comfort of your own home you’re able to pin awesome internet finds and share them with your friends. The site receives a whopping 11-16 million unique visitors a month, who are primarily women (80%) and users are between the ages of 25 and 54 (80%) according to Google Ad Planner.

As internet marketers we seize the moment when new trends and sites emerge. We flock to where people are and in this case it’s a site that caters to the purse strings of American households. A recent Infographic by GPlus.com shows on average 83 to 87 percent of consumer purchases are decided on by women and women generate 58 percent of e-commerce dollars.

So how can you seize the moment with Pinterest? Find inspiration with the below Pinterest marketing ideas for 24 industries and professions! (Still want more ideas? Sign up for our FREE webinar “Marketing Your Brand on Pinterest” Thursday May 10th (11AM PST/2PM EST)). 

Wedding Venue

What are brides looking to establish when planning a wedding? What their wedding style will be and how their special day will look. The details are extremely important when it comes to planning a wedding. If you are in the event planning business and are trying to market your wedding venue try putting together wedding board “themes”. Help that bride envision her special day at your location by showing her examples in the form of photos on Pinterest. That newly engaged bride is sure to do her research prior to the big day. Give her photos and information on Pinterest to aid in making the right decision. The 4th Floor Blues Club has the right idea with their wedding venue pin here, although the resolution and lighting leave a bit to be desired – you get the basic premise here.

Book Promotion

Creating an inspiration board to help you in your quest to write a book is something many authors do. Now with Pinterest you can create a board around the inspirations that led you to write your book – the people, places, things that were your muses. Thanks to Crystal for this idea. She even suggests using your board in the pitching process, “see what inspired XX author to write her breakthrough novel”. As a marketer in the publishing field you can create an entirely new experience by paring the book with social media.

Personal Shopper or Fashion Blogger

Figuring out your personal style and finding ways to develop your style overtime can be a full time job, and actually is for some lucky gals. Being a personal shopper or full time fashion blogger, when it pays the bills, can be incredibly rewarding. Use Pinterest to highlight your style or as a personal shopper put together inspiration boards for that boho-chic client and another board for the soccer mom next door. Showing your creativity and diversity in looks can help you land a wide array of clients. Have prospective clients check out your inspiration boards to see your eclectic abilities, or put your logo or web address on photo looks you put together yourself (and that you own the photo rights to of course).

Hairstylist or Salon

Staying on the cutting edge of styles and trends is at the top of the job requirements for a hair stylist or salon owner. Marketing for a business in the beauty industry seems like a great fit for Pinterest. Create boards of similar hair styles. When your customer sits down in your chair and can’t figure out what style they want – hand them an iPad and let them peruse your boards and pins. Or a hairstylist or salon might put together before and after photos or how-to photos. These seem to resonate well with the Pinterest crowd, as seen here with My Yellow Sandbox. The site’s tutorial photos of hairstyles and beauty are perfect for a board on Pinterest – this blog has over 2600 followers on Pinterest already so something must be working. 

Interior Designer

Another great idea for Pinterest is if you’re in the interior design world. From boards about design inspirations to boards of before and after photos you’ve done yourself, there are many design related ideas you can share. Blanca Feldman, an interior designer in Nashville, has quite a successful Pinterest account with over 1600 followers. Check out her design inspiration board, boards for each room of the house, motivation boards and more for some inspiration of your own.

Health Expert or Blogger

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Oz and his no-nonsense way of being able to tell you in layman’s terms what the heck is going on with your body or give you advice that actually makes sense. Dr. Oz’s official Pinterest accountis a great example of how to use Pinterest as a health expert or blogger. His team pins healthy recipes, Dr. Oz approved deserts, fitness information and more. As a health blogger or expert, develop pins that are consistent with a healthy lifestyle. Pin your own photos and pin others too.

TV Channel

In recent years, news stations and radio stations have had to join the digital world as their listening audience has migrated to the online space. It’s not uncommon to see references to Facebook and Twitter during the 5 o’clock news. Pinterest very well could be the next social media site to enter mainstream newscasts. TV Channels or radio stations can start putting breaking news photos up on Pinterest and encourage citizen journalists to take their own photos which can be repined. Thanks to Elana at Media Bistro, who suggested giving viewers a sneak peak of an upcoming interview or tomorrow’s front page news by adding pins to your news boards.

Magazine

Looking to increase subscribers to your magazine or promote an online publication? Showcase graphics and editorials on dedicated Pinterest boards for the beats or items you cover in your publication. Check out Martha Stewart Living’s Pinterest profile with boards like “Baking and Desserts”, “Easter”, “Appetizers and Hors d’Oeuvres”, “Drinks” and “Sewing”. Holiday themed boards are perfect if you’re looking to highlight the holiday issue of your magazine. Two to three months ahead of time start putting together your boards and keep up the pinning momentum throughout the holiday.

Funeral Homes

Am I morbid in thinking there is a Pinterest use for funeral homes? Let me explain before you get all judgey on me… Creating a memory board of the people we love is something that can now be done digitally through the use of Pinterest. Funeral Homes can organize boards for the recently deceased, allowing their tech savvy relatives to view pinned photos of them for an uncluttered digital memory board preserving them in time. The deceased’s Facebook page can be cluttered, but with Pinterest photos and memories are displayed easily. A funeral home could take this concept to the next level by having a tablet or computer screen at the viewing for mourners to enjoy the pinned photos. 

Chef, Baker or Catering Company

Feature your culinary delights on Pinterest to bring traffic and new business your way. Thematically tie pins together on a board by sticking with a holiday or event theme – Valentine’s Day treats, 4th of July dishes, one-pot buffet dishes, etc. Get started today promoting a board on summer parties or 4th of July barbecues to pique a prospective clients interest, and you may just hook a client for this summer.

eCommerce Website

Women be shoppin, women be shoppin! If you’re an eCommerce website why not put together a gift board. You can create a board of gift ideas for men, gift ideas for women or even get super specific – gift ideas for eye rolling preteen girls or gift ideas for the Midwest mom. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t be completely self serving on your board, pin items from other stores that fit into your overall theme too.

Professional on a Job Search

Landing a job today takes a lot of creativity. Make yourself stand out by creating a visual CV of all the projects you’ve worked on. This is especially true for graphic or web designers looking to move up in their careers, or freelancers looking for additional jobs. Check out these 7 cool resumes found on Pinterest, from BusinessInsider.com to get some inspiration.

Dog Shelter or Non-Profit

Raising awareness about your non-profit can be hard. Not only are funds tight it can also be difficult shining the spotlight when so many other good causes exist too. Using Pinterest to start boards about your cause can be a good start. Animal shelters such as the Humane Society of New York use Pinterest to share photos of cats and dogs up for adoption as well as the animals that have gone to a good home and a wish list of the supplies they are in need of. Think about the opportunities here when natural disasters hit, a new animal goes on the endangered species list or checking in a few years after a devastating accident to see how the area is rebuilding (or what still needs to be done).

National Center for Missing Persons or America’s Most Wanted

Help spread the word about a missing person or a wanted person by creating boards. I’ve seen these movements go over well on Twitter, of crowd sourced find the missing person projects. Just this past January several UK celebrities retweeted pleas from one family trying to find their missing son, who was found a mere few hours later in safe condition.

Craft Supply or Wedding Supply Website

If you sell products that are part of a large project, such as an online retailer of craft supplies – why not start a board that shows the “after” result of a project. What does a craft project look like after they’ve purchased your items? Create your own instruction graphics to inspire prospective customers. Get customers to send in their photos so you can share on Pinterest and inspire others to purchase products.

Home Improvement Stores

Everyone loves a great photo of a demolition job for a home improvement project. Before and after pictures too! For any home improvement store such as Home Depot, Lowes or even Ace Hardware, Pinterest seems like an easy enough fit for marketing. Put up photos of renovations and home projects. Sponsor a contest, asking fans to submit their home improvement photos.  This user generated content can be then repurposed throughout your social media profiles, including Pinterest. Take a look at Home Depot’s Pinterest account for some more inspiration.

Before and After Photos

The theme of using before and after photos can transcend many industries. From contractors, home builders and architects to even a plastic surgeon. If your industry heavily relies on images, then use before and after to showcase the staunch differences before and after your services. A clean and professional looking before and after cosmetic surgery photo, a before/during/after construction job photo or a time lapse photo of a building being erected, all can be used effectively to illustrate before and after.

Travel Agent or Concierge

Are you a travel agent or travel concierge service? Create boards for travel inspiration. Try a bucket list travel themed board with photos of the Seven Wonders of the World and other places someone might have on their bucket list. Create an entire experience for a trip to Africa or even Disneyland. Cater your boards to the experiences your customers want to have on vacation and let Pinterest users know you’re available to help them plan their next vacation too.

School

Take Duke University for example, they’ve built out boards revolving around their sportsmanship, student life, traditions and even around their Arts & Humanities department. If you’re in the education space try out degree program boards full of photos and information that would interest a student in that field of study. Someone who is a fashion student would be interested in a fashion related board, develop boards that highlight a specific degree program and appeal to a specific type of student. Create your own images that cater to that fashion student and promote them on Pinterest. Start thinking about ways to integrate Pinterest style into all your image assets!

Hotel

Creating boards centered on your hotel or lodging facility is a great use of Pinterest. Things to do in the city where your hotel is or places to see in the city your hotel is located are two boards you can (and should!) put up right this minute. Local eateries, transportation, travel resources or even area emergency clinics or facilities could all have their own board. Additionally, you can create boards dedicated to your event facilities showing past weddings or events held at your hotel. While not many hotels are currently utilizing Pinterest, there are a few you can look to for examples: Crowne Plaza NYC, Hotel Berlin andForest House Lodge.

Extermination or Mold Remediation

This Pinterest marketing strategy is enough to make you batty – well maybe not literally but you get the idea. Pin photos of the types of the insects and bugs found around your area. Share before and after photos of infestation or mold remediation projects. Create boards focused around poisonous insects to help educate. There are many ways an extermination company or mold remediation company can use Pinterest.

Gift Registry

Who wants to get all their gifts from one store? With links to each of the images in the board, guests can see a bride’s Pinterest account and choose the gifts they want to give from all across the web – not just one store! The same can be done for a baby registry too. Pin photos onto your own gift registry from Etsy too, what other time would you be able to add those types of items to a wedding registry?

Blogger

Market your blog posts on Pinterest. One example of a great Top “10″ type post doing well on Pinterest is“17 Tips to Make Your Life Easier”. They’ve simply pinned one of the images in the top 10 style post and added a brief description about the post. This is a relatively simple concept, but one that could be done by any blogger out there. Try giving some new life to an old blog post by pinning one of the images and adding to Pinterest.

Early Childhood Education

One brand I’ve started following on Pinterest is PediaStaff, a pediatric/school based therapy staffing and placement firm. They have a mission to serve the special needs community through great resources, so they’ve started using Pinterest to help share. Anyone who first visits their page is guided along their mission, with the first board dedicated to introducing their brand. They’ve built out many of their boards to encompass topics important to parents of special needs children: sensory activities, fine motor crafts, rhyming games, social skills and pragmatics, visual supports, and more! They have over 17,000 followers and a very engaged community

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