Although Pinterest has not quite peaked in popularity, its audience base is increasing each day. Most commonly known for its early beginnings, when the platform focused mainly on baked goods, home décor and fashion, Pinterest has now grown to appeal to many more industries—including home improvement, event planning and, quite frankly, any consumer good that you can think of.
So, why has Pinterest ballooned in size? The social networking site tells a company’s story in a more attractive way than most other social media platforms.
According to Business 2 Community, in February, Pinterest became the fastest standalone site in history to reach 10 million unique monthly visitors in the United States. As the platform’s popularity has grown, companies are scrambling to figure out how to leverage its audience.
Let’s take a look at some best practices that every company can follow to make the most of this image-driven social network.
Here’s the chance to scream it from the rooftops that a brand is top dog. Companies can show off products, direct traffic straight to their website and keep their brand top-of-mind. The Pinterest platform allows companies to showcase the inspiration behind the business, while displaying products or sales promotions, too. When Pinterest users click a pin that interests them, they are directed to a page on the company’s website that the pin links to. This is an excellent opportunity for small business owners to curate and elevate the “best” or most interesting content from the company’s site.
Growing a Pinterest community helps companies reach more current and potential customers. Although there are many different ways to increase followers, the best way is by attracting them with interesting content. Pin regularly, so that the brand appears frequently on Pinterest feeds. However, try not to “flood” followers’ news feeds with an influx of messaging, prompting them to eventually stop following the company.
The ‘Golden Rule’ of social media comes into play here: Don’t only talk about yourself! The 80/20 rule enables businesses to achieve better results. So, typically, 80 percent of pinned content should come from the brand, while 20 percent of content should be re-pinned from other accounts. By sharing relevant content to followers, a small business becomes a resource that consumers will remember the next time they are seeking advice. Follow pinners that are sharing content related to the company, and engage with pins that inspire and relate to its brand voice and business mission. By not only talking about itself, a company shows followers that it cares about their everyday problems (and not just about closing a sale).
When we say that it’s important to become best friends with Pinterest analytics, we truly mean it! Analytics will be the key to success on any social media platform. Pinterest analytics help a company to understand how people are interacting with it online. With this valuable information, a company can see which content is the most relevant to its audience. If there is no data in the analytics dashboard, it’s likely that the company hasn’t pinned anything yet. Start pinning like a pro today to see results.
Armed with this basic knowledge, small businesses now can begin creating boards, pinning content and increasing their online reach! Remember, as long as a brand is sharing relevant and interesting content, followers and fellow pinners will visit. Keep them coming back by sharing a company’s story and speaking to customers’ needs and wants. Put Pinterest best practices in place today, and begin interacting with consumers to generate the powerful results that the platform has to offer.
