I can't tell you how many times my clients are shocked when they see Pinterest as part of their Digital Marketing Strategy I create.
Pinterest can be an amazing tool for online marketing if used correctly. To me, this isn't a simple social media platform but an amazing search engine that can be comparable to Google. Yet so few people use it in their online strategy.
We have this notion of Pinterest being DIY and crafty but think about the last time you were on Pinterest. Did you search for outfit inspiration? A recipe? Interior Design Tips or Travel Itineraries?
I know I've searched for all of those, have pinned, followed and fallen in love with the experts I find.
People use this platform for three things:
1. Finding inspiration/motivation
2. Searching for an answer to a question
3. Gaining Knowledge/Education
The best part - these people are creating and searching for those mood boards as early as step one in their process. So, you best believe you want to show up as an expert when they are searching for inspiration, an answer or trying to look for education on your service or product.
So how do you make Pinterest work for you? Each brand needs an individualized strategy but some things are generic and can work across the board.
Here are 5 Simple Tips for Winning on Pinterest:
1. Be an Expert: This is especially important for service-based businesses. Pinterest is a great platform to recycle content, share those blog posts and get more traffic on your website! This gives you that expert status. Plus, if you're looking to build your mailing list why not add some pins that link out to that Freebie you have.
2. Build a Community: This is still a social platform so be social! Build a community and pin other's pins as well, just make sure the top 5-7 pins on your page are yours. You can also collaborate with brands like yourself and get double the exposure with a shared board.
3. Have Strong Visuals with Personality: Pinterest is all about visuals similar to Instagram but here those visuals are more like Magazine covers. You want to draw your audience in, add some text and build interest that will intrigue them to click and/pin your post! Strong visuals are easy to make using apps like Canva, plus there are many Styled Stock Sites that provide some beautiful templates!
4. Make Your Caption Count: Don't forget your captions as this is where the SEO comes to play so really think about what people are searching. For example, if you're a Money Coach, your captions can be "Learn to Invest," "How to Invest in Stocks," "How to Make Money Investing." Think about what your ideal clients may be searching and add that in. Remember to keep things interesting, how to's, top 5's and dos and don'ts lists are very popular on Pinterest.
5. Check Analytics: This is the one platform that nailed analytics if you ask me. Check-in every other week at least to see how your pins are doing and perhaps even take some time to put a little money behind one to give it a boost!
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Who says you have to pin out to a single link once? In fact, you should try to pin the same link up to 3 times at least, just change the image, the style and caption to make it look different. This helps get more exposure and we all know different people are attracted to different things.