The Power of Pinterest – Put it to Work for Your Business Today

By Heather Lutze, CEO Findability Group Search Marketing and CWCC member

Have you heard of Pinterest yet? It’s the fastest growing social media site out there right now, and your business should be represented on it. Otherwise, you could be missing out on a golden opportunity.

If you’re groaning, “Oh no, not another social media site” then take a look at this:

According to a new Shareaholic study,  “…growing bigger and faster than Facebook or Twitter in their early days, as Pinterest becomes a traffic powerhouse, already driving more traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined.”

Please read that last sentence again, and really grasp the magnitude of what it’s telling you!

Pinterest is basically an online bulletin or pin-board. Users create different boards filled with images that catch their fancy, and can repin images they like from other people’s boards. Its design is ingenious. Users add a “Pin It” widget to their bookmark toolbar, a simple, two-step, 60 second process. (It would take longer to tell you about it than to actually do it yourself.) Then, users can grab any image anywhere on the web and add it to their boards. The image comes with a link back to the site it came from.

Anyone can add anyone else’s pins back to their own board, and people can follow each other, or just follow a specific board. Sound confusing? One trip through their site and I think you’ll be intrigued and delighted with the possibilities and the simplicity of use.

No, Pinterest was not designed for business use, but when did that ever stop any savvy social media marketer? Check out these company boards to give you some ideas as to how to use it.

You could create an online catalogue of your products, a board showcasing photos of how your product or process works, a photo tutorial… your imagination is the limit. But remember, for business purposes the images and content you pin must be original, either from your website or blog, or specially created for Pinterest.

Terrific Ideas for Businesses to Use Pinterest NOW

  1. Place a “Pin It” widget on your website, so Pinterest people can grab images right off your sight onto their boards. Each pin links back to the site it came from, providing you with exposure for your products and inbound links as well. Pins can be posted to Facebook or tweeted, so the potential for a pin to go viral is pretty impressive.
  2. Create your own company boards showcasing your product line. Each pin can have a description, so remember to add a link back to your website as well as a keyword.
  3. Create a public company board, allowing your fans to engage and interact with your brand. Customers can provide feedback via the comments. Consider offering a discount, or allowing fans to pin to your boards – remember, this is social media, emphasis on the social part at all times!
  4. Try a Pin-to-Win contest like Samuel Gordon Jewelers is running, for the chance to win a $500 gift certificate.
  5. Enhance your brand and raise awareness of what your firm is trying to do. You can showcase any charitable or public service efforts your company makes. Pinterest is even perfect for non-profits such as animal shelters or rescue organizations, who can post pics of animals up for adoption.

I hope you’re beginning to see the potential of this new but rapidly exploding social media portal for your business. This type of free exposure should definitely be taken advantage of—now—while the excitement and impact is so high. Please send us a link and show us how you are using Pinterest to market your business online, and happy pinning.

Heather is the widely acclaimed speaker, trainer, and consultant who literally wrote the book on search engine marketing. Two books, in fact—The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing and the brand new Thumbonomics: The Essential Business Roadmap for Social Media & Mobile Marketing. Her writing and in-demand keynotes are delivered with the same witty, “no-geek-speak” style that has managed to demystify internet marketing for countless business owners. Breaking free of corporate “cubicle” jobs over ten years ago with nothing more than a dream of entrepreneurship and a computer in the basement, Heather built her business into a multimillion dollar company—the Findability Group. Today she leads a dedicated and slightly obsessed team of search marketing pros—their mission—to connect clients with their perfect customers online.

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