Pinning for Profit: How to Market Your Business on Pinterest

Pinterest is growing rapidly — it’s now the #3 social networking site in the United States, and it’s also becoming a leader for sales as a referral site. Referrals from Pinterest are 10% more likely to buy than from any other site, and orders are averaging at $80 compared to Facebook’s average of $40. With such a high number of followers (and potential customers), you can’t afford to ignore it.

So, how do you optimize your presence on such a visually-based site? You can start by following the steps below (as adapted from an infographic by Socially Sorted), happy pinning!

Plan ahead of time

Don’t just jump into it head-first! You need to have a plan for Pinterest just like any other social media campaign. Set up your account properly. Research what your potential clients are pinning and create eye-catching categories for your Boards that are appropriate for your target audience. Prepare your blog and other sites for Pinning by adding “Pin It” and “Follow me on Pinterest” buttons — this will allow maximum Pinterest integration.

Be copyright savvy

Do not post images that have copyright, as they may be taken down by Pinterest. Before re-pinning, check that the link is legitimate and give credit to the source in your caption. For your own pins, create a watermark to preserve pin integrity.

Have a strategy

Make sure you pin across a variety of Boards, reaching more people. Follow others, repin content, comment, and like pins. Add weblinks to your descriptions if you see the need to. Space out your pins to avoid “pin dumping”. Basically, use the golden rule and pin as you want others to pin.

Be social

Pinterest is a social networking site, after all. Don’t forget to interact with your followers and potential followers/customers! Comment and like others’ pins, and personally thank those who repin your own content.

This pin has a lot of likes, comments, and repins!

Produce your own visual “pinnable” content

When pinning, use a variety of different types of pins (images, text, video) to keep followers interested. Use simple, but engaging, images that won’t be overlooked. Also, you can use photo creation tools such as Instagram to create eye-catching images.

Create and curate

Don’t just self-promote, show followers a behind the scenes look to increase engagement. Become a source of information for pinners through pinning your own content and also repinning important content from others. For ideas, check out successful brands who use Pinterest to connect with followers.

Get creative

Pinterest is all about creativity, but you can promote your business at the same time if you do it right. Use a call-to-action in your pin captions to attract leads. Host promotions and contests through Pinterest to increase engagement.

Host contests like bynature.ca to engage followers.

Remember SEO

Set up your Pinterest profile as you would any other website. Use keywords, hashtags, and urls in your pin captions and Pinterest “About” section. Pin content from your site to create referral traffic. You can also add a hyperlink to your pin as shown below.

Hover over your pin and click "edit".

This screen will appear and you can edit the link!

Use your tools

Download the Pinterest button for your browser to enable quick and easy pinning from any site. Also, you can download the mobile Pinterest App for on-the-go pinning. Try new management tools such as Pinerly, Pinpuff, and Pinstamatic.

Monitor and analyze your pins

Track “Recent Activity” for followers, likes, comments, and repins. Target your pins based on others’ successful pins. Check your Google Analytics for traffic from Pinterest through the referral sources and keyword sources tools. You can also used the tools mentioned in the previous point to analyze your pins, along with PinReach.

Want to see how 8 big brands use Pinterest and what you can learn from them? Watch our free video now!