It’s possible you haven’t heard about the newest social media network – Pinterest. It’s been growing slowly since it debuted in March of 2010, but it’s users increased exponentially beginning in August of 2011. Like many new social networks, it started with a limited release via an invite system – a system they still have in place. The invite system makes it feel exclusive, like you’re a hand-selected member of a special club.
So what is it? Simply put, Pinterest is an online pinboard. Do you ever clip pictures out of magazines, maybe for ideas for your dream kitchen remodel, or as motivation to go to the gym? That is Pinterest – a place online to store and see images that inspire or motivate you, that make you laugh or think, or that make you say, “I could do that!”
Pinterest is Mecca for the visually creative and do-it-yourselfers of the online world. Through seeing their friends pins, they find inspiration to try new crafts, ways to organize their homes and offices, new recipes to try, books they’ve read, potential vacation destinations and much more. The appeal of the site is that it’s focused on images. Users can “pin” images that they find on most websites, and the pin will retain a link to the original source. Users can also upload images directly to their own pinboards. But what makes Pinterest a social network is that each user follows other users’ pinboards. This creates a constant stream of new images…and inspiration. When users see something they like, they can “repin” it to one of their own pinboards – which is then shared with everyone following them (and so on and so on and so on).
Pinterest also plays nicely with Facebook and Twitter, so when a user repins an image, it can be broadcast to a much larger audience of Facebook friends and Twitter followers.
So how would you use this for business? Etsy sellers (a marketplace for handmade goods) were among the first to discover Pinterest and use it to market their stores. Many bloggers use it to promote their blog posts – particularly blogs that are focused on recipes or craft tutorials. (Pinners love tutorials.) Because the links are retained with the images, every repin of an image from a site increases that site’s reach. Not everyone who repins an image will click through to visit the site. But the potential is there for any image to “go viral” – which makes many solopreneurs very excited.
Here are some best practices for how a coach or solopreneur might use Pinterest to promote her business:
- Remember that it’s all about the Pinner. Pinners are looking for useful content – like I said, they love tutorials. And not just any tutorials, they love tutorials that are easy and useful. Phrases used most often while pinning: “How cool is that!” and “Why didn’t I think of that?”
- Pinterest is image-centric. Keep that in mind as you prepare blog posts or information pages – use a photograph or image that draws people in and inspires them. The image should be enough to tell the story, whether they click the link or not. For example, I’ve seen one image of a blogger who writes about Crock-Pot cooking. The whole point of her blog is that she used her Crock-Pot every day for a year – no recipe repeats. The image that links to her site – she’s laying on the floor hugging her Crock-Pot. Anyone looking at that image knows exactly what to expect when they visit her blog!
- Ask your clients/followers/fans to pin for you. Pinterest has made it very easy for websites to make their content pin-able. Think of it as asking someone to leave a review for you on Amazon – “Pin this on Pinterest.” Be aware, this will cause images to be shared all over the internet. Only do this if the images on your site belong to you and are ones you are comfortable sharing with the masses.
- Check your intentions. Pinners are savvy, sophisticated and creative. They are notoriously suspicious of people who are trying to “sell” them. They can spot intentions from the beginning, and attempting to disguise a sales pitch as an image will not work for you! It is very important to contribute to the community first. Attempting to sell in your pinning will cause people to distrust your brand. Note: Pinterest does have a way to link to items that are for sale, like the Etsy sellers I mentioned above. They are selling a physical product, and frankly, they’re part of the creative community (i.e., Pinners inherently trust Etsy sellers).
- Give without expecting anything in return. This is really the golden rule for all social media, but it’s especially true for Pinterest. This really is in line with the tip above, but it was important enough to restate.
Pinterest can be a powerful tool for promoting you or your business. I think the best practice of all is to approach it at a personal level – repin images that genuinely speak to who you are, and you’ll find the experience to be very rewarding!
If you are not yet on Pinterest and would like an invite, use the form on the Contact page – just let me know that you’d like a Pinterest invite and be sure to include your email address.
