Dominate Pinterest Business Pages
Pinterest is unstoppable. While some may still consider it a niche network for individuals with interests in home decorating or DIY hair styles, the data indicate otherwise. In early 2012, it soared to the third most popular social media network worldwide, beating out LinkedIn and Google+. Truth is, behind all those boards of homemade birthday party decorations and decadent desserts is a lot of potential for marketers who know how to leverage the format to drive traffic. Check out these stats on the rise of the network:
- In January 2012, Pinterest was responsible for 3.6% of all referral traffic.
- Pinterest referrals spend 70% more money than visitors referred from search.
- Pins on trending topics receive 94% more click-throughs.
- Pinterest currently receives 11 million unique monthly visitors and counting!
Feeling eager to refine your Pinterest strategy? We’ve compiled some of the latest expert insights on how you can power up your approach in 2013:
1. Ensure Your Business Page is Verified
It’s only been a matter of weeks since Pinterest rolled out business pages and allowed companies to verify their accounts, but verification has quickly become essential. Not only does it make your company appear far more trustworthy, it allows you to display your full website URL on your profile.
2. Create Super-Simple Infographics
Creating an image that shows the before-and-after effects of using your product or services can do wonders for your visibility on the network.
3. Repins are King
While generating “Likes” on your Pinterest content is nice, repins permanently place your content on others’ boards. Drum up your engagement rate by actively following other users and commenting on their boards.
4. Include Prices
Research indicates that pins with prices are 36% more likely to convert! As an added bonus, priced pins have a shot at being featured in the Gifts section of Pinterest. You don’t need basic Photoshop skills to add the price, either. You can simply add a dollar sign, followed by the amount in the description box.
5. Curate Content
Pinterest marketing expert Brent Carnduff recommends pinning regularly, and drawing your pinspiration from a variety of sources, including your own original content, other online sources, and other Pinterest accounts.
6. Create Community
Don’t keep your website, Twitter, or Facebook page a secret! Take the time to completely optimize your business page by including contact information and links to your other social media profiles.
7. Rename Your Image Files
It’s prudent to check the name of your image file before uploading it onto your blog or pinning it to a board. Vocus recommends that brands “turn those images into search engine spider magnets” by renaming them with a long tail keyword. If you’re pinning a depiction of a product or service, include your company name.
8. Showcase Clients, Vendors, and Peers
If you’re sharing a client success story or simply repinning content, tag the other user by including “@theirusername” in the description box.
9. Don’t Squander Your Descriptions
It’s a little-known fact that Pinterest users are actually provided with 500 characters to describe their pins. Think of this space as an SEO magnet, and fill it with relevant, long tail keywords. Vocus advises Pinterest marketers to take time and add more or better keywords to previous pins.
10. Don’t Take Your Boards Too Seriously
There’s a good chance your prospects love to laugh. Pin funny quotations or memes as a way to add a lighthearted aspect to your social media marketing strategy.
11. Your Competition is Using Pinterest
That is, they are if they’re smart. Don’t be a stranger — go see what they’re up to, how it’s working for them, and how you can improve on their tactics.
12. Repin Best-Performing Content
Bump high-performing content back into your followers’ feeds by moving it to a new board. Your pins are forever.
13. Add Words to Images
Not only will watermarking your images provide some protection against plagiarism, adding words to the image is an excellent way for marketers who lack graphic design skills to describe images and add contact information. Try iwatermark or pixlr.com.
14. Take Inspiration from Popular Categories
The latest data from Pinterest indicates that the most repinned content is food & drink, crafts, home decor, hair & beauty, women’s fashion, weddings, and humor. Even if your business has nothing to do with these categories, showcase your brand personality by building a board that’s just plain repinnable.
15. Include the Most-Repinnable Words
It stands to reason that the most repinned words on Pinterest are also among the most searched by users of the social media network. Social media scientist Dan Zarrella of HubSpot has found the top seven words that inspire enagement are “recipe,” “chicken,” “minutes,” “bake,” “cake,” “cheese,” and “cut.”
16. Pin Videos
Just because the vast majority of content on Pinterest is comprised of static images doesn’t mean that you can’t pin your organization’s video content.
17. Pin Call-to-Actions
Well-designed and intriguing Call-to-Action buttons lead to 80% higher engagement. Share your latest content offer or special deal on your Pinterest page.
18. Create a Conference Board
Attending or hosting an industry conference? Create a board that showcases area attractions, accommodations, and speakers and invite other attendees to join you in pinning.
19. Showcase Your Hometown
As local SEO continues to soar, creating a Pinterest board that showcases the town or area your company is based in can help you generate geo-targeted attention. Include attractions, regional eats, other small businesses, and events.
20. Optimize Your Pinning Schedule
Socia analytics company Pinerly has found that the best times to pin are between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern, or 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern. Find out what works best for your organization and stick to it!
21. Go Really Tall
There are no limits to how tall your images can be. No kidding. While the social media network limits users’ images to 554 pixels wide, there are no height limits. Zarella has found that taller images generate more repins, likely because they take up more room in your followers’ feeds.
What Pinterest tactics have you found effective for generating engagement and traffic?
