Pinterest for Your Business How to Use Pinterest to Build Your Business in 7 Steps Social networking has changed the way we interact. We use it to connect with friends and family. We use it to stay on top of current events. In fact, most media outlets have Facebook and Twitter accounts. From celebrities to world leaders, it seems everyone has a profile on at least one major social networking site. In fact, in late February Israel’s President Shimon Peres announced on ABC’s the View that he was looking for friends on his new Facebook page. We also use social networking to learn, grow and connect with ideas and people around the world. For many, checking in on Facebook and Tweeting are part of their daily routine. Just when you think that social networking has reached its peak, a new social trend has taken over. It’s called Pinterest and it has grown exponentially since its beta launch in 2010. According to Hitwise, in December of 2011 Pinterest entered the top 10 social networks and receives around 11 million visits per week. The Power to Build Your Business is Immense Pinterest isn’t your typical social networking site. In fact, according to several sources the vast majority of the members are female. And many estimate that the average user spends a whopping 90 or more minutes on the site each day. This presents business owners with the opportunity to forge a truly powerful connection with potential prospects. What Is Pinterest And How Is It Different From Other Social Networking Sites? Pinterest is a social site, which means users join and create profiles. They can then create Boards. Think of a board as a visible folder that can contain a variety of images. For example common boards include:  Places I Want To Travel  Books I Love  Fitness Goals  Dream Home  Favorite Movies  Art That Inspires Pinterest users create boards that represent their interests, passions and goals. They fill their Pinterest Boards with “pins.” A pin is simply the name Pinterest gives to images you attach to your board. So for example, if you have a board titled “books I love” then you may have pictures of individual book covers on your board. Each book cover image is a pin. Pins can be uploaded from your computer, “pinned” from a website using a “Pin This” plug-in for your browser or by using the simple “Add +” tool on Pinterest. You can also “Repin” images that other users have added. Repinning is essentially copying a pin and adding it to your own board. Users can also “Follow” other users or they can follow individual boards. You can Like pins, comment on pins and share pins on Facebook, Twitter and your own blog or website. It’s a Large Scale Vision Board There are a number of features that make Pinterest stand out from the crowd. Pinterest is a self proclaimed visual pinboard. Users create boards (much like a vision board that you could create at home with magazine cutouts and photos) by pinning images. For example, you might find a fitness board where a user pins images of healthy people or pins motivational fitness quotes. Or you might find a home organization board where a user pins images of organization ideas they want to use in their home. The purpose of Pinterest is to provide members with an ability to create their own vision boards and share them with others. It’s brilliant and the design is so incredibly simple. Pin Images and Videos When you visit Pinterest you’ll notice immediately that the Content is 100% visual. Every pin is an image. You can pin infographics, pictures, and videos. Be Nice Is The Name Of The Game Pinterest has a few rules of etiquette which we’ll get into in a bit. To sum them up they are: 1. Be Nice - Pinterest is a community of people. While everyone has their own definition of what Being Nice means, it is important to remember to treat people how you would like to be treated. Many people are using Pinterest to organize their inspirations and there’s very little reason to be negative or critical. 2. Credit Your Sources – Per Pinterest, Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry. We’ll talk a bit more about copyright issues and sourcing your pins later. 3. Avoid Self Promotion – Pinterest is just like any social networking site – blatant self promotion is an unhealthy business practice. You build your community by providing value and creating a connection to your audience – not by promoting yourself and using Pinterest as an advertising site. That being said, do occasionally pin images, products and links to your site – when it serves your audience. 4. Report Objectionable Content – Per Pinterest, “We do not allow nudity or hateful content. If you find content that is objectionable or violates our Terms of Service you can submit the content for review by pushing the Report Content link. It’s easy to report offensive content. All you need to do is click on the pin. On the right hand side of the image you’ll see the option to Like on Facebook, Tweet, Embed, Report and Email. Click on Report and you’ll see a list of reasons. Check the reason why you’re reporting it and hit send. Reporting is anonymous and it brings the pin to the attention of the staff and developers. Is Pinterest Right for Your Business? Pinterest is a unique, albeit large, community of members. It may not be the ideal social networking site for your business. Here are a few questions to ask before you integrate Pinterest into your social marketing strategy. Are My Prospects On Pinterest? We’ve already mentioned that the majority of users are female. According to Modea.com 68.2% of the users are female. The most popular age bracket for users is 24-34, though 35-44 comes in with a 17.9% share. 50% of users have children and a median household income of $100,000. Does that describe your target audience in a nutshell? If it does then jump on the Pinterest bandwagon quickly!

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