Pinterest is addicting. Once you take your first 30 minutes on the site, you’ll see what I mean. Although it may seem like a silly time-sink, the numbers don’t lie: It’s the most-rapidly growing social media site, and currently the third-most popular to Facebook and Twitter. So what is it about this social vixen that is so alluring? For marketers, it’s all about demographics–Nearly 1/3 of Pinterest users have an income of $100,000 or greater, and the 
largest age group of users is the 25-34 bracket. All of that disposable income floating around has made Pinterest like a virtual El Dorado. To further entice, last fall Pinterest launched business pages–allowing companies and brands to pin their hearts out.
Since it is such a simple concept, it can be difficult to see the benefit of starting a business Pinterest. In this post, we’ll seek to introduce you to the basics of the site, provide irrefutable evidence as to why you should be pinning, and give you the tips you need to get started!
The Basics
Pinterest has a very simple format–every image (or video) you see is a pin, which is able to be saved (or pinned) to a collection of pins, called a board. Every user on the site can be followed (similar to Twitter), and everything a user pins can be liked or commented on (a la Facebook), or Repinned to one of your boards.
Why
Why do users love it? Simple: It’s simple! The minimalist design requires little effort, and the images take center stage–which easily draws users in.
Why should you love it? For the same reason! Putting your products or services center-stage via images is incredibly effective–90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text. Additionally, Pinterest is about more than just images of products; it’s about images of a lifestyle. The site allows you to associate any image with your brand, allowing you to choose those that will promote it as a lifestyle to aspire to–even if it’s not directly associated. All of these features position Pinterest as the future of social media branding and marketing.
Best Practices
- When: In general, the times/days when people are unwinding and willing to waste time online. The best times to pin on Pinterest are 2pm-4pm and 8pm-1am, and the best days are Saturday and Sunday, though every day at those times has statistical significance.
- How Often: Strive to pin 1-5 times every day that you pin. Remember to spend 50% of your time (or more) on Pinterest interacting with other users!
- Create boards for SEO ranking
Take the keywords you try to rank for on your site and create boards for them! Are you based in a certain city? Make a board commemorating it, which will help localize your SEO efforts. Think about what kinds of things your clients would pin, and create boards to reflect such lifestyles–For example, a children’s clothing company is likely being followed by parents (or prospective parents), so boards centered around things like children’s birthday parties, unique toys, or kindergarten art–would likely be successful.
- Images based on target audience
Pin things that will interest your clients, pure and simple–pin pictures of your product/merchandise, informative photos (like recipes, how-to videos, or infographics), or even images associated with your clients’ industries. For example, check out Hubspot’s Pinterest—
Marketing infographics and webinars are two of the things associated with the Hubspot philosophy, so creating boards for them is a great way to give followers relevant pins. If you provide products or services to certain industries, consider catering to those companies. For example, a tractor company like John Deere would benefit from boards featuring photos of farmers, picturesque fields, etc.
- Don’t succumb!
It’s easy to get caught in the Pinterest web and get nothing productive done! Avoid spending personal time on the site by scheduling your business pins, using a site like Pingraphy. This will make it easy to seamlessly integrate the site into your social media strategy.
- Add “Pin-It” button to your site
Make the images in your blog posts and web content pin-able with the “Pin It” button, available here. It’s an quick way to make your content easier to share (and love)!
Ready for the next step? Try this article, which gives additional tips and strategies for Pinterest business pages.
