Pinterest at five years old, is smaller compared to Facebook or Twitter, but the image-based site has quickly gathered a large number of users since its inception.
The site now has 72.8 million users, and the number is growing rapidly. Numerous businesses and brands are also taking advantage of the site for social media marketing purposes.
While it’s been female based since the beginning, men are now starting to take to the image-based social media-networking site, although still at a much slower rate.
As with all social media sites, it is important to follow best practices when using Pinterest, especially with regard to business use. Here are some of them.
Build Pinterest Networks
One good way of creating better marketability is to create a good relationship between the business and Pinterest users. This is primarily done through pinning and repinning images and photos. By doing so, activity is generated, and it engages interaction between users of Pinterest.
This is also a way for business owners to see into the minds of consumers. By looking at what followers pin on their boards, companies are able to get an idea of the preferences and dislikes of customers. They may also be able to spot growing trends with different users, and take advantage of this knowledge through posting images of new products, and creating awareness regarding services via Pinterest.
It is also vital, particularly for small and upstart businesses , to follow users who are regularly pinning or repinning their photos. The views and opinions of people can be noted through patterns in pins and repinning, making feedback faster and more interactive. This practice is important with all social media networking sites.
Also note it is a good practice to follow the top users in Pinterest, which enables you to reach out to a wider audience. This also encourages those whom you followed to follow you, which further enhances the relationship between your company and users.
Be organized
This cannot be stressed enough. Nobody wants to see cluttered pictures disguised as a smorgasbord of everything and anything. This would be an immediate turn-off for followers, and a disorganized site would be bad for the company profile.
Hence, it is better to organize photos by creating several Boards or themes, and posting images that match those themes, which will more likely attract new followers and retain old ones.
Be Interesting
One way to be interesting is to be honest and original. Some companies tend to overly promote themselves, making them appear desperate for attention.
By posting creative ideas and thoughts that are outside the box, while remaining true to company vision and values, you can create a valuable business profile with Pinterest. And by adding witty texts to the pins, it makes the posts more interesting and will generate a buzz.
Brands can expand their image by using Pinterest to feature certain aspects of their brand—such as charitable works and foundations they work with. Companies and brands can further engage followers on other social media sites by asking them what Boards or themes they should create on Pinterest and what to pin.
By following these best practices steps with Pinterest, companies and brands can generate useful and engaging content, and expand their fan base.