Pinterest is one of the latest social media sites and has received widespread popularity. Pinterest is a virtual board where you can pin images and videos. It offers a truly unique way to organise and share content you like on the Internet with others.

You can even use it to explore new ideas. Browsing pinboards is a great way to discover new content and connect with people of common interests. Pinterest can also  prove to be a very effective for your internet marketing strategy.

Pinterest is primarily image-based i.e it is used to share images or videos. Although it s is a relatively new site, it already has over 20 million users and receives in excess of 2 million unique visits every day.

If you run your own business, you can use Pinterest offers an excellent medium to promote your brand, showcase your products and target new audiences. Recent studies have found  that Pinterest outperforms Facebook for business in many areas including  sales and introducing new customers to the business.

I have put together a list of basic marketing tips to promote your business on Pinterest below.

Pinterest beginners marketing tips for business:

1. Create your account with your brand name as the username. This provides improved focus and exposure for your brand. The username you choose will be listed in your profile so it makes sense to use your brand name.

2. Upload your logo as your profile picture. This is essential for branding and effective on most social profiles.

3. Add a good business description to your Pinterest profile. It will be displayed on your main Pinterest profile below your profile image. This space gets one of the most attention so use it wisely to promote your brand.

4. Make sure to add your website, blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts to your profile. They will be displayed with icons just below your profile photo. This will help promote your profiles and generate traffic.

5. Keep your boards fresh. Post frequently and be consistent. Consistency is important for maximum exposure and engagement and overall success.

6. Use compelling titles for your boards. Appealing board names improves your chances of success. Boards with interesting names tend to attract more views and get shared more. Unlike blog posts, short board names are usually more effective.

7. Leave comments on other people’s boards in order to participate and engage with others. Follow the usual good practices of commenting. Add value through your comments rather than generic comments made purely to improve your visibility.

8. Pinterets has a “Like” feature similar to Facebook. Like other user’s pins and vote for them if you find it useful.

9. You can promote your web-pages or blog posts on your boards. Time Magazine uses this effectively. See image below.

10. Don’t limit yourself to pinning content from your own website or blog. For best results, share a range of valuable content from a variety of sources. .

11. An interesting feature of Pinterest is the ability to re-pin content from existing boards. This is similar to ReTweeting on Twitter. Its a great way to get noticed by others and expand your network. If you re-pin other people’s content, others will re-pin yours.

12. Take advantage of the general popularity of videos by pinning them to your board. You can use existing YouTube videos. There is also a dedicated video section Pinterest.

13. Add a good description to the images you pin. Description will be displayed below the image. But be subtle with it and only use relevant descriptions or else it may appear as spam.

14. Take advantage of Pinterest’s browser tool by installing it on your web browser. This will make it very easy to pin stuff as you find them on the Web. You will be able to pin items directly from your browser without the need to leave the site you are on or visit Pinterest.

15. Take advantage of Pinterest’s iPhone app. This will allow you to pin or re-pin items on the move. Additionally, you will be able to easily pin images from the camera on your phone.

16. Cross promote Pinterest on your website, blog or other web profiles. You can add a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button with a link to increase your Pinterest follower base.

Conclusion:

Pinterest is a popular social media website used for personal as well as business use. It is used for a range of things from promoting products to organising your favourite recipes or share ideas for decorating your home. It is growing rapidly and businesses can benefit from using it as part of their social media strategy.