Harness the Power of Pinterest

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you probably heard about Pinterest’s recent and rapid rise to fame. Pinterest is a “virtual pinboard” where one is able to post images from anywhere on the web and share them with their friends. It wasn’t originally targeted towards any particular audience, but the user base is currently predominantly women.

Many businesses are just now discovering that there is value in participating in social media, but where does Pinterest fit into this mix?

Pinterest, a network composed of found graphics and photos, functions differently from other social media sites you may be used to. Here are a few tips to help you be more successful on this new platform.

  1. Tailor your images for the audience. As mentioned earlier, Pinterest is primarily women. As such, it’s not surprising that some of the top brands on the site are related to wedding planning, parenting, chocolate, and clothing. You (or your business) don’t necessarily have to fall into these categories, but be sure that you are targeting the correct audience.
  2. Create shareable images. The main size at which your images will be viewed is relatively small, a measly 192 pixels across. Therefore, if you are planning on including words, make them large enough to be legible at that width. There will be a much greater chance of people reading what you are attempting to share with them.
  3. Be aware of the trends. Speaking of including words in your pins, doing just that is highly recommended. Inspirational quotes go viral frequently, as many users like and relate to them. Other trends include food, hair, shoes, dresses, and design.
  4. Create a gallery on your website. This mainly applies to businesses, and is also where the marketing value of Pinterest lies. When a person pins an interesting or beautiful image from a website, their friends will start to share it with each other. Then their friends share it with their friends. If that doesn’t already sound amazing, here’s the clincher. Each of these pins is a link back to the website they were originally pinned from. Yours.
  5. Consistently share new pins. The most important step is also the most difficult. Be consistent. Add pins on a regular basis so people have a reason to keep coming back. If your page grows stagnant, they will stop checking.

To see some of these tips in action, here’s a cool case study about an Alaskan mom who draws millions of people to her carpentry blog through Pinterest.

What do you think? Do you have any tips through your experience on Pinterest?