Remember those glory days when we pinned things on a corkboard? Ahh, the good ole days. Now pinning things on boards, just like everything else, has moved online. At least they kept the basic concept and named it something punny! (Pin + Interest = Pinterest). But what exactly is Pinterest? And is it right for your business?
While many call Pinterest a social media platform, Satori argues that it’s more of a search engine. Think of it like Google, but instead of finding links to websites, your search yields hundreds of images that link back to websites. It’s a way for users to collect, organize, and share things they find interesting. We won’t dive too deep into how to use Pinterest, but we do want to talk about whether or not Pinterest is right for your business. We’ve created six questions to help you decide if your business can benefit from this medium.
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1. Does your target audience consist of women?
About 80% of users of Pinterest are women. Pinterest recognizes who their base users are and capitalizes on this in their queries. For example, if you were to search for soccer, you will see women’s soccer cleats and pictures of females playing soccer. Also, some of the top Pinterest categories are Fashion and Beauty. So, it goes without saying that if women are your customers, or the majority buyers of your product, you should be on Pinterest.
2. Do you have the right content on your website?
Pinterest drives traffic to your website more than Twitter, LinkedIn, Google +, and YouTube combined AND doubled! Yes, you read that correctly. But, to effectively drive traffic to your site, the content you post must originate from said website. Blog posts are best for long-form content, but pictures or infographics can work too.
3. Is there a want/need for resources relating to your business?
Pinterest is a great way to organize resources for your customers. These boards can range from FAQs to tips to inspiration. For example, if your company offers B2B consultation, you can curate multiple boards with various business tips, motivational phrases, invoicing/pricing templates—the list goes on. Or, if your organization does creative work, you can create boards with color inspiration and branding guidelines for your customers.
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4. Is there a design element to your business?
Pinterest is a highly visual platform, so every link must have a picture or video. If your business creates unique visuals or design elements, Pinterest is perfect for you! Some industries that thrive on this platform are interior design, weddings and events, photography, fashion, makeup, and more.
In addition, you can use Pinterest to brainstorm design elements with your clients. Renovating a kitchen space? Ask your clients to identify and share pins of kitchens and the elements they like. Create this as a shared board so that both you and your client have access to it. You can also make this board “secret” so that only you and your client can see the pins.
5. Do you have a virtual business?
If you are an online business without a brick and mortar store (i.e. Etsy, ebay, etc), Pinterest can be one of your most powerful tools. With this platform, you can easily market your goods or services and drive tons of new traffic to your website. However, it’s still possible to benefit from Pinterest if you do have a physical store as we mentioned earlier.
6. Do you have the time?
To create a successful Pinterest account, you need quality images, quality graphics, and frequent pinning. Because Pinterest is a visual platform, poor image quality will not perform well and be a waste of your efforts. It is also suggested that a business should pin around 15 times a day. While this sounds like a lot, keep in mind that when done right, it’s worth it. If you don’t have time to manage your digital platforms, consider hiring a marketing firm to do it for you.
So, is Pinterest right for you?
If you answered yes to the any of these questions, your business has a place on Pinterest. Pinterest can be incredibly beneficial for so many reasons and works for a variety of businesses. Create your account today and start pinning!