What do wedding advice, a recipe for apple pithivier, an intimidating pair of spike heels, and an article on search engine optimization (SEO) have in common? They’re all on my Pinterest home feed. These are posts that the platform thinks would interest me based on the accounts I follow and my recent searches and indicated interests. (The shoes are a little perplexing. Everything else tracks.)

From tasty recipes to fashionable outfits, Pinterest is the ultimate hub of inspiration. It also converts better than any other social media platform. So it’s time to start using your social media tools to make Pinterest for business work for your brand.

Why you should be using Pinterest for business

You want to know the benefits of Pinterest — and possibly even the answer to the question “What is Pinterest?“. So let’s start at the beginning. Pinterest is a visual search engine that allows users to discover ideas and inspiration. It’s different from other social media platforms because it’s not about connecting with friends or sharing updates. Instead, it’s about discovering new ideas and finding inspiration.

Harnessing the power of Pinterest for business can improve your:

• Audience. Pinterest has over 450 million active monthly users. That’s a lot of potential fans and customers.
• Website traffic. Most pins will link back to your website, meaning more people will be exposed to your offerings and content.
• Customer relationships. By creating quality content, you can increase brand recognition and stay in contact with your audience.
• Sales. 55% of pinners use Pinterest to shop and buy products, and Pinterest ads generate an average return of $4.30 for every dollar spent.
• Brand exposure. Pinterest is an unusually democratic platform. 97% of searches are unbranded, allowing non-followers to find your content.
• Product storytelling. Pinterest’s format creates a perfect storytelling vehicle for promoting products — especially if your business is in retail, fashion, design, or crafting — allowing you to display items in the best contexts.

The social media platform is a potent marketing tool you can use to reach an audience that is already primed to buy.

The language of Pinterest 

Like other digital marketing channels, Pinterest for business has its own terminology — insider jargon that can make navigating it more difficult for people just getting started on Pinterest.

Here’s a basic Pinterest glossary.

• Pin. A post that links back to a website. A pin’s thumbnail image loads in users’ searches and feeds.
• Promoted pin. A type of paid ad. When you click on the thumbnails of an organic pin, it expands to show you the entire post, including the attached link. When you click on a promoted pin, it instead connects you immediately to the linked webpage. 
• Pinner. A Pinterest user.
• Board. The digital folder or bulletin board you use to organize pins around a chosen theme. If done with a project or interest, you can archive boards, deleting them from your profile and feed but preserving their content in your account.
• Pincode. A QR code that links to a board. You can share your pincode like other QR codes, letting people scan them with their cameras.
• Group board. This is a board owned by one person but populated by a group of members invited to contribute.
• Lens. A feature that lets you perform visual searches using your camera and the Pinterest app. Pinterest will show you pins with content similar to your picture.
• Pinterest hashtags. A way of adding information to a post or connecting it to a larger thread. Hashtags on Pinterest are similar to those used on other social media platforms.
• Comments. Notes left on pins by other users.
• Messages. Private communications between two Pinterest users.
• Pinning. Placing a picture found online on a board. You can also pin content you’ve specifically uploaded as a post and link it to your chosen site.
• Saving. Placing content found on Pinterest on a board. When you find something you like, save it to one of your boards.
• Tagging. Connecting a pin to another user to add information for browsers or ensure the user sees it.
• Sending a pin. Sharing a pin with someone else in a private message. You can also send pins to people who don’t use Pinterest.

If you’re still uncertain, the best way to get familiar with Pinterest is to create an account and explore the site. It’s fun, and its use is intuitive.

Different Pinterest Feeds

Choose what content to see by switching between feeds.

Home

Your home feed is your continually updated home base, where Pinterest collects content it thinks you’ll appreciate. It’s based on your recent activity, active boards, interests, and the accounts you follow. You can refine any of these for your account by selecting “Tune your home feed” under your profile picture.

Explore

Sometimes known as the ideas feed, Pinterest’s explore feed shows you new content that may not have been recommended in your home feed. It includes trending topics and popular pins from around the world.

While this feed still exists, it’s become harder to find from your dashboard. It looks as though Pinterest has largely replaced it with the ‘Today’ feed.

Today

Your Today feed is a more focused curation. A handful of topics are chosen daily, and you can click on any to find a more extensive roundup of related pins. You can also scroll down to view past days’ trends.

Following 

Pinterest used to have a feed to show you only pins from accounts you directly follow, but the platform got rid of it. Many users have complained, but it remains to be seen if Pinterest will reinstate it.

Your Pinterest profile

Now that we’ve covered the “what,” let’s move on to the “how.” The first step in using Pinterest for business is setting up your profile.

Business vs. personal accounts

Business accounts come with extra features. Unlike personal users, business users can create all kinds of rich pins and video pins. You’ll also gain access to analytics for evaluating your content’s performance and advertising functions.

If your business qualifies, you can also join the Verified Merchant Program (VMP) after a few months on the platform. VMP members can add extra information to pins and have their pins included in browsers’ shopping lists and (in some cases) carts. They also gain the credibility associated with being a vetted merchant, and a blue checkmark appears on their pins and profile.

Creating your Pinterest business profile

You can create a new account, add a linked business account to your personal account, or convert your personal account to Pinterest for business.

• To create a new account: Click “Sign Up” on the Pinterest homepage. The pop-up to create a personal account will have a link to create a business account instead (and vice versa). Then you just fill it out with your contact information, age, and business information as prompted.
• To link an account: Log in. Then click on the icon for more options next to your profile account. Choose “Add account.” Pinterest will then take you through the same process. 
• To convert an existing account: Instead of “Add account,” choose “Convert to business.” Everything else remains the same.

Optimize your profile

Flesh out your profile with all of your business information. Be sure to include keywords in both your display name and bio. Let people — and the almighty algorithm — know what you do, helping them to contextualize your pins.

Claim your website

When you claim your website, you gain access to more analytics, including insights into content pinned from your website by other users. Pinterest also makes it easier for people to find and follow you based on your brand content.

Being active on Pinterest

Now that you’re oriented and have a business account, it’s time to develop your presence on Pinterest.

Make the most of your boards

Have more than simply one giant board for your brand. Custom, themed boards let you curate content from your website and others to attract followers with relevant interests. There’s also an opportunity to include more keywords in the board title.

You should also join community boards, increasing your visibility. You’ll reach new audiences by tapping into these boards’ followers and potentially connecting with other industry professionals.

Follow others

Provide yourself with a steady stream of inspiration and insight. Following other accounts lets you discover competitor strategies, familiarize yourself with Pinterest for business best practices, and learn about trending topics. 

Use messages and comments to network, connect with influencers in your field, and add your two cents to relevant content. 

Engage your followers

Engaging with followers on social media is vital on any platform. Show an active interest in your customers and prospects. Even though Pinterest is less conversation-focused than a platform like Twitter, you still want to respond to comments and watch for brand mentions.

Pin!

Pin, pin, pin! 

The key is to learn how to get your pins seen on Pinterest. Create visually compelling content that users are likely to find in searches, appreciate, and click through to your website.

To that end:

• Show, don’t tell. Use high-quality visuals whenever possible, and ensure your image or clip carries most of the message. 
• Plan for mobile engagement. 82% of users scroll through Pinterest on mobile, so opt for longer images — ideally with a ratio of 2:3. Don’t get carried away, though. Extra-long images once performed well on the platform, but that’s no longer true. Video pins are also different, and square pins get the top spots in mobile feeds.
• Optimize your text. Integrate keywords into titles and descriptions, and keep your copy concise but informative. Give viewers the details they need without overwhelming them with too much text. Use hashtags to help Pinterest and searchers locate your content when relevant.
• Make copy actionable. Provide clear instructions on how users can take advantage of special offers or learn more.

Over time, you’ll improve at creating pins that captivate and convert as you learn more about how to sell on Pinterest. As with anything else, practice may not make perfect, but it does make better.

Be consistent

Social media rewards consistency by featuring content more prominently. While Pinterest has shifted from a chronological feed to a smart, relevance-directed one, it’s still important to add new content regularly.

Create a posting schedule and stick to it. Try to post new content consistently, and take advantage of the times when your followers are most likely to be present. Pinterest may not care about the exact time content appears, but it does pay attention to early reactions. If fans quickly like new posts, it tells the algorithm gods that this is quality content it should display to other users.

Look at your analytics to see when you get the best results. If you don’t yet see a pattern, you could try posting from eight to eleven at night. Pinterest traffic is generally high in the evenings.

How to use Pinterest for business

Here are a few more tips and ideas for pinners who want to use the platform to benefit their business.

Leverage Pinterest analytics

Take advantage of analytics tools available through Pinterest business accounts to track how well each pin performs and adjust accordingly.

The most critical metrics for Pinterest marketing are:

• Engagement. This indicates how much interaction a post receives from viewers, such as saves, comments, and clicks. 
• Followers. Your follower count tells you how well your content is creating fans. 
• Impressions. This is how many times your pins appear on a user’s screen.
• Outbound clicks. Users must click through to your site if the goal is more website traffic and sales.

You’ll also get data for any ad campaigns and monthly aggregates.

And Pinterest lets you filter your data to view different content types and audiences. Learn who interacts with what for greater insight into the material that resonates with each segment of your customer base.

Include user-generated content

Showcasing user-generated content is an excellent way for businesses to build trust. Social proof lets people believe in the value you provide. As a bonus, user-generated material also saves you some time creating material.

Share/save posts that demonstrate how your brand positively impacts your customers’ lives. You can also curate content that amplifies your message. Save pins from non-competitor influencers to boost your credibility and association with the right categories and themes.

Vary your pins

In addition to your garden-variety static pins, incorporate video and rich pins into your strategy. 

Video pins

A video pin has a short video clip rather than an image as its focus, and videos are a great way to capture attention on Pinterest. They allow you to showcase your product or service in an engaging way that grabs people’s attention quickly. Because most pins are static, videos also stand out in a person’s feed.

Keep your masterpieces short and sweet. People don’t want to watch long videos on Pinterest. If your content runs longer than 30 seconds, use a compelling clip.

Rich pins

There are three main types of rich pins: 

1. Article pins
2. Recipe pins
3. Product pins

All of these provide extra information and automatically sync with the material you’ve pinned on your website, updating when necessary. This makes users more likely to engage since they can learn more without clicking away from the platform. That’s particularly true because Pinterest’s algorithm prioritizes rich pins due to their additional context and popularity. 

You can save time, too. For one thing, rich pins update themselves, so any changes on your website are automatically reflected. For another, you can upload a product catalog rather than creating individual pins for each item.

Try advertising on Pinterest

Reach even more potential customers with Pinterest ads. Like other social media ads, Pinterest ads allow you to target specific audiences based on their interests and behaviors. You’ll also select campaign budgets and objectives. 

You’ve got to pin it to win it

Pinterest for business is an obvious choice for brands focused on products or content. Unlike other social media options, the platform is designed for searches and conversions. It aims to be a hub for project planners and shoppers, ensuring you’ll catch your audience in the proper frame of mind.

Sign up for your account today, and take advantage of its opportunities tomorrow. Or, if you already have a business profile, pause and reflect on your Pinterest strategy. Think about your current boards and pins and identify one thing you can improve going forward. Maybe you need to trim your text and make every word count. Or you could try a new pin format or layout to add variety or display better on mobile devices.

Start putting out content, and I’ll look forward to the day it appears in my Pinterest home feed — right next to those still-mysterious spike heels.

The post Pinterest for Business: Take This for a (s)Pin appeared first on Constant Contact.