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For the un-initiated, Pinterest can be a confusing mess. Some see it as a time waste, while others can’t figure out why it would even be popular or useful. Maybe I can help.
I am going to approach this from a marketing stand point. Be warned once you are hooked it will go way beyond that.
A poll just out from Shareaholic shows Pinterest refers more traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined. That should certainly answer a part of the ‘why’. The rest of that answer has to do with today’s brides. Pinterest is over 90% female. Today’s bride and millennials in general are very visual. They look at the pictures rather than read content. Pinterest is right up their alley. What once was a wedding planning binder is now a pin board. Got it? Good.
The next thing I keep hearing is “I signed up but I don’t know what to do”
Getting started with Pinterest
Give yourself an hour or four to get familiar with it. In this image you see a couple of things I am going to point out to get you going. Hint, click the images to enlarge.
At first you have nothing, no boards, no pins so hold off on finding friends until you populate a little bit.
In the middle top under the word Pinterest you have some options. Click on ‘Everything’ and a drop down menu opens, you probably want to choose weddings & events as a jumping off point. An entire page of images will open. Now just start pinning stuff you like. Click on a picture, you will have the option to Pin it, Like it or Comment. You will also have a button to follow that person. If you like the stuff they are posting, by all means follow them. You can always unfollow later.
When you pin something it will ask you what board you wish to pin it to. Better create some boards! You can create boards on the fly when you pin something. So maybe “table decor”, ‘cakes’, ‘gowns’ whatever you fancy. It really is easier to create boards this way because you will be able to see what you’re pinning and organize it accordingly.
Now that you have a bit of a feel for it and some boards and pins it’s time to start connecting to people you know.
On the left hand top, under your name the drop down menu has the option to find friends. You can see which of your friends from Facebook are on Pinterest and
connect to them. Since I am talking about using this as a marketing tool you might want to start with the people in your industry that you know from Facebook. You don’t need to limit yourself to that, it is just a good place to start.The next time you open Pinterest, you will see all the pins from the people you are following. Repin all you want.
How, Christine, is this marketing my stuff?
It isn’t yet, that was just learning the ropes.
Marketing with Pinterest.
At the top left it says Add+ Open that and you have a screen that gives you the option to Add a pin, Upload a pin or create a board. You want to Add a pin. Just copy the url for an image on your website and paste it in. Rather that choosing the Upload option, the pin will link back to your website.
You need to have a Pin it button on your website so visitors can share your images and they will also link back to your website.
One more thing, when you set up your profile, you did make sure to include the name of your business and your website address, didn’t you?
How about using Pinterest for research?
When you open a pin, it show you who all has pinned it. With a little luck and a bit of intuition, you can tell which pinners are brides and which are in the industry. See how this one calls the board “Our Wedding?” Dead giveaway. Just takes a bit to get the hang of it. Check out the boards on the ones you suspect are brides. See what they are pinning. It should give you a decent read on the pulse of the market, both their dreams and their reality.
Also pay attention to which of your pins get repinned. Obviously something in that pin is worth paying attention to, it may just be a coming trend. You can change your email setting in your profile to notify you when certain actions take place.
I haven’t even touched on the search function.
Just like any other social media, if you are using this for business, think about what you pin. The pins you choose will show your personality in a way you can only imagine.
Let me know if you need an invitation.
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