This post includes affiliate links. If you click through one of my links and buy something, I might earn enough to buy myself a semi-decent bottle of wine. Thanks!
When I first joined Pinterest, I didn’t get it. It was fun to curate boards full of pretty pictures, but I wasn’t using it strategically. I didn’t realize the value of Pinterest as a branding and marketing tool.
Now, I’m a much more focused Pinterest user. I use it for 3 key purposes: project planning, market research and self-promotion.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through some of the ways you can use Pinterest to build and grow your brand.
1. Promoting Your Brand
Pinterest in the #1 traffic referrer for my food blog (not counting google search). This means that more people click through to my site on Pinterest than any other social media channel. This is because Pinterest isn’t really a social media channel, it is a visual search engine.
Millions of people use Pinterest the same way they use google, to search for resources and information. That is why it is wise to populate Pinterest with your content.
YOU NEED TO BE DISCOVERABLE!
A smart Pinterest strategy includes consistent and calculated self promotion. It’s not enough just to post an image from your site once and hope that it catches fire.
You have to create Pinterest-friendly graphics to promote your products, services or resources. The images and graphics that work on Facebook and Instagram are not optimal for Pinterest. Pinterest-friendly graphics are typically long and vertical. Square or horizontal images will not stand out.
On Pinterest, images with descriptive text are more “clickable”. That is why it is a good idea to come up with a Pinterest graphic template that represent your brand identity. This saves time and increases your visibility as a brand.
2. Project Planning
When I’m working on a design project. I often use Pinterest to gather my visual inspiration. I also encourage clients to create inspiration boards in order to get clarity on the direction of the project before we start.
If you create a Pinterest board for your project, everything is easily accessible in one place. It’s much easier than saving a bunch of bookmarks.
I recommend creating a secret board on Pinterest so that no one will see your work in progress.
3. Market Research
Pinterest is an awesome tool for market research. You can see what people in your ideal demographic are pinning. This can help you figure out how to market your product or service to them.
You can also use Pinterest to see what your competition or similar businesses are up to. For example, if you sell custom cakes for a living, it would be a good idea to see what wedding planners are posting. This will help you determine the trends in your industry.
I like to do keyword research on Pinterest. I use my findings to help me determine my next moves based on what is popular.
Conclusion
Pinterest is well worth the time and effort, if you know how to optimize your content and images for your Pinterest audience. It is also an incredible research and planning tool. Don’t ignore it!
