How to use Pinterest organically for business? Like many of my blogs this originally aired as a Learn Something Radio Podcast. If you heard this one then you know I was pretty beat up on for this. My colleagues are not fans of Pinterest.

If you ARE a fan of Pinterest and choose to believe the statistics you’re going to like what I have to say.

I’m a very visual person both Instagram and Pinterest were made for me. In my first life I did hair and loved it. Pictures were a fundamental part of my business. If you have a business where pictures tend to be a crucial part of your sales either through a website or other social media platforms what do you have to lose?

The most important factor as always is to Know Your Users. As of March 2016, 80% of Pinterest’s users are female and 13% of men online use Pinterest. 90% of all pins are created or shared by women. You are speaking to you audience through pictures. What do they want to see?

Check this statistic out – around 5% of all referral traffic to websites comes from Pinterest. This is according to Shareaholic research that both Forbes and Business Magazine quoted. This is second only to Facebook. Crazy right? Facebook drives about 25% of all referral traffic. Businesses with Great Pictures on Pinterest have a better chance at a click through to their website. Quick Tip – For better visibility always Use Vertical Images instead of horizontal.

How will Pinterest work for your business? Pins can’t expire. This is another great point to remember.  Pinterest is all about Search, Discovery and Pinning (sharing).

How do you cash in on that?

  1. Use keywords in your pins and don’t overlook your boards. Boards are an easy one to skip but don’t.
  2. Hashtags are searchable but not clickable. Use #hashtags to get your pins found.
  3. Unlike other social media platforms the number of people that see your pins is higher than your followers. Think Search, Discovery and Pin. How wonderful if you’re new to social media that you don’t have to budget for social media ads just to get followers or fans.

 

Extra Credit –

  • Don’t forget to use your personalized analytics if you’re using a business account.
  • Take advantage of Pinterest plugins, “pin it” and “follow” buttons. It’s worth the time to add them to your site. One of my clients has a quilt pattern business and once we added “pin it” buttons to her site, her business increased by 25% almost overnight. YAY!

Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment or feel free to share.