Pinterest is a relatively new entrant in the world of online social networks as compared to the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. However, within a short span of time, it has become one of the most popular social sharing websites. But is Pinterest really worth it? According to a report published by Shareaholic, Pinterest beat Twitter, StumbleUpon, Bing, and Google in terms of the referral traffic in June 2012. With a huge subscriber base and an ever increasing reach, Pinterest offers a great platform to businesses for brand promotion. Here’s how you can leverage the marketing opportunity offered by Pinterest.

1. Create pinboards to share interesting pics

The first step is to create pinboards with appealing pics. Yes, it’s important to have great pictures as Pinterest is basically a visual social network. You can share your products’ images or pics from your websites, blogs, infographics, reports, or e-books. Pinning pictures of your satisfied customers can also help to promote your brand. Another good option is to offer an insight into the work life at your company by pinning images of your employees, corporate events, and celebrations.

2. Organize pinboards and use catchy titles for your pins

Lots of pinboards can confuse the visitors. So, it’s best to organize the pinboards into various categories according to the types of pictures you pin on to each of them. To attract user attention and to make them click on your pins, give short and catchy titles. The more likes your pins get, the higher will be the visibility of your brand name and pinboards on Pinterest.

3. Engage your customers or followers

Social media marketing is not just about sharing information related to you or your business. You got to engage your customers or visitors on Pinterest. One way is to organize contests or events in which they can participate. For example, you can run a contest asking customers to pin pictures related to your company’s products or services. Of course, the best pin gets a prize. You also need to repin interesting shares from your followers or other people. Follow your favorite Pinterest users and pinboards that are relevant to your company.

4. Link your Pinterest account to other social networks

Pinterest can be easily integrated with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. In fact, Pinterest allows you to sign up with the credentials of only these two websites. Your activity on Pinterest shows up on the Facebook Timeline and Twitter feed. So, just link up your Facebook and Twitter IDs with your Pinterest login and enjoy a wider reach for your pins, likes, and comments.

5. Use the ‘Pin It’ buttons on your websites

Add the ‘Pin It’ buttons to your websites so that visitors can easily pin the images they like on to Pinterest. When they pin a picture from your website, Pinterest adds a link to the source page. This drives more traffic from Pinterest to your company’s websites.

6. Create pinboards with videos of your company

Pinterest allows users to not only pin images but videos as well. You can pin YouTube and Vimeo videos by clicking the ‘Pin It’ bookmarklet in your browser. Showcase your company’s best videos or those that are relevant to your customers. Having a call to action in the videos can help to convert visitors into customers.

7. Analyze referral traffic from Pinterest

Regularly analyze the referral traffic from Pinterest to your websites. By doing this, you get to know which pins are generating the highest traffic. Promote those pins and also share more content based on what your visitors like. You can also track people who got to your website through Pinterest and bought a product or service from your company.

Through these tips, you can promote your brand on Pinterest and generate leads for your business.

7 ways to use Pinterest to promote your business

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