Getting Your Small Business Started on Pinterest

Solo-entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even large corporations have taken notice of the new kid on the block. Pinterest is all the buzz in the social media realm and marketers no matter how hard you try - you can't ignore Pinterest any longer. Pinterest is that fastest-growing social site around and it has become so popular it is driving more traffic than Google+ to retailers’ sites. That will make you perk up! This virtual pinboard is addictive to say the least but what is Pinterest and how can you use this social site to boost your business or brand?

What Is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard to organize and share the things you love.

Pinterest is a social network that allows users to share and discover interesting images and videos online. These images, once uploaded to the site, are known as Pins. Users can either upload images from their computer or pin things they find on the web using the pinterest bookmarklet, pin it button, or just a url. Users can place these pins on boards customized under a common theme.

Pinterest Lingo

• Pin: an image added to Pinterest
• PinBoard: a set of theme-based themes
• Pinning: the act of visually sharing content
• Repin: reposting somebody else’s pin
• Pin it Button: button that can be placed on websites to facilitate sharing on Pinterest. Pins added using the Pin it button link back to the site they came from.
• Pinner: the person who does the sharing

Visitors can browse Pinterest and view items other users have pinned and ‘like,” “repin” or “comment” on them Getting Started on Pinterest

Pinterest still operates under an invitation-only basis and you must enter your email address to get on a waiting list to become a pinner. However, this should only take a couple of days. If you know a pinner who already has a pinterest account you can ask them to invite you which is a much quicker way to gain access than waiting for pinterest to grant your request

Visit www.pinterest.com, click “request an Invite,” and enter your email address. You will be notified when you have access to create your account. Once you’ve received your invite, you’ll want to sign up through the Twitter option, not the facebook option. This will enable you to tie your pinterest account to your business’ Twitter account, not your personal facebook profile. Currently, pinterest doesn’t offer a connection to facebook business pages. How to start using Pinterest As with any social network, you wan to find ways to leverage the massive amounts of traffic flowing through the site. To do this you want to establish a following. To do this you’ll
 want 
to 
create 
a 
few
 pinboards 
first.When
 you 
create 
pinboards, 
people 
that 
come 
across 
your 
profile 
will 
have
 a 
reason 
to 
follow 
your 
pins.
 It’s 
just 
like 
adding
 content 
to 
your 
Facebook
 Business
 Page 
or 
posts 
to 
your 
new 
blog.

What To Pin on Pinterest

Pinterest
 is 
a 
social 
network 
focused 
on
 visual 
images 
and 
content 
so 
as 
a
 business 
owner 
you 
will 
want
 to 
create 
a 
pinboard 
that 
spotlights 
your 
best
 visual 
content. This includes pictures that demonstrate:

• Company Culture
• Customer Testimonials
• Products Covers and Images
• Videos
• Ideas
• etc.

Brands Doing It Right on Pinterest

So what kind of brand or business promotes on Pinterest? The quick answer...The smart ones! From global, non-profit organizations to small, home grown businesses, Pinterest is proving a good fit for offline and online organizations alike. Here is a list of 2 brands doing it right on Pinterest:

Etsy: With more than 50,000 followers, this online shopping website is one of the most popular on Pinterest. No surprise to find the online vintage and hand-made marketplace on Pinterest. The two seem perfectly fitted for each other. Etsy creates pinboards that show you how you can make your own products and how to put their products to work in your daily life, which again, emphasizes the lifestyle philosophy that pinterest promotes.

Sevenly: Sevenly is a charity based t-shirt designer that pins the images they use for inspiration, t-shirts they’ve created and quotes they call Sevenlyisms. The combination of business and personality make it a great pinner to follow.

There are many more brands building a solid following and driving traffic to their sites on Pinterest and while the actual measure of return on time spent is to be seen, it is definitely a site you will want to get established with.

If you can pinpoint how your products fit in to the lives of your ideal customer you can use Pinterest as a social tool to build brand awareness and grow your profits.

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How are you using Pinterest to grow your business? Have you dived in to yet another social network yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below.