Since tomorrow’s Caffeine & Creativity is taking on Pinterest, we’re devoting this week’s blog to the incredibly fast-growing social media network.
To pin – if you have the time, do it
Are you on Pinterest yet? We aren’t – but that’s because we don’t have the time (we’re too busy setting up Pinterest for our clients – priorities, priorities)! We want to start pinning soon, and it’s pretty clear why.
With hundreds of articles spreading the word about the rising popularity of Pinterest, you don’t need us to tell you that it’s the place to be. Pinning will boost your search engine optimization, period. Search engines LOVE social media. Pins can link back to your website or blog, creating traffic. This is the goal – get your Pinterest followers to know you, love you, and eventually, they’ll buy from you and become loyal to your brand.
When does it not make sense to pin? Rarely – we can’t think of a time that you would hurt your brand by being on Pinterest (unless you’re pinning images that don’t mesh with your brand). However, there may be more beneficial things you can do with your time if those in your target market aren’t Pinterest users.
Credit for this infographic goes to modea — click here.
Isn’t Pinterest just for creative types?
Don’t be dissuaded if you aren’t producing a visual product. Think of what your brand character and your target market want to see. If you’re a bank, maybe you’re pinning dream vacations to save for or visual markers for saving money (like piggy banks or money counters). If you’re a dry cleaner, pin wardbrobe ideas and stain removal tips (household cleaning: one of the most popular Pinterest categories).
Need more ideas for non-visual brands? Create charts that represent your industry, design infographics that display interesting statistics, put tips on a visually appealing slide with a short quote or post comics relative to your brand.
Pinterest as an extension of your brand voice
If Pinterest is visual, how can you implement your brand voice? Here are just a view:
1) Name your boards interesting and catchy titles that sound like something your brand would say. One of of our clients uses food names for their quilting patterns, so their board names follow the same trend: Taste for Yourself, Fabric Flavors, Sweet & Sour and so on.
2) Make sure your descriptions of your pins are written in your brand voice.
3) Your visuals need to match your brand look and feel.
4) Always promote your Pinterest account on your website, blog and other social media sites – it should be as big a part of your marketing and social media plan as every other element.
There’s even more ways to use Pinterest to bring traffic to your site – if you need help writing “searchable” Pinterest descriptions, setting up appealing boards or just thinking about how you could use Pinterest to build your brand, let us know!
