Unless you have been hiding under a rock the past few months, you are probably aware of the new social networking site, Pinterest. This unique social bookmarking site allows users to share and curate images onto different “boards.” Growing up, you may remember your mother cutting images from magazines and arranging them as a way to gain inspiration for decorating or fashion. Pinterest is the online equivalent of this practice, and that’s why fashion and interior design are two of the most popular categories on the site.
Pinterest has gained hoards of followers as well. In fact, from December 2011 and January 2012, the number of unique visitors to the Pinterest, grew by 155%. Recent research has also revealed that Pinterest outperforms Twitter in referral traffic. You currently need an invitation to join, but once you have attained one you can quickly reap the rewards of generating high volume traffic toward your business’ website. Just keep the following pro tips in mind:
1. Only pin striking images. Pinterest, like Tumblr, is an image-focused social networking site. You should have visually unique and interesting images if you want anyone to take notice or follow you. Otherwise you look like spam, and will be ignored as such. Now, if you work in the home decorating sector, or in fashion, this will be easy. But if your business is not directly related to the visual, there are things you can do to create potential Pinterest content. An infographic, for example, makes a great pin. If you put out interesting and unique content, you will be amazed at the snowball effect “repining” amongst Pinterest followers will have on generating traffic to your site.
2. Pin relevant content. If you work for a company that specializes in computer monitors or something completely unrelated to fashion, interior design or the other popular categories of Pinterest, then the social networking site may not be the right fit for you. If you do decide to go the way of infographics, make sure that you post them to a board that has a topic relevant to the infographic. Posting unrelated material is one of the top ways to lose Pinterest followers.
3. Get involved. If you only post images of products from your own site, people will take notice. In order to avoid coming across as too self-promoting, limit yourself to one promotional pin per every ten. So what are you going to pin the rest of the time? Repin other pins, of course. It shows your followers that you are engaged with what they care about. Remember, Pinterest is a community, much like Twitter. You need to invest some time in it if you want to see real results.
4. Be organized. Each of your boards should have a specific theme, such as home design, fashion, etc. Make sure to keep everything organized, and don’t feel like you have to stay within the category that directly relates to your business. Having eclectic range of different boards shows other users that you are an interesting person with discerning taste and opinions, and this will likely garner you more respect amongst the Pinterest community.
Author Bio: Jenni Sunde is a freelance fashion and travel writer. She specializes in all things lifestyle-related from home and design to health and beauty. Her official work title pegs her as an editor at a website that specializes in providing people with quality online collegeand education resources; however, with her love of art and all things beautiful, she delights in sharing her sense of style from her life to your computer monitor.