How businesses can use Pinterest as part of their social media strategy

Social media seems to have a knack for rolling out new channels and products as regular as clockwork – but there's a rising star many businesses are now aadding to their social media mix; Pinterest, a 'virtual pin board' where you can pin, pull together and put in order visual content.

Why? One of the fastest growing websites in history, Pinterest attracts more traffic to its platform than Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit and Google+ combined. And that’s just for starters.

Not just for food and fashion, businesses across all sectors, from manufacturing to engineering, have taken advantage of Pinterest and are successfully integrating it into their overall social media strategy. General Electric is a great example of a manufacturing company that is using Pinterest well. With over 18,000 followers, 29 boards and over two thousand pins, GE have taken real advantage of the stunning aesthetics that manufacturing creates to draw in their audience. It may not look great on the shelf, but it looks great in development – which is how they engage  their audience. By pinning their progress; GE are pinning the future of the industry, thus showcasing their expertise.

By simply using the right content and a little creativity, your business can gain a piece of the action and why wouldn’t you want to? With over 70m global users, a $3.8 billion valuation and growth that can only be described as phenomenal. 

So how can marketers take advantage?

• Target
• Engage
• Integrate 
• Measure

Target 

As with all social media, you should be aware of the platform’s audience. There’s 70 million users – don’t try to market to all of them! Pinterest is an opportunity for you to show the lifestyle behind your brand, so pin content that fits with your positioning and will appeal to the community. 

Engage 

Create themed boards and start pinning creative visual content. Think about what you want it to do and where you want people to go. A great place to start is with content that helps and inspires people – two key words in GE’s Pinterest philosophy that have helped to make them a success.

Like Twitter, you can follow users; this will enable you to repin content and like posts. This increases interaction and encourages referral traffic. Everything that’s pinned should be built around offering customers content that has a perception of value and communicates the expertise of your brand.

Integrate 

Consider your objectives, resourcing and content. Pinterest should not be a stand alone activity; it should be an integral part of an overall company-wide social media policy. To make the most of your Pinterest profile and maximise return on investment, promote your profile by linking it to your website, blog and share across other social media platforms.

Measure 

The number of followers your account has is important to note, but it’s certainly not the only indicator of a successful Pinterest strategy. Key metrics include clicks per pin, repins per pin and average visit duration. Measuring your activity on Pinterest can also help your business identify what types of content communicate best with your audience. The higher value of the content, the higher consumers will value your brand expertise. Google Analytics can be used to find out which of your web pages Pinterest refers the most traffic to – analyse these pages and publish similar images across your website.

Find Business West's Leigh Court on Pinterest