Overview of Pinterest for Business

Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site and social network where you can “pin” images and video from the web onto “boards” that are groupings of pins to archive them in an organized manner. People use Pinterest in many different ways including as inspiration for crafts, for planning vacations, for redecorating ideas, to plan a wedding, and for shopping research.

Pinterest pins typically link out to the source of the image or video although they can be used to bookmark other web pages. Boards are usually organized by category to make the pins easier to find. While your Pinterest page has limited design features, you can select pins and organize boards in a way to create a specific look or to effectively convey your brand’s image.

Pinterest continues to be a strong website traffic driver as well a social network that can lead to online sales. Rich Pins, for example, can pull images, text, pricing, and other information from your online store and update it automatically when you change it on your website. You can streamline the purchasing process by building an online store with Shopify, a Pinterest partner, to create a seamless shopping experience from your product pins.

Here’s a checklist for setting up Pinterest to optimize your account for marketing your company.

1. Make sure you’ve established a Pinterest business account. Business accounts have more features to advertise and sell on Pinterest. If you set up a Pinterest account before the company rolled out business accounts, convert your personal Pinterest account into a business one. Go to the Pinterest business website at business.pinterest.com for instructions.
2. Claim your website. Tie your Pinterest business account to your company website by downloading a file with HTML code that Pinterest generates and uploading it to your website’s server. One you do, you will get access to analytics for the Pins you publish from your site as well as the analytics on Pins that other people create from your site. Your profile picture will show up next to any Pins that come from your site as well as a Follow button for your Pinterest account. You’ll also see a globe checked icon next to your website URL on your profile to verify your website.
3. Pin from your own website. While you shouldn’t only pin from your site, not pinning your images and video at all means you’re missing out on Pinterest’s ability to drive traffic back to your site. If you have an online store, pinning products from your product pages is a given. Make sure the images and video on your website are sized appropriately for Pinterest – the larger the better.
4. Add the Pin It button widget to your site. In addition to making sure your website visuals are formatted properly for Pinterest, add the “Pin It” button widget to your blog posts and web pages to make it easy for others to pin from your company site to drive even more traffic to your site. If you’re selling products online, the “Pin It” button can be useful to in helping to drive sales as other share what they find on in your online store.

5. Check your Pinterest stats. Under the Settings gear on your Pinterest home page, choose Analytics to see which of your boards and pins are the most appealing to others. Find out who is engaging with your pins. Check how pins from your company website are doing in terms of reach. Take a look at your metrics regularly to track your progress and to identify ways you can improve how and what you pin.
6. Use Rich Pins. Rich Pins contain enhanced information pulled from the pin source or added based on the type of pin you’ve posted. There are six specific types of Rich Pins: App, Movie, Recipe, Article, Product, and Place. An App pin will include a download button. A Place pin can include a map and even an address and phone number of a specific place. Recipe pins include ingredients, cooking times, and serving information. You can enhance interaction with your pins using Rich Pins.
7. Promote pins. Promoted Pins are an advertising feature on Pinterest. Pay for Promoted Pins to raise brand awareness and boost engagement. Pick a pin, choose your target audience, and pay only for clicks to your website. Access metrics from your pin campaigns to measure results.

Pinterest is a social network that demands a high amount of content on a regular basis, even more than Twitter or Instagram. Be prepared to create Pinterest-specific images and Pinterest-friendly content for your Pinterest account as well as for your website or blog. Be strategic about uploading appropriate images to Pinterest but also “repin” other people’s content to get noticed. Integrate your website and online store with Pinterest to increase ways people can reach you and buy from your company.