A Pinteresting Social Networking Site

Pinterest is generating a lot of buzz lately not only because of the reported spam issues in its system, but because it is one of the fastest growing social networking sites. Of course, the number of users is not equally at par with those of Facebook and Twitter. Yet, Pinterest is gaining a strong foothold on many end users, especially with women.

So, what is it with Pinterest? Basically, it is an online pin board where members can make themed boards according to what they are interested in. Users can upload or pin images, photos or videos directly from their computer or the ones they found over the Internet and organize it into categories like DIY, cooking, gardening and parenting among others.

What makes Pinterest so unique is that it makes it easier for consumers to find companies, products and places. It is also a great place for users to search for creative ideas that they can greatly benefit from. All they need to do is follow someone on the site, check out their pins and “repin” stuff that they find interesting. The whole concept that Pinterest would like convey is to share things that people truly enjoy and relate with.

Pinteresting Opportunities for Marketers

While Pinterest is fun for both users and consumers, it actually presents a whole lot of opportunities for marketers to build their brands. Many experts believe that at the rate that this social networking medium is gaining its followers, businesses can actually take advantage of its power to get in touch with potential costumers and increase awareness about their brand.

In October last year alone, an estimated 3.3 million unique visitors have visited Pinterest. And while there is no guarantee that that these these people will buy directly from the site and its affiliates, one thing is for sure: Popular images can be repinned thousands of times on different user boards, which is a great way to spread the word out about a business.

Pinteresting Your Business

If you own a business that rely heavily on driving high volume traffic to your website in order to increase sales, it’s probably worth your time joining Pinterest. However, because the users over at Pinterest do not have time to check bland content and are focused in finding visually appealing ideas, images and graphics, it pays to be creative. Below are some ways how you can drive your business sales through Pinterest.

Get invited. At the moment, Pinterest is an invite-only social networking site. So, request an invitation from the site or get invited by a user who is already a member.

Be Pinteresting. Adding a few boards and pins won’t get you any further. It is important that you take the time to tie your brand to your pins and repins and also make sure that you establish relationships along the way. For instance, you can ask your fans to pin photos of themselves with your product and tag you. You can then repin those on your VIP board and as a means to say thank you, you can give them a shout out as well. It also pays to regularly keep your presence alive on Pinterest so as not to lose the interest of your followers.

Create specific and relevant boards. One of the most important things that you have to remember is to pin ideas and not your products. By taking this approach, you are more likely to attract more followers who are passionate about specific subjects.

Utilize other channels. Do not make Pinterest the end all and be all of your marketing strategy. You can promote your boards on other platforms like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter. Also add the Pinterest follow button to your site, as it makes it easier for your website visitors to share the images and other visual contents you have, exposing your brand to a new league of audience. You can also network with other members by interacting with their pins and promoting their boards (cross networking).

Optimize, optimize. When you post visuals, make sure that you do some optimization such as adding descriptions, file names, links and call to action when necessary. Pinterest can even recognize hashtags, so make sure to use it in keywords and categories.

Beware of the legalities. Copyright and trademark violations are two of the biggest concerns over Pinterest. That said, when you are pinning make sure that you do not infringe the content rights of another person.

The post was written by Graphic Designer Robert Kirk who works for RFK Print Solutions an online print based company. RFK Print Solutions sell high quality business cards along with other printed products such as flyers, leaflets, letterheads etc.