As things go in the current climate, it is truer than ever that you really have to see the glass half full. You may be burned out on flickering screens late at night as it is; you just figured out Twitter and are driving traffic to your landing page or blog. (Finally!). Before you even are able to pause for some analytic tune up, and make sure where the traffic came from, you now realize that the Pin It! Button is on a bunch of other websites and blogs, but not yours.
So while at a quick coffee break with your partner, you concluded that Facebook is still great for keeping in touch, Twitter is definitely hot right now, but Pinterest is really winning people over with its fun theme of everything on a universal wall; almost like an art display or ultra-groovy bulletin board. When people really like what they are seeing, they quickly “re-pin” it.
This is similar to Retweeting, but the longevity comes in a different form. On people’s Twitter feed, once fresh news happens, you may tend to get buried. On Pinterest, there is a chance you can stay on people’s attention span longer. But how? Here are some strategies for engaging in promotion on Pinterest.
When you first get started, you will feel, just like the other media platforms; that you are far, far behind. Everyone has info being blasted to others about what they are offering but you don’t have any followers. You start with the basics, and do NOT start pinning your pitch, strategy, pricing, ideas, right away. Start with cool crafts, fashion, cars, even sports teams, hot travel locales, and things that are generally interesting and vaguely escapist. The 80/20 rule applies kind of like Twitter; you can inspire or motivate up to 80 percent of the time, pitch or offer the other 20. With a few exceptions, it really is kind of a golden rule.
If your business is a wedding photography business, it is great to show people all sorts of photos of weddings, advice, and nationwide venue information. But if you get on Pinterest and just display only the photos that your business has taken, your followers may thin out.
Or, you may be a top notch photographer – this strategy could work to get your samples out, but best left alone in the beginning. People love to laugh, learn, and escape. By pinning things that are cute, witty, nerdy, or escapist, you will gain followers and then slowly release your own work. It is true that in the near future, there will be so many social media platforms that companies who do not participate in all of them will loss business; it is the new norm.
Promoting others is very important on Pinterest. It doesn’t mean that people are going to get their debit card out and buy your product tomorrow; it just means that you are seen as one who plays nice. Those who skip this strategy may make out fine at first; but passing the spotlight around is so much classier than hogging it. Even if companies are direct competitors, you can acknowledge that you like their wares. It’s simple, and courteous.
Giving stuff away can’t be stressed enough. If you are creating a pin that has a call to action, it is proven there is much more response to it. It doesn’t have to be travel sweepstakes, and frankly, it doesn’t even have to be your goods. But if it is, it’s one of the oldest ways to win over customers; by giving them a taste. When the idea is conveyed that you may get something for just emailing or being on a list, people do still get giddy. And why wouldn’t they? People are looking to charge them for every little thing they do in life. Let their next freebie be one of the treasures that you worked so hard to create.
The visual kings of the block are going to rule on Pinterest. There is a website called Lonely Planet that has simply amazing photographs, and contests. Simple, rushed, and blurry content will never fly. If you feel your brand is not that great yet in the visual department, absolutely start your pin board with pins that are. Then if someone follows you, they will see the other pins on your board.
Last but not least, don’t clutter. If you are just a normal citizen with no brand to offer, it doesn’t matter if you pin 50 pictures of cats or high heeled shoes. But diversity is always going to grab eyes, and a branding pin board should probably not contain everything under the sun. This social media site is not going anywhere; people are falling in love with it every day in droves. With a few tweaks and savvy moves, you can use it to drive traffic to your brand; one illustrious pin at a time.