When it comes to Pinterest and brands, it is important to focus on the lifestyle aspect of the brand. It's no longer about selling a product; it's about how the product will fit into the customer's life.

Austin, TX August 08, 2012

Pinterest, the self-proclaimed virtual pinboard, is a social network that allows users to visually organize, share, and discover new interests online. Users post or "pin" aesthetically pleasing images to a theme-oriented pin board. Images range from do-it-yourself crafts to recipes to photographs that reflect one's personal taste and style. With a creative emphasis, Pinterest focuses on lifestyle-driven content, its mission being to connect people from all over the world who share the same tastes and interests.

With its rapid growth in unique visits, Pinterest has become yet another a form of social media that is impossible for businesses to ignore and, when used correctly, it can be an excellent marketing tool. Here are five tips to utilize Pinterest for business:

1. Pinterest and Brands
When it comes to Pinterest and brands, it is important to focus on the lifestyle aspect of the brand. It's no longer about selling a product; it's about how the product will fit into the customer's life. Not only does this give the business a personality, it allows the user to see the personal side of the brand.

2. Pinning Original Content
When it comes to selling a product, it's important to present that product in a way that will easily fit the aesthetic of Pinterest and appeal to its users. It's all about the visual. One should make sure images are unique and high quality. But before scrambling to come up with content, it's good for a company to utilize what is already ready and available by posting content from the company website itself.

3.Social Pinning: Sharing is Caring
Although it's important to produce original content, Pinterest also places emphasis on sharing content with others. Remember the golden rule? For a business to get its content to be shared, it's necessary for the business to do some sharing itself. A good strategy is to follow other "pinners" and re-pin their content. It's all about building a loyal audience. One should remember that every time they are re-pinned, the link will lead back to them.

4. Promotional Pinning
Pinterest is a great tool to promote a business and interact with followers. A few good ways to encourage interactivity are holding competitions or creating a user-submission pin board. Contests are a great way to drive traffic to the website and keep users coming back for more.

5. Pinning for Search Engines
First thing's first: Under account settings, there is a switch that says "hide your Pinterest profile from search engines." This should be turned off. Further optimize pins with key words, hash tags, and links to the company website. One should incorporate Pinterest with the business website and other social media tools by adding the "Pin It" share button (which can be found under Goodies). Furthermore, one can track "Research Activity" for new followers, comments, likes, and re-pins. It's a good idea to monitor the Pinterest account on Google Analytics and pin accordingly.

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