Pinterest Announces Tools for Business

Lauren Owens - November 19, 2012

In a nod to the many businesses that have taken up residence on the social sharing site, on Wednesday, Pinterest announced new tools for businesses. These “tools” include a separate login page for businesses – business.pinterest.com, and separate terms of service.

As on Twitter, brands can now verify their profiles, adding legitimacy to their Pinterest brand pages. To get started, brands with existing pages can convert their existing account to a business account via the business login. Brands without Pinterest accounts can join as a business.

Along with the rollout of their business pages comes logo and marketing guidelines, a list of brand best practices, and case studies highlighting Pinterest success stories from bands like Etsy and Jetsetter.

The case studies offer terrific examples of how businesses have leveraged the platform for their individual needs. For Etsy, using Pinterest was all about increasing brand awareness and improving sales for individual sellers. Jetsetter, meanwhile, was more concerned with taking part in a conversation with their target audience.

Both brands, it seems, were able to increase awareness and engagement. More importantly, their presence on the platform helped them determine which products resonated with their audience and which didn’t. Call it the democratization of merchandising.

If you’ve yet to start pinning, of if you’re not sure if Pinterest is right for your brand, read our primer on using Pinterest for business. But don’t miss Pinterest’s stellar best practice guide, which will help you make the most of your time investment by offering ideas for reaching the social network’s 26.7 million unique monthly visitors.