Pinterest – Is it Right for Your Company?

Marni Weinberg - August 26, 2013

Although a tad reluctant at first, many businesses have embraced the Social Media world and are pretty active on their channels. Social Media is a brilliant way to engage with clients or customers, offer exclusive incentives and promote new products or services. That being said, many companies have become rather proficient in engaging with their “likes” on Facebook and their “followers” on Twitter, but have little to no idea what Pinterest is, let alone how to utilize it (effectively) for their business. So, what is Pinterest anyway and how can it work for your company? Pinterest is self-described as “a tool for collecting and organizing the things that inspire you”. Wikipedia defines Pinterest as a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, “re-pin” images to their own pinboards, or “like” photos.

If you are a business owner, you’re probably wondering (and you ought to be) how or if this booming social networking site could work for you. With its 25 million members and growing, Pinterest could be a wonderful addition to your overall social media marketing plan. One of the many benefits of Pinterest is that when someone “repins” one of your images, another person can then click on it, and he or she is then sent to your actual website and can either make a purchase, sign up for a Webinar, etc.

Here are examples of 3 top brands that are utilizing Pinterest very well:

Nordstrom

Whole Foods

Real Simple

In addition, below is an example of an ecommerce retailer (Polka Dot Peacock) currently running a giveaway contest on Pinterest. Being that I have made online purchases, I now receive their newsletters and this particular one caught my eye.  It is a terrific way to gain Pinterest followers, as well as keep them engaged as they pin on their board(s) and what could be better than winning a free gift card?

I encourage you to take the time to research and understand how your business could effectively use Pinterest. Take a look at your competitors, as well as other websites you frequent to get ideas for how they might be utilizing Pinterest to interact, promote and grow their brand. For example, Infographics are quite popular on Pinterest, (especially for B2B companies) and are much more likely to be read than plain text.

The possibilities for how you can be creative and make Pinterest work for your company are pretty much endless.