Is your business "Pinterest-ing" enough?

Pinterest is a fast growing social media site with over 10 million unique users. For those of you not familiar, imagine it like a ‘virtual pin board’ where businesses and individuals can scrapbook their brand and what they love online.

You are able to “pin” and “like” images that interest you as well as categorise them into groups such as fashion and technology. For businesses using Pinterest as a platform to reach out to consumers, the categories can allow them to remain professional and personal simultaneously. As well as helping to engage with consumers and socialize over their brand and other potential common interests which can help build loyal and trusting relationships. If you are a fun, creative type then it is a great way to express yourself and brand. Pinterest allows you to display your work online to potential consumers and create an online portfolio filled with personality.

Through researching your pins and those who have pinned, repinned and liked you, you can get a better insight to what’s popular and trending right now and who is interested in you. The more you share, the better your results.

The Dos of Pinterest; The ways to do it right and the ways to do it best!

• Define your boards; organise in to categories which will help define the products and services that your business has to offer.
• Be creative and brainstorm; give your brand a personality, think outside the box, what topics best portray you. You want your boards to engage visitors so think how it can teach consumers about the brand as well as promoting products.
• Interact and engage; anyone who is showing you interest, show it back. Create relationships through repinning, liking and mentioning visitors.

Pinterest is applicable to any individual you don’t necessarily need to run a business or be developing a brand although the same rules apply if you want to be noticed. It brings many benefits to internet users whether it is for business or fun.

Five main benefits Pinterest can bring your business;

• Drives Traffic; Pinterest is a massive driver of traffic and as the site continues to grow, websites and businesses will benefit more and more. By pinning and repinning you and visitors are helping this by sharing the links back to the source; your blog or website.
• Connects and Develops Relationships; Pinterest draws in highly engaged users, from which you can build a community and interact with potential customers. By simply asking questions and sharing more you can engage users directly. It is all about the connecting, sharing and interactions as building trusting and loyal relationships with people is what will make them want to buy.
• Search Engine Optimisation; it is a site regularly indexed by search engines, so provides lots of opportunities to achieve SEO. For best results use unique images and target key words in filenames, pin descriptions and to pin quality photos.
• Reinforces Brand; it really allows you to personalise your brand, probably a lot more than other sites. Use stunning images to create a visual display of what your company is about and to showcase your best assets. It is great for letting the personalities behind the brand shine through.
• Increase Visibility and Build Reputation; Pinterest can help your brand gain exposure. Share work, offer insight, advice, tips and useful resources from your field of expertise and position yourself as an expert in your niche.

Pinterest is really a worldwide phenomenon which is still being discovered by new users every day. To think of how far it has come already, makes it even more exciting when anticipating the further growth it is certain to have. Whether you are an individual or a business, Pinterest will certainly have something for you. Pinterest is just beginning its journey of success, with users having just started to scratch the surface of its potential. So get pinning, get liking, and get Pinterest.