Creativity is becoming an increasingly essential aspect of business marketing. In the blink of an eye, Pinterest exploded onto the social media scene in 2010. The newly crowned king of DIY sites was ranked No. 188 just a year ago, but has since risen to be the third most popular social media site, according to Experian Marketing Services.
Pinterest has grown a whopping 5,124 percent between July 2011 and July 2012! This astounding growth has given way to an avalanche of new marketing opportunities for businesses. Experian Research head Bill Tancer remarks, "I don’t believe Pinterest has saturated,” meaning further growth is on the horizon.
Optimize, Optimize, Optimize
Like with any social media site, the most important thing to do upon signing up is to make sure you fill out your Pinterest profile in its entirety. Your social media pages are often a would-be customer's first introduction your business, so you want to make a good first impression. You wouldn't show up half-clothed to a business meet-and-great, so don't let your social media presence be half clothed either.
Use a Safe Server
Many businesses spend an avalanche of time perfecting the aesthetics of their website, building an expertly tailored social media campaign to correspond. Then, just as their unique visits begin to skyrocket, traffic starts pouring in from all over the server crashes. These lapses in proper site functions, or downtime, costs online businesses an estimated 26.5 BILLION dollars in revenue each year. Protecting your site with a virtual private server for hosting can eliminate the fear of an internal server crashing or causing disruptions in your traffic flow.
Cross Promote
Pinterest is a fantastic, yet underutilized business platform for propelling your marketing campaigns. And you don't need to go it alone. Enlist the help of those in your field and their followers. Find other businesses on Pinterest that offer complementary products and services, and consistently pin and comment on their boards. This not only positions you for broader online visibility, it helps build strong, lasting relationships with businesses like yours.
Get Creative
Pinterest is a visual playground, a mecca for art, creativity and DIY glory. It's a place for you to showcase your company's ideas and perspectives of the future. Try developing a pin board about innovation in your industry to highlight your thought leadership.
You can also showcase the fun, personality-driven aspects of your business. Experts suggest pining photos of corporate events, showcasing the employees being funny, singing or dancing. You can alternatively start a company history or nostalgia pin board. The sky truly is the limit when it comes to being creative on this rapidly expanding platform.
Monitor Like A Hawk
Becoming a master in any facet of social media requires plenty of study and trend analysis. Re-con means finding out what is trending, looking under the covers and figuring out what really drives traffic. This will give you an eagle-eye-view of what prompts conversions, areas that need improvement, and ideas on how to continually take things to the next level.
In the digitally-peppered world we live in, the difference between a solid business and a fantastic one can be found in the creative details. Whether your business targets other businesses or consumers, peddles wares or offers services, Pinterest is a resource worth tapping into. So pin it on your to-do list, Pinterest can be a vital part of your marketing mix.
