DeGrandis & DeGrandis CPAs

Customer orders attributed to Pinterest-based leads are outpacing Twitter and Facebook generated orders, according to Forbes and Shopify. With an average sale hovering at about $80, Pinterest also boasts the highest average order from any social media. Forbes went further to cite Pinterest’s long-term traffic compared to Facebook and Twitter; half of its visits can occur up to three-and-a-half months after a pin, and pins are attributed to orders placed up to two-and-a-half months later.

Understanding how to craft engaging and interesting content and building a relationship with readers and customers can help businesses leverage Pinterest’s visual and social attributes.

Research Before Execution

Performing thorough research before creating and building a Pinterest account lays a good foundation for future pinning and client engagement. In order to determine what to pin, look at what your target client is already pinning on their Pinterest account. This research is done by looking at relevant keywords in your industry and their interests. You can search for keywords under the categories section on the Pinterest dashboard. This strategy, along with looking at potential clients’ active Pinterest pages, will give you ideas about their needs and wants.

Other recommendations include identifying your images and balancing pinning between under-and overexposure. Along with reducing image theft and enabling easy identification, adding a watermark on every image helps a business’ brand establish and advertise its brand identity for the future. Don’t rush pins because pins are more visible days or weeks later compared to a Tweet, which is buried after an hour. Pinning three to four times a day will get more exposure (and not create information overload) for potential users. Test what time of day works best for your industry – do potential clients read before or after work, or do they read during a lunch break or on a trip to a client?

Developing Your Content

Once you’ve completed the research, the next step is to develop the right content and strategy to implement it. Pinterest is not exclusively about self-promotion. Along with promoting one’s own business, highlighting informative videos, articles, infographics, practical advice or motivation tips from associations, industry groups and experts establishing you as staying on trend and an authority in your industry. If a piece of advice or study helped increase sales or efficiency, say thank you and let them know you appreciate their insight.

Engage Your Customer

Making your business aware to your followers can be accomplished through targeted engagement, building a relationship and establishing one’s business as an authority. Give life to already vivid images by relating them to linked content can increase engagement. To do this, include a Twitter handle, a few words or a sentence hyperlinked to a newly created case study or paper. An eye-catching image is great, but including text with with a link to the relevant blog post or other piece of content will connect the image with the point you want to communicate.

Direct marketing has its place, but social media’s approach is not as direct as traditional offline or web-based marketing. One way to use social media – especially Pinterest – is to build relationships. With Pinterest, this is established by thanking those who repin your content. Becoming a follower enables you to learn about your target customers’ interests by seeing what their pins contain. Encourage your potential clients to visit your website by including a link to your website. There is no easier and simpler way for a potential client to learn more about your company than by giving them access to your website in just one click.