Full Service Social Media Marketing

Let the rumours be dispelled! Pinterest is not just “a whole lot of pretty pictures” and a “whole lot of women”. It can mean sales and revenue, as well (and we all like the sounds of that). This week, we tuned into a webinar hosted by Rebekah Radice of PostPlanner and Melissa Megginson of Tailwind that took us through some of the top Pinterest hacks to help you navigate this platform.

1. Find Your Influencers

How? Look at who is already pinning your stuff. Go to pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com right now and see. (We had no idea this even existed... #mindblown.) And hey, why not do this for your competitors as well? Connect with those pinners and sway them over your way like the sneaky social media maven you are. You can also try Pinterest analytics--just verify your domain. Or, search for keywords in your category and find pinners with popular boards and engage with them from there. Like everything on social media--it comes down to building relationships.

2. Figure Out What Content Works

Look at what content is working the best to help you decide what to create more of. Maybe a follow up blog? Use analytics to help with this. (You can try Pinterest analytics or Tailwind.) Try different topics, image styles, sizes, etc and then evaluate what works and what doesn't work quite as well.

Tips: "For retail, images that feature the product in context tend to perform better than ones on stark white background; Blogs: use a soft white light background and/or tilt shift; No product or not photogenic? Try using quotes."

3. Share Other Content

Not all content has to be your own. Go looking for viral content and share that! This is the stuff that people have already said they love and love to share, so why not jump on the bandwagon.

4. Position Your Best Content

Move your most popular boards to the top. Remember--most people are using Pinterest from their mobile phones (we're all addicted to those things), so be sure you're view is optimized for this. Use analytics to figure out which of your boards are the most popular and position them at the top so they're the first ones to be seen.

5. Use Rich Pins

There are six different types of Rich Pins: app pins, place pins, recipe pins, product pins, movie pins, article pins. Using rich pins is one way to help your content get better exposure in the new "smart feed" within Pinterest. You can create these pins by adding certain code to your site (more about this here).

6. Timing Is Everything

The most obvious hack of all, perhaps, but as in real life, timing matters here, too. Make sure that you're pinning often and that you're active on this platform. No, this doesn't mean you have to forego your social life completely. Use a scheduling tool to help you ensure content is going out regularly and at the best times for your audience... even if it's when you're fast asleep. (We have yet to work with a Pinterest scheduling tool we can personally recommend, but of course this webinar recommends PostPlanner--so they're worth a try!)

7. Get Visual

Craft pinnable images for every post. Pinterest is a visual platform, so images are a really big part of your success here. You want to ensure images are appealing to the eye and are of an optimal size. You're going to have to play around with this and test what works for your brand. Try infographics. Try stock photos. Try product photos. "Create your own branded images using Canva or PicMonkey", suggests Rebekah.

8. Become A Groupie

Get involved in group boards. Getting your posts up in boards that have a big following can help increase your reach. Search using relevant keywords or PinGoupie and when you find the right one, get in there!

9. Use Your Other Social Networks

Leverage other social channels your brand uses to drive traffic to your new Pinterest board. Schedule a tweet that directs users to follow your latest Pinterest board that was created around an upcoming holiday, or encourage users on Facebook to pin articles for later. Most people you interact with on a given social network, use more than just that one--connect with them wherever they are!

Got more? Tell us... what are some of your favourite Pinterest hacks?

#pinterest #socialmedia #marketing