Pinterest E-Book: All Aboard the Pinterest Train - Using Pinterest for Marketing

 iBooks Author

C HAPTER 1Introductionto PinterestSocial media marketing has been stuck ina rut. If you are an active participant youcan probably relate. The attempts at inno-vative new networks (ahem...Google+)are uninspiring and the tried and true net-works are losing their luster. Even themost active businesses on Facebook andTwitter are struggling to increase theirfans and following. It’s time for some-thing new.  iBooks Author

S ECTION 1Perk Up With Pinterest U SAGE S TATS 1. Pinterest currently reports 10.4 million users 2. 97% of Pinterest users are female 3. Unique visitors to the site increased by 429% in Q4 of 2011 4. Pinterest accounts for 3.6% of referral traffic 5. The average Pinterest user spends 1 hour 17 minutes on the site each month 1. Twitter: 36 minutes/month 2. LinkedIn: 17 minutes/month The Pinterest craze is sweeping the Internet at an alarming 3. Google+: 6 minutes/month rate. Not only are new subscribers piling up by the millions, users are spending an astronomical amount of time on the site. A recent stat showed that Pinterest generates more monthly usage than Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google + combined! 2  iBooks Author

A DDICTION Believe it or not, Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD) is a real affliction that many people suffer from, according to US psy-If you’ve seen a social pin board, then you probably know why chologists. Facebook is one of the few social networks that gen-Pinterest’s stats are so high. Pinterest is incredibly addicting. erates more usage than Pinterest, weighing in at a whopping 6The beautiful display of images on your screen is captivating hours 33 minutes a month for the average user. However, theand full of endless ideas. As long as you keep scrolling, the addictive nature of Pinterest, combined with the growingideas keep coming. Ideas for anything: recipes, books, decorat- popularity and increase in content, could result in an uptick ining, DIY projects, clothing, inspirational quotes, and so on. usage and a diagnosable disease of its own.You can see how one could easily get sucked in to the “Pinter-est Portal.” 3  iBooks Author

T HE P INTEREST M OVEMENT And then there’s Juxtapost, which is extremely similar to Pin- terest but with a few small differences. Like Pinterest, Juxta-They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the post “lets you view all your favorite things, side-by-side” withcase, Pinterest must be blushing pretty hard right now. Not the pin board layout. One key difference with Juxtapost is thatonly are many websites stealing the Pinterest “signature pin you have the option to make your boards private. Pinterestboard look,” but there have already been several competitor does not currently offer this option. Overall, the premise is thenetworks cropping up. Gentlemint, for example, is essentially same; collect things you see on the web and share them withPinterest for guys. Claiming to be “a mint of manly things,” your friends.Gentlemint is identical to Pinterest in terms of functionality,but with a predominately male target audience. I NTERACTIVE 1.1 Gentlemint I NTERACTIVE 1.2 Juxtapost Pinboard Pin board Layout Comments Male-specific content 4  iBooks Author

The clean layout and simple concept of Pinterest is whatmakes the site so appealing, to both competitors and users.You may recall a similar movement a few years back when so-cial networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster battledit out for a position on top of the social network podium. Onlytime will tell which network will win this pin board battle butright now Pinterest is way ahead of the game. 5  iBooks Author

S ECTION 2Pinterest DefinedP INTEREST D EFINEDFor those of you who haven’t yet had a chance to explore Pin-terest and are sitting there with eyes glazed over, let’s rewindand start from the beginning. In the words of the maker, “Pin-terest is a virtual pin board that lets you organize and sharethe beautiful things you find on the web.”Imagine you are browsing the web for a new recipe to try fordinner tonight. In the process, you come across all kinds of in-triguing recipes. Of course you can only choose one to maketonight, so you “pin” all of the recipes to your “recipes” pinboard on Pinterest, and revisit them when you’re ready. Thissame strategy can be applied for anything on the web. Find acool DIY project, pin it to your boards! Looking to buy a newcoat? Pin your favorite options and compare them all side byside from your Pinterest board. 6  iBooks Author

S ECTION 3 H OW IT W ORKSHow it Works Pinterest is like a virtual magazine full of all kinds of images and videos. When a Pinterest user sees something they like and want to save, they “pin” it to one of their own pin boards. A pin board is like a virtual bulletin board or folder. Each image or video links back to the original website from which it was taken so users can get back to the source if necessary. You can’t really obtain a lot of information from a thumbnail im- H OW IT W ORKS age. So when you see a pin of a recipe that you want to know more about, simply click twice on the pin to go directly to the 1. Set up your pin boards website where the recipe lives. 2. Pins link back to the original site from which The social aspect of Pinterest comes into play when you start the image was taken following people and sharing your pins with your friends. 3. Users Pin content from the internet to their There are two ways to pin items to your board: boards 1. Repin something that someone else has already pinned 4. Users Repin their friends’ pins to their boards 2. Install the “Pin It” button on your web browser and Pin 5. Users can “like” and comment on Pins images you find on the Internet When you’re first starting out on Pinterest, set up a handful of board categories to focus on. As you progress and find more content to Pin, you can break your boards up into more specific, narrowly-defined categories. Much like Facebook, users can “like” and comment on any Pin. Social media is all about interacting with your customers, so it’s important to respond to comments on your Pins. 7  iBooks Author

R EPIN After you click the “Repin” button, you will be able to specify which board you want to pin the item to and write your ownPinterest has a feed that shows you pins from the people you description of the pin.follow. You can also view other people’s boards, just as youmight view someone’s Facebook profile or page. When youfind a pin on your friend’s board that you like, click “Repin” topin the image to your own board. I NTERACTIVE 1.3 Repin Example See Something You Like? 8  iBooks Author

P IN I T If there are multiple pin-able items on the page, you will be asked to select which item you meant to pin.When you create your Pinterest account, one of the firstthings you should do is add the “Pin It” button to the book-marks bar in your web browser. Pinterest does a great job ex-plaining how to do this on their website. Once you have thebutton installed, you can pin anything you find on the webthat has an image associated with it.When you find something, say a recipe, you want to pin, clickon the “Pin It” button that you installed in your web browser. Make your selection, provide a brief description of what it is you are pinning, and choose which board you want to pin the I NTERACTIVE 1.4 Pin It Example item to. Pin It Button 9  iBooks Author

C HAPTER 2How to UsePinterest forMarketingSo Pinterest is obviously a hit with con-sumers and it seems to provide signifi-cant value to its users, but what does thishave to do with marketing your business?Like most of the social networks outthere, Pinterest was not created with mar-keting in mind. But where there’s a cap-tive audience, you can bet there’s an ea-ger marketer just around the corner find-ing a way to take center stage.  iBooks Author

T HE B ENEFITS OF P INTERESTHave you had your light bulb moment? Are the gears turningfast and furious? For many businesses the value of such a so-cial network is obvious and the possibilities are endless. Forother businesses, it may not be inherently clear how to best si-phon the value out of Pinterest, but rest assured you’ll havesome solid ideas by the end of this book.There are tons of benefits to incorporating Pinterest into yourmarketing strategy, but here’s a list of a few of the big ones:• Link-building to your website• Viral marketing• Market research• Create a brand image• Share company culture• Connect with your customers 11  iBooks Author

S ECTION 1 G ET S TARTEDGet Started Request an Invite Getting started on Pinterest is relatively simple. Since the network is still in beta, you must first request an invitation from Pinterest. You should receive an email with an invitation a few days after you place your request. Or if you know someone on Pinterest, ask them to send you an invite. G ET S TARTED Set up Your Profile 1. Request an Invite There isn’t currently a separate business profile for Pinterest users. All profiles feature a profile picture, about section, link 2. Set up Your Profile to your website, and of course, your boards. Fill in your profile as completely as you can, using a clear image of your logo and 3. Add the Buttons a clever spiel about your business. 4. Create Your Boards Add the Buttons 5. Promote There are two Pinterest buttons to incorporate into your website or blog. Incorporating the buttons into your website is simply a matter of copying and pasting a couple of lines of code into your website’s content management system. Once again, the HTML code for these buttons is provided by Pinterest. The “Follow Me on Pinterest” button should be added next to your Facebook “Like Us” button and your Twitter “Follow Us” button in your website. 12  iBooks Author

The “Pin It” button should be added next to anything that is Technical tip: Be sure to use high resolution pictures when“pin-able” on your website. That means blog posts, portfolio pinning your own content. Thumbnail pictures are limited topieces, and especially items for sale. 192 pixels. Choose high quality pictures so that users can clearly make out your pins. Promote Pinterest is inherently viral in nature, meaning if you pin something that people really like, it won’t take long for that pin to gain a lot of exposure. That being said, having a lot of followers ensures that your pins spread like wild fire. Gaining followers on Pinterest is much like gaining fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter. It takes time and requires your ac-Create Your Boards tive participation.Now it’s time for the fun part! Before you go and spread the To start off, you can try to gain followers by promoting yourword about your new Pinterest profile, make sure your boards Pinterest profile on other social networks. Leverage your estab-are populated with lots of pins. Pick a few categories to focus lished fan base to spread the word. Encourage Facebook fanson and as you have more time you can always expand. Make and Twitter followers to check out your boards. You can sharesure to have a nice balance of promotional and non- new Pins with Facebook fans by checking the “Facebook” boxpromotional boards. You don’t want all of your boards to con- before you Pin something.tain pins of your company’s products or portfolio pieces. Cre-ate a few boards dedicated to business-specific content andthen get creative with the rest.For example, if your business is a restaurant, create one boardwith recipes that you think your patrons might like to try mak-ing themselves. Dedicate another board to useful kitchentools. You see how easy it is to branch out and get creativewith Pinterest? 13  iBooks Author

C HAPTER 3PinterestTips & TricksReady to become a Pinterest PowerUser?! If you’ve been zoning out up untilnow because you already know how touse Pinterest, grab yourself a cup of cof-fee and get comfortable because you’regoing to want to pay attention. Starting,now. These tips and tricks separate theleisure Pinners from the pros and the con-sumer Pinners from the cut-throat mar-keters.  iBooks Author

S ECTION 1 P INTEREST C ONTESTSHold a Contest Contests are always great for getting your followers involved and for attracting new followers on the social networks. As with any contest held on a social network, it’s important to consult the contest rules and terms of use. Write out the details of the contest on your website, blog or Facebook page, not on your Pinterest profile. Pinterest doesn’t give you very much room for verbiage, plus this is a good way to spread the word about the contest. H OLD A C ONTEST Technical Tip: You can allow any follower to pin to your boards. For more interactive contests, set up a board desig- 1. Pin it to Win it nated to the contest, and grant your followers the ability to 2. Caption Contest pin to that board. 3. Repin Contest 1. Select the board you want to allow users to contribute to 4. Photo Contest 2. At the top of the board click the “Edit Board” button 3. You will be asked, “Who can Pin?” Select “Me + Contribu- tors” 15  iBooks Author

P IN IT TO W IN IT C APTION C ONTESTThere are a couple of different ways to hold contests on Pinter- People love to give their two cents. Pin a funny picture and askest. One of our favorites is the “Pin it to Win it” contest put on people to add a caption to the picture. Try to incorporate yourby childrens furniture and decor retailer, Rosenberry Rooms. product or services.You decide what the funniest caption is and reward the winner with a prize.Contestants have to create a pinboard containing their dreamkid’s room or nursery using Rosenberry Rooms’ products. The R E -P IN C ONTESTwinners receive products from their boards. This contest isbrilliant because it not only gets followers to interact with Ro- The ease of entry into the re-pin contest is particularly appeal-senberry Rooms on Pinterest, but it also gives people a reason ing to users and it’s a good way to spread content fast. Desig-to spend lots of time looking at their products and sharing nate a board that followers can contribute to. Ask followers totheir products with friends. pin their favorite product offered by your company to the board. Whoever has the pin with the most re-pins wins the contest. P HOTO C ONTEST The photo contest is an oldie but a goodie in the realm of social media contests. Ask followers to pin a picture based around a theme to one of your boards. For example, a Photog- rapher could hold a “Cute Baby Contest” and have people pin a picture of their baby to the board. Ask people to vote on their favorite baby picture by “liking” the pin. 16  iBooks Author

S ECTION 2 Although there is not an e-commerce component built in to Pinterest, there are some tricks to help facilitate the transitionDrive E-Commerce Sales from the network to your website. If used correctly, Pinterest can basically act as your virtual store front. Pinterest allows you to display items by category, shed light on new product lines, and even price items. P RICE Y OUR P RODUCTS Make it known that your pins represent products that are for C USTOMIZATION I DEAS sale by including the price of the item in the description of the pin. Anytime there is a dollar sign in the pin description, the 1. Price Your Products pin is flagged with a price tag and automatically gets catego- 2. New Product Promotion rized in the “Gifts” section of Pinterest. 3. Categorize Your Boards Tech Tip: When pinning a product that you want to include a price tag, highlight the description of the item along with the 4. Pinterest Exclusive Promotions price before clicking the “Pin It” button. The highlighted text will automatically appear in the pin’s description. 17  iBooks Author

S HOWCASE N EW P RODUCTS I NTERACTIVE 3.1 Pricing Your Products Pinterest provides you with a lovely electronic display case from which you can showcase Description new products in an aestheti- cally pleasing way. Create a separate board specifically for your newest product line. And don’t forget to include price tags! C ATEGORIZE Y OUR Price Tag B OARDS As you become more involved with Pinterest, break down your boards into more specific categories. For exam-P INTEREST E XCLUSIVE P ROMOTION ple, a retailer could start out with a board dedicated toReward your followers on Pinterest by offering them exclusive “Women’s Apparel,” andpromotions. Offer Pinterest followers a discount on one of eventually break that boardyour most popular products. Or, you could offer a new prod- into smaller more specificuct exclusively to your Pinterest followers. categories. Other categories could include “women’s acces-Tech Tip: Install the “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on your sories,” “women’s tops,”blog or website. Encourage your website visitors to click the “women’s bottoms,”button to follow your boards and become eligible to receive “dresses” and so on.the exclusive Pinterest promotion. 18  iBooks Author

S ECTION 3 Okay so obviously Pinterest is a hit with retailers, but what about those businesses without a tangible product to show-Unique Uses for Pinterest case? There’s still a place for those businesses on Pinterest, it just takes a little bit more creativity. Think outside the box and beyond the four walls of your office. Consider your customer base and the things they like. Think about the people that make up your business and the type of culture your business embodies. Brand name recognition may be the thing that draws followers to your Pinterest profile, but these creative, U NIQUE U SES FOR P INTEREST non-business related boards will be your ticket to entertaining and retaining followers. 1. Electronic Portfolio E LECTRONIC P ORTFOLIO 2. Show Company Culture For designers, artists, and stylists, Pinterest is a dream come 3. Market Research true. It’s a great way to showcase your work and promote your 4. Drive Traffic to Your Website business. For example, ThreeOwl Photography has created a board for each type of photography package they provide, including senior portraits, landscape photography, and kids pictures. It gives people a feel for their style of photography and 19  iBooks Author

makes it easy for people to share their work with their follow- Chances are, the people who are frequently pinning and Repin-ers. ning your items are going to be your best customers. Follow these loyal Pinterest followers, study their boards, and con-S HOW C OMPANY C ULTURE duct your own Pinterest market research to find out what yourBusinesses that don’t have a customers like. Take that information and try to apply it totangible product or service your own business.to pin definitely want to pay Repinning your followers’ pins is an easy way to interact withattention to this one. You your followers and makes them more excited about interact-can use Pinterest to give fol- ing with your brand.lowers an inside look intoyour company and give your D RIVE T RAFFIC TO Y OUR W EBSITEbusiness a persona. Your activity on Pinterest helps drive traffic to your website.If your company exudes a Pins that link back to your website are passed around amongcertain lifestyle or culture, circles of friends and beyond. Anytime someone wants acreate boards that reflect behind-the-scenes look at a pin, they must visit the websitethat. For example, Anytime the pin was originally taken from.Fitness has boards set up for The more subtle way that Pinterest drives traffic to your web-healthy recipes to promote a site is with SEO. The number of external links to your websitehealthy lifestyle. has an impact on your search engine ranking. Each pin thatM ARKET R ESEARCH links back to your website counts as a link and improves your score.Much like with Twitter, Pin-terest allows you to follow Tech tip: Always make sure that your pins include the URLpeople back. It’s a good idea of the web page your pin is coming from. As long as you pinto follow a handful of your items using the “Pin It” button from the original website, thefollowers and pay attention source link will be included in your pin. When users clickto their pins to get a feel for twice on your pin, they will be taken directly to the web pagetheir tastes and preferences. the pin was taken from. 20  iBooks Author

S ECTION 4 The beauty of social media marketing is that it allows you to actually interact with your fans. It allows you to get your mes-Interact sage across without irritating the consumer. Consumers actually want to see what you’re up to on Facebook and it’s fun for them to contribute to your boards on Pinterest. As a marketer, you should embrace this unique opportunity to interact with your customer base and encourage participation any way possible. F OLLOWER B OARDS H OW TO F OSTER I NTERACTION Creating specific boards that followers can contribute to is a 1. Follower Boards great way to encourage followers to interact with you on Pin- 2. Respond to Comments terest. You can grant any follower the ability to pin to your boards. For example, Drake University has a board called, 3. Integrate Pinterest into Other Social Networks “Pin Your Pride,” which al- 4. Incorporate a QR Code lows alumni to pin pictures of themselves wearing their school apparel. Any business could follow this concept and encourage followers to pin pictures of themselves using their favorite product of yours to the board. 21  iBooks Author

There are tons of clever ways to recruit Pinterest followers by leveraging your followers on other social networks: • Share your boards with your Facebook fans • Let Twitter followers and Facebook fans know that you now have a profile on Pinterest • Use Facebook Ads to promote your Pinterest contestR ESPOND TO C OMMENTS I NCORPORATE THE QR C ODEAnother easy way to interact with followers on Pinterest is to Have you incorporated the QR code into your marketing strat-respond to the comments people leave on your pins. Just as egy yet? Take it a step furtheryou would respond to comments on your Facebook wall or and think of creative ways toTwitter, it’s important to respond so that followers know you incorporate QR codes intocare. your Pins. When Pinterest fol-I NTEGRATE I NTO O THER S OCIAL N ETWORKS lowers scan your codes you can direct them to a landingWe mentioned the importance of promoting your presence on page where they can retrieve aPinterest on your other social networks in Chapter 2. The coupon, make a reservation,more followers you have on Pinterest, the quicker your pins or enter a contest.will spread and the more traffic will be drawn to your website. 22  iBooks Author

C HAPTER 4BusinessesLeading theWayIt hasn’t taken long for businesses to findinteresting and innovative ways to makeuse of Pinterest for marketing. Busi-nesses of all shapes and sizes: B2B, B2C,service-based, retail...you name an indus-try, you can bet there’s an example onPinterest. Sometimes all it takes to sparkan idea is an inspiring example. So to getthe gears turning, here are a few exam-ples of companies getting creative withPinterest.  iBooks Author

R ETAILBurberryThe British designer clothing brand, Burberry has found tonsof great uses for Pinterest. They have boards for different prod-uct lines, celebrities wearing Burberry, Burberry magazine cov-ers, and even Burberry weather.Rosenberry RoomsRosenberry Rooms is a retailer of children’s room furnitureand decor, and happens to be a Pinterest rock star. They havealready made an appearance in the book (see chapter 3) fortheir great contest idea, but beyond that, Rosenberry Roomshas come up with an infinite list of ideas of things to pin. Theyhave boards dedicated to different room themes, DIY projects,organization, baby shower ideas, and a board targeted specifi-cally at fashionable moms.• New product offerings• Gift IdeasStyle tips• Celebrities endorsements• Collections or product lines• Lifestyle 24  iBooks Author

A UTOMOTIVEVolkswagenThere is so much room for creativity for the auto industry onPinterest. Volkswagen is just getting started on Pinterest andhas populated a few boards on their profile. Volkswagen hascreated boards to show off their vehicle models, participationin auto shows, and fan photos, featuring pictures of theirhappy customers with their VW.Many people choose a vehicle based on lifestyle preferencesand what stage they are at in life. Going forward, VW couldbreak up their boards into categories based on the targetdriver for each car. For example, they could create a boardwith vehicle options for moms and a board filled with vehiclesfor new drivers. They could also branch out to include boardsshowing the type of lifestyle VW owners lead.• Display vehicles• Lifestyle• Consumer boards• Going places• Clever commercials 25  iBooks Author

R ESTAURANTSPanera BreadThe chain restaurant, Panera Bread has established itself onPinterest with a wide array of boards dedicated to different G ALLERY 4.1 Panera on Pinterestmenu items, recipes, kitchen tips, seasonal offerings, and theirinvolvement in the community. Panera’s image portrays abusiness focused on health and well-being, so they have aboard dedicated to inspirational quotes called “Make TodayBetter” and one called “Everyday Oasis,” with pins of peacefuland calming spots to enjoy coffee and relax.• Seasonal foods• Recipes• Menu items• Products for the kitchen• Kitchen tips Panera’s “Savor Good Food” board showcases recipes that• Community involvement feature Panera’s bakery items 26  iBooks Author

H OSPITALITYHotel Universo LuccaThe Tuscan hotel, Hotel Universo Lucca has found plenty ofcreative ways to market their brand on Pinterest. Aside fromthe obvious pictures of the hotel rooms, Hotel Universo hasdedicated boards to tourist attractions, events in the commu- I NTERACTIVE 4.1 Hotel Universo Lucca on Pinterestnity and events in the hotel, Tuscan cuisine, and a user gener-ated board of pictures pinned by their followers. • Hotel rooms • Views from the hotel Activities in the Com- • Things to do in the area munity • Favorite local restaurants • Celebrity guests Company Culture Rooms 27  iBooks Author

E DUCATIONThe Teaching BankThe Teaching Bank, an open market place for teachers hasused Pinterest to share lesson plans. Their boards are brokendown by subject matter and grade level for teachers to easilyfind appropriate curriculum. The Teaching Bank also featuresa board with other teacher resources and one with blogs foreducators.Drake UniversityIn addition to the clever alumni board we mentioned in chap-ter 3, Drake has found a number of different ways to marketthe University with Pinterest. From study inspiration to dormroom decor, to study abroad opportunities, Drake’s pin boardscover everything.• Lesson plans• Study tips• Educator resources• Dorm room ideas• Campus events• School pride 28  iBooks Author

H EALTH AND W ELLNESSAnytime FitnessAnytime Fitness is a gym franchise that uses Pinterest formore than just workout ideas. They have boards dedicated tohealth food, health blogs, inspirational quotes, and success sto- G ALLERY 4.2 Anytime Fitness on Pinterestries. With a gym, not only can you promote the activity of exer-cising, but also the whole “fit lifestyle” that goes along with it.• Workout routines• Yoga poses• Healthy recipes• Inspirational quotes• Before and after shots• Workout apparel The “Anytime Health Recipes” board features healthy recipes for customers to try at home. 29  iBooks Author

P OLITICSAnn RomneyRunning for office is all about projecting an image of yourselfand letting people know what you stand for. Pinterest is agreat way to build your brand’s persona, and in the case ofpoliticians, we’re talking about your personal brand. Presiden-tial candidate Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann Romney has recentlyset up a Pinterest profile to help with the campaign. Mrs. Rom-ney features boards for patriotic ideas, campaign updates, andfamily life.Think ProgressThink Progress is a political analysis website that sheds lighton political news. Think Progress isn’t afraid to call out candi-dates for controversial behavior, and uses Pinterest to do justthat. For example, they have several boards dedicated to theexcessive spending of Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.They also feature a board with the candidates’ high school pic-tures, and one board with political infographics.• Political agendas• Campaign schedule• Patriotic ideas• Family life• Candidate comparisons 30  iBooks Author

H OME I MPROVEMENTSherwin WilliamsPinterest is perfect for sharing DIY projects and ideas for thehome. Sherwin Williams has capitalized on that niche withboards dedicated displaying different color schemes for differ-ent rooms. There are several boards dedicated to kids paintcolors alone!McKay FlooringFlooring company, McKay Flooring uses Pinterest to displaytheir flooring products and to relate to followers on otherhome-related topics. For example, they have a board featuringdifferent types of wood, one board for DIY projects, and an-other board with ideas for the home.• DIY Project ideas• Room ideas• Decorating tips• Color schemes 31  iBooks Author

P ROFESSIONAL S ERVICESTaylor & Taylor Law FirmIt takes some pretty progressive lawyers to incorporate Pinter-est into their marketing strategy already. The uses for Pinter-est in the professional services industry may not be inherently G ALLERY 4.3 Taylor & Taylor Law Firm on Pinterestobvious, but Taylor & Taylor Law Firm has come up withsome pretty clever ideas for their boards. First of all, they giveyou an inside look at the culture at their law firm, with staffpictures, recommended books, and insightful quotes. Theyalso throw in a few fun boards that have nothing to do withlaw, just to keep people entertained.• Staff pictures• Office ideas• Recommended books• How-to videos• Company culture The board entitled, “Quoted” features the firm’s favorite quotes. 32  iBooks Author

T HOUGHT L EADERSHIPWith Sympathy Gifts & KeepsakesWith Sympathy Gifts & Keepsakes is an online retailer of giftsand keepsakes to help people console a grieving friend or fam-ily member. But the business goes beyond the retail portion toinclude advice advice on getting through the difficult time fol-lowing the loss of a loved one.With Sympathy Gifts & Keepsakes uses thought leadership tomarket the business, and Pinterest is a great thought leader-ship platform. With Sympathy Gifts and Keepsake’s Pinterestprofile includes boards with inspirational quotes, ideas forstarting family traditions and making memories.• References• Infographics• Quotes• Ideas for activities• Events 33  iBooks Author

B2BKI FurnitureKI Furniture is debunking the myth that B2B businesses can’treach their target market on social networks. KI is a furniture G ALLERY 4.4 KI Furniture on Pinterestmanufacturer that distributes to education, corporate, health-care, and government markets, and they have a flourishingpresence on Pinterest. KI has created boards to feature theirproduct lines, interior design inspiration, and ideas for the of-fice. Their boards speak to their audience, even if that audi-ence is made up of other corporations.• Product lines• Uses for products• Industry references• Inspiration The “Business Environments” board features KI’s office furniture line. 34  iBooks Author

F OODChobaniWho knew that Greek yogurt could inspire so much creativityon Pinterest? Chobani dove right into the Pinterest scene witha prolific spread of inspiring pin boards. “Chobaniac Crea-tions” showcases recipes that incorporate Chobani yogurt,while “A Dollop’ll Do Ya” showcases ideas for substituting Cho-bani for sour cream. There are also boards dedicated to nutri-tion and fitness, which speaks to their health-conscious cus-tomer base.Gary VaynerchuckGary Vaynerchuck, the founder of Wine Library TV hasstarted using Pinterest to market wine. Gary’s Wine board fea-tures wine from his wine e-commerce site, Wine Library. Eachpin includes a price tag and links back to the website so peo-ple can easily place an order in a couple clicks. Many of hispins are “Pin and Win” contests where followers can re-pin fora chance to win that particular wine. All of Gary’s pins gener-ate a long chain of comments, which is a sign of a healthy, ac-tive Pinterest presence.• Recipes incorporating your product• Product displays with pricing• Give-away contests• Kitchen products 35  iBooks Author

C HAPTER 5The PinterestConflictAlthough Pinterest is still in its infancy,the social network has not been withoutcontroversy and conflict. Every day youcan find a slew of new blogs addressingthe social network, with at least one arti-cle pointing out flaws and potential mal-feasance. Although we personally don’tsee these conflicts materializing into Pin-terest show-stoppers, it is important toknow about them and stay informed.  iBooks Author

T ERMS OF U SE bit of rhetoric surrounding Pinterest’s transparency on the topic. Either way, the network has to make money somehowThe conflict with Pinterest’s terms of use is derived from copy- and it appears that Pinterest has chosen the least intrusiveright issues. In the terms of use, Pinterest states that you are route possible.only supposed to pin images that you own the rights to. Fur-thermore, by pinning an image, you ultimately give Pinterestthe rights to do with that content what they wish. Now, forbusinesses pinning images of their own products, this copy-right issue is not a factor as long as you’re okay with other peo-ple pinning your property.Pinterest has since attempted to address these copyright is-sues by providing a line of code that can be embedded intowebsites in the event that the web site owner does not wanttheir content pinned.Disclaimer: That being said, The MarketingSavant Groupdoes not claim to be an expert in the field of copyright law.We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the terms ofuse and consult your attorney with questions or concerns re-garding your use of Pinterest.H OW P INTEREST M AKES M ONEYThe other source of controversy with Pinterest is their modelfor generating revenue. It has been brought to the attention ofthe general public that Pinterest attaches affiliate links to pinsthat link back to merchandise. When a user clicks on a pinwith an affiliate link that results in a purchase, Pinterest col-lects a percentage of that sale. While this money making strat-egy is common and completely legal, there seems to be quite a 37  iBooks Author

C HAPTER 6Get On Boardthe PinterestTrainAnytime you start something new it’s im-portant to start with a clear vision and asolid plan of action. Hopefully this bookhas sparked some ideas for using Pinter-est to market your business, but be sureto think it through before you dive rightin.  iBooks Author

I. Lay out your goals A. Drive website traffic B. Increase online sales C. Increase exposure D. Build awarenessII. Have a clear direction A. Think about your target B. Plan out themes for your boardsIII. Follow Through A. Keep up with your boards B. Promote your presence C. InteractThere are so many clever ideas for marketing your business onPinterest. Borrow some tried and true strategies that you seeother brands using, and try to come up with your own. Eachbusiness is unique, so what works for one business may not goover so well with another. Since you know your business bet-ter than anyone, you will be able to come up with the best wayto showcase your brand on Pinterest. 39  iBooks Author

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Pinterest E-Book: All Aboard the Pinterest Train - Using Pinterest for Marketing

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Pinterest E-Book: All Aboard the Pinterest Train - Using Pinterest for Marketing Presentation Transcript