An overview of how to effectively use Pinterest for small business. This is a presentation that is part of my Crash Course series that I present to Main Street communities, marketing agencies, chambers, etc. After the presentation there is a live demo - when I present in person. https://www.vizify.com/jacqueline-wolven

1. How to be Pinteresting
Pinterest for Small Business

3. Pinterest Basics
 Pinboards: A pinboard is a collection of images or videos
that you curate, (collect, refine, manage). You can have
as many as you want.
Think of yourself as a Curator of your own Museum
 Pins: A pin is the act of placing an image or video on a
pinboard.
 Pin it bookmarklet: Pinterest provides a bookmarklet that
you can install on your browser that allows you to easily
pin things around the web. Most websites will display
several images which you can choose from to pin.

4. Pinterest Basics
 Gift Pins: If you use the “$” sign followed by any dollar
amount in the description of a pin it will insert a banner
displaying that dollar amount over the top left side of the
image in Pinterest, and also place it in the „gifts‟
category.
 Followers: Just like Twitter, you can „Follow‟ people. The
function allows you to stay connected to Pinterest users
that you appreciate. You can also follow one of their
pinboards separately, or follow them, and by default, all
of their pinboards.

5. Pinterest Basics
 Likes: Similar to Facebook, you can like a pin.
 Comments: Similar to Facebook you can place a
comment on a pin.
 Repin: Need to place a picture or video that you‟ve
discovered in Pinterest onto your pinboard, no problem,
you just repin it.

6. Let‟s Organize Ourselves
 DISCLAIMER: Avoid Self Promotion: Pinterest is designed to
curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or
project you‟re proud of, pin away! However, try not to
use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.

7. Let‟s Organize Ourselves
 Create A Profile Strategy: Pinterest doesn‟t have a
business profile option. You need to determine a strategy
that uses individuals as spokespeople / representatives for
your business in your “brand” account.
 Note: Another Strategy is to have Brand Ambassadors
who pin for the brand – not many people are doing this.

8. Let‟s Organize Ourselves
 Setting up Boards: Create A Collection Of Pinboards That
Compliment Your Business
 Recommend 5-8 pinboards that are related to your industry
or topic.
 Own Your Pins: Always pin your own product pins from
your site so they link back to you

9. Gaining Followers
 Email Strategy: send out an email letting them know that
'we have a new obsession'...Pinterest. Explain it, include
an intro about how you are using Pinterest, and we offer
to invite them into Pinterest if they haven't already joined
the party.

10. Gaining Followers
 Facebook Strategy:
 Use The Pinterest Invite Tool To Invite Your FB Profile Friends
(Not Fanpage Fans/likers) To Follow You
 Make a "Your New Offer" (Remember... "Follow Us On
Pinterest") On Your FB Fanpage
 Start pushing your Pinterest Pins, or Repins To Facebook

11. Gaining Followers
 YouTube Strategy:
 Make a video: A screencast would be best, describing Pinterest,
showing your profile and inviting everyone to come find you on
Pinterest. Include a link to your profile in the description of the
video, so people can easily click into Pinterest and find you.
 Use The Broadcast Message Tool: Send a message to all of your
subscribers inviting them to your Pinterest profile.
 Use The Call-To-Action Overlay On Your Own Videos: You can
get clicks for literally nothing, by using this tool.
 Include a Pinterest „Blurb‟ in your videos
 Pin Your Videos: Pinterest is a video sharing tool in addition to an
image sharing tool.

12. Gaining Followers
 Twitter Strategy:
 Tweet some, but not all of your pins.
 Invite people to follow you on Pinterest in your curated area
of expertise with hashtags

13. Photos That Make You Go
Ahhh…
 Kid Wonder: Take a picture of a kid with an exciting
expression associated with your product
 Humor: Make your product funny.
 Sex Appeal: Can you display your product in a way that
triggers a favorable physical response? – Sexy not slutty is
the key here.
 Your Product As Artwork: Find an artistic way to show your
product or have an artist actually do that.

14. Photos That Make You Go
Ahhh…
 Your Product As a Holiday/Seasonal item: People get warm and
fuzzy around the idea of the holidays – any holiday.
 Your Product with a puppy: Puppies are a huge hit on Pinterest. Oh,
and cats. But remember Puppies = people, cats = crazy ladies
 Your Product with a baby: Babies, there is nothing cuter.
 Your Product presented as a gift: Is there a way to position your
product as a cool gift for someone?
 Your product with a quote in the photo – MOST SHARED
 Your product as part of a How To – 2nd Most Shared

15. The Top 10 to Gain Traction
 Initiate Connections: An effective way to get other
people to follow you is to follow them first.
 Hashtags: Using #hashtags on Pinterest will automatically
query a search for whatever word you tag.
 Comment on Other Peoples Pins: Don‟t just live simple
little one word comments, if you want to make an
impression put some thought into what you say, and add
a unique interpretation to the content that was pinned.

16. The Top 10 to Gain Traction
 Get Popular: Repinly.com tracks Pinterest pins, boards
and pinners and you can sort the most popular pins –
good for research too.
 Install Pin It button or Functionality to Your Blog: Pin it
buttons make it easy for people to pin your content.

17. The Top 10 to Gain Traction
 Curate a Variety: Pinterest has more women users than
male, and they make MOST of the buying decisions in a
household. Remember that when pinning.
 Content is King: Post very compelling content – obviously.

18. The Top 10 to Gain Traction