Pinterest

C HAPTER 1

Introduction
to Pinterest

Social media marketing has been stuck in
a rut. If you are an active participant you
can 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 the
most active businesses on Facebook and
Twitter are struggling to increase their
fans and following. It’s time for some-
thing new.

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S ECTION 1

Perk 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 + com-
bined!

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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 6
The beautiful display of images on your screen is captivating hours 33 minutes a month for the average user. However, the
and full of endless ideas. As long as you keep scrolling, the addictive nature of Pinterest, combined with the growing
ideas keep coming. Ideas for anything: recipes, books, decorat- popularity and increase in content, could result in an uptick in
ing, 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.”

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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” with
case, Pinterest must be blushing pretty hard right now. Not the pin board layout. One key difference with Juxtapost is that
only are many websites stealing the Pinterest “signature pin you have the option to make your boards private. Pinterest
board look,” but there have already been several competitor does not currently offer this option. Overall, the premise is the
networks cropping up. Gentlemint, for example, is essentially same; collect things you see on the web and share them with
Pinterest 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

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The clean layout and simple concept of Pinterest is what
makes 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 battled
it out for a position on top of the social network podium. Only
time will tell which network will win this pin board battle but
right now Pinterest is way ahead of the game.

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S ECTION 2

Pinterest Defined

P INTEREST D EFINED

For those of you who haven’t yet had a chance to explore Pin-
terest and are sitting there with eyes glazed over, let’s rewind
and start from the beginning. In the words of the maker, “Pin-
terest is a virtual pin board that lets you organize and share
the beautiful things you find on the web.”

Imagine you are browsing the web for a new recipe to try for
dinner tonight. In the process, you come across all kinds of in-
triguing recipes. Of course you can only choose one to make
tonight, so you “pin” all of the recipes to your “recipes” pin
board on Pinterest, and revisit them when you’re ready. This
same strategy can be applied for anything on the web. Find a
cool DIY project, pin it to your boards! Looking to buy a new
coat? Pin your favorite options and compare them all side by
side from your Pinterest board.

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S ECTION 3
H OW IT W ORKS
How 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 im-
age 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 spe-
cific, 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.

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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 own
Pinterest 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 you
might view someone’s Facebook profile or page. When you
find a pin on your friend’s board that you like, click “Repin” to
pin the image to your own board.

I NTERACTIVE 1.3 Repin Example

See Something You
Like?

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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 first
things 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 the
button installed, you can pin anything you find on the web
that has an image associated with it.

When you find something, say a recipe, you want to pin, click
on 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

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C HAPTER 2

How to Use
Pinterest for
Marketing
So Pinterest is obviously a hit with con-
sumers and it seems to provide signifi-
cant value to its users, but what does this
have to do with marketing your business?
Like most of the social networks out
there, 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.

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T HE B ENEFITS OF P INTEREST

Have you had your light bulb moment? Are the gears turning
fast and furious? For many businesses the value of such a so-
cial network is obvious and the possibilities are endless. For
other businesses, it may not be inherently clear how to best si-
phon the value out of Pinterest, but rest assured you’ll have
some solid ideas by the end of this book.

There are tons of benefits to incorporating Pinterest into your
marketing 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

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S ECTION 1 G ET S TARTED

Get Started Request an Invite

Getting started on Pinterest is relatively simple. Since the net-
work 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 web-
site or blog. Incorporating the buttons into your website is sim-
ply 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.

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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 to
pieces, 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 your
word 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 fans
on and as you have more time you can always expand. Make
and Twitter followers to check out your boards. You can share
sure to have a nice balance of promotional and non-
new Pins with Facebook fans by checking the “Facebook” box
promotional 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 and
then get creative with the rest.

For example, if your business is a restaurant, create one board
with recipes that you think your patrons might like to try mak-
ing themselves. Dedicate another board to useful kitchen
tools. You see how easy it is to branch out and get creative
with Pinterest?

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C HAPTER 3

Pinterest
Tips & Tricks

Ready to become a Pinterest Power
User?! If you’ve been zoning out up until
now because you already know how to
use Pinterest, grab yourself a cup of cof-
fee and get comfortable because you’re
going to want to pay attention. Starting,
now. These tips and tricks separate the
leisure Pinners from the pros and the con-
sumer Pinners from the cut-throat mar-
keters.

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S ECTION 1 P INTEREST C ONTESTS

Hold 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 de-
tails 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”

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P IN IT TO W IN IT C APTION C ONTEST

There are a couple of different ways to hold contests on Pinter- People love to give their two cents. Pin a funny picture and ask
est. 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 your
by children's 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 dream
kid’s room or nursery using Rosenberry Rooms’ products. The R E -P IN C ONTEST
winners receive products from their boards. This contest is
brilliant 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 to
their 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 so-
cial 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.

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S ECTION 2 Although there is not an e-commerce component built in to
Pinterest, there are some tricks to help facilitate the transition
Drive 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.

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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 in-
volved 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 to
Reward your followers on Pinterest by offering them exclusive “Women’s Apparel,” and
promotions. Offer Pinterest followers a discount on one of eventually break that board
your most popular products. Or, you could offer a new prod- into smaller more specific
uct 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.

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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 cus-
tomer base and the things they like. Think about the people
that make up your business and the type of culture your busi-
ness 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, in-
cluding senior portraits, landscape photography, and kids pic-
tures. It gives people a feel for their style of photography and

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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 your
Businesses that don’t have a customers like. Take that information and try to apply it to
tangible product or service your own business.
to pin definitely want to pay Repinning your followers’ pins is an easy way to interact with
attention 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 into
your company and give your D RIVE T RAFFIC TO Y OUR W EBSITE
business 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 among
certain lifestyle or culture, circles of friends and beyond. Anytime someone wants a
create boards that reflect behind-the-scenes look at a pin, they must visit the website
that. 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 website
healthy lifestyle.
has an impact on your search engine ranking. Each pin that
M 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 URL
people back. It’s a good idea of the web page your pin is coming from. As long as you pin
to follow a handful of your items using the “Pin It” button from the original website, the
followers and pay attention source link will be included in your pin. When users click
to their pins to get a feel for twice on your pin, they will be taken directly to the web page
their tastes and preferences. the pin was taken from.
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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 actu-
ally 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 pos-
sible.

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 fol-
lowers to pin pictures of
themselves using their fa-
vorite product of yours to
the board.

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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 contest

R ESPOND TO C OMMENTS I NCORPORATE THE QR C ODE
Another 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 further
you would respond to comments on your Facebook wall or
and think of creative ways to
Twitter, it’s important to respond so that followers know you
incorporate QR codes into
care.
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 landing
We mentioned the importance of promoting your presence on page where they can retrieve a
Pinterest 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.

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C HAPTER 4

Businesses
Leading the
Way
It hasn’t taken long for businesses to find
interesting and innovative ways to make
use 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 on
Pinterest. Sometimes all it takes to spark
an idea is an inspiring example. So to get
the gears turning, here are a few exam-
ples of companies getting creative with
Pinterest.

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R ETAIL

Burberry

The British designer clothing brand, Burberry has found tons
of great uses for Pinterest. They have boards for different prod-
uct lines, celebrities wearing Burberry, Burberry magazine cov-
ers, and even Burberry weather.

Rosenberry Rooms

Rosenberry Rooms is a retailer of children’s room furniture
and decor, and happens to be a Pinterest rock star. They have
already made an appearance in the book (see chapter 3) for
their great contest idea, but beyond that, Rosenberry Rooms
has come up with an infinite list of ideas of things to pin. They
have 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

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A UTOMOTIVE

Volkswagen

There is so much room for creativity for the auto industry on
Pinterest. Volkswagen is just getting started on Pinterest and
has populated a few boards on their profile. Volkswagen has
created boards to show off their vehicle models, participation
in auto shows, and fan photos, featuring pictures of their
happy customers with their VW.

Many people choose a vehicle based on lifestyle preferences
and what stage they are at in life. Going forward, VW could
break up their boards into categories based on the target
driver for each car. For example, they could create a board
with vehicle options for moms and a board filled with vehicles
for new drivers. They could also branch out to include boards
showing the type of lifestyle VW owners lead.

• Display vehicles

• Lifestyle

• Consumer boards

• Going places

• Clever commercials

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R ESTAURANTS

Panera Bread

The chain restaurant, Panera Bread has established itself on
Pinterest with a wide array of boards dedicated to different G ALLERY 4.1 Panera on Pinterest
menu items, recipes, kitchen tips, seasonal offerings, and their
involvement in the community. Panera’s image portrays a
business focused on health and well-being, so they have a
board dedicated to inspirational quotes called “Make Today
Better” and one called “Everyday Oasis,” with pins of peaceful
and 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

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H OSPITALITY

Hotel Universo Lucca

The Tuscan hotel, Hotel Universo Lucca has found plenty of
creative ways to market their brand on Pinterest. Aside from
the obvious pictures of the hotel rooms, Hotel Universo has
dedicated boards to tourist attractions, events in the commu- I NTERACTIVE 4.1 Hotel Universo Lucca on Pinterest
nity 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

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E DUCATION

The Teaching Bank

The Teaching Bank, an open market place for teachers has
used Pinterest to share lesson plans. Their boards are broken
down by subject matter and grade level for teachers to easily
find appropriate curriculum. The Teaching Bank also features
a board with other teacher resources and one with blogs for
educators.

Drake University

In addition to the clever alumni board we mentioned in chap-
ter 3, Drake has found a number of different ways to market
the University with Pinterest. From study inspiration to dorm
room decor, to study abroad opportunities, Drake’s pin boards
cover everything.

• Lesson plans

• Study tips

• Educator resources

• Dorm room ideas

• Campus events

• School pride

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H EALTH AND W ELLNESS

Anytime Fitness

Anytime Fitness is a gym franchise that uses Pinterest for
more than just workout ideas. They have boards dedicated to
health food, health blogs, inspirational quotes, and success sto- G ALLERY 4.2 Anytime Fitness on Pinterest
ries. 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 reci-
pes for customers to try at home.

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P OLITICS

Ann Romney

Running for office is all about projecting an image of yourself
and letting people know what you stand for. Pinterest is a
great way to build your brand’s persona, and in the case of
politicians, we’re talking about your personal brand. Presiden-
tial candidate Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann Romney has recently
set up a Pinterest profile to help with the campaign. Mrs. Rom-
ney features boards for patriotic ideas, campaign updates, and
family life.

Think Progress

Think Progress is a political analysis website that sheds light
on political news. Think Progress isn’t afraid to call out candi-
dates for controversial behavior, and uses Pinterest to do just
that. For example, they have several boards dedicated to the
excessive 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

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H OME I MPROVEMENT

Sherwin Williams

Pinterest is perfect for sharing DIY projects and ideas for the
home. Sherwin Williams has capitalized on that niche with
boards dedicated displaying different color schemes for differ-
ent rooms. There are several boards dedicated to kids paint
colors alone!

McKay Flooring

Flooring company, McKay Flooring uses Pinterest to display
their flooring products and to relate to followers on other
home-related topics. For example, they have a board featuring
different 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

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P ROFESSIONAL S ERVICES

Taylor & Taylor Law Firm

It 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 Pinterest
obvious, but Taylor & Taylor Law Firm has come up with
some pretty clever ideas for their boards. First of all, they give
you an inside look at the culture at their law firm, with staff
pictures, recommended books, and insightful quotes. They
also throw in a few fun boards that have nothing to do with
law, 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.

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T HOUGHT L EADERSHIP

With Sympathy Gifts & Keepsakes

With Sympathy Gifts & Keepsakes is an online retailer of gifts
and keepsakes to help people console a grieving friend or fam-
ily member. But the business goes beyond the retail portion to
include advice advice on getting through the difficult time fol-
lowing the loss of a loved one.

With Sympathy Gifts & Keepsakes uses thought leadership to
market the business, and Pinterest is a great thought leader-
ship platform. With Sympathy Gifts and Keepsake’s Pinterest
profile includes boards with inspirational quotes, ideas for
starting family traditions and making memories.

• References

• Infographics

• Quotes

• Ideas for activities

• Events

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 iBooks Author

B2B

KI Furniture

KI Furniture is debunking the myth that B2B businesses can’t
reach their target market on social networks. KI is a furniture
G ALLERY 4.4 KI Furniture on Pinterest
manufacturer that distributes to education, corporate, health-
care, and government markets, and they have a flourishing
presence on Pinterest. KI has created boards to feature their
product 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 fur-
niture line.

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 iBooks Author

F OOD

Chobani

Who knew that Greek yogurt could inspire so much creativity
on Pinterest? Chobani dove right into the Pinterest scene with
a 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 Vaynerchuck

Gary Vaynerchuck, the founder of Wine Library TV has
started using Pinterest to market wine. Gary’s Wine board fea-
tures wine from his wine e-commerce site, Wine Library. Each
pin includes a price tag and links back to the website so peo-
ple can easily place an order in a couple clicks. Many of his
pins are “Pin and Win” contests where followers can re-pin for
a 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 5

The Pinterest
Conflict

Although Pinterest is still in its infancy,
the social network has not been without
controversy and conflict. Every day you
can find a slew of new blogs addressing
the social network, with at least one arti-
cle pointing out flaws and potential mal-
feasance. Although we personally don’t
see these conflicts materializing into Pin-
terest show-stoppers, it is important to
know 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 somehow
The conflict with Pinterest’s terms of use is derived from copy- and it appears that Pinterest has chosen the least intrusive
right 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 Pinterest
the rights to do with that content what they wish. Now, for
businesses 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 into
websites in the event that the web site owner does not want
their content pinned.

Disclaimer: That being said, The MarketingSavant Group
does not claim to be an expert in the field of copyright law.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the terms of
use and consult your attorney with questions or concerns re-
garding your use of Pinterest.

H OW P INTEREST M AKES M ONEY

The other source of controversy with Pinterest is their model
for generating revenue. It has been brought to the attention of
the general public that Pinterest attaches affiliate links to pins
that link back to merchandise. When a user clicks on a pin
with 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 6

Get On Board
the Pinterest
Train

Anytime you start something new it’s im-
portant to start with a clear vision and a
solid plan of action. Hopefully this book
has sparked some ideas for using Pinter-
est to market your business, but be sure
to think it through before you dive right
in.

 iBooks Author

I. Lay out your goals

A. Drive website traffic

B. Increase online sales

C. Increase exposure

D. Build awareness

II. Have a clear direction

A. Think about your target

B. Plan out themes for your boards

III. Follow Through

A. Keep up with your boards

B. Promote your presence

C. Interact

There are so many clever ideas for marketing your business on
Pinterest. Borrow some tried and true strategies that you see
other brands using, and try to come up with your own. Each
business is unique, so what works for one business may not go
over so well with another. Since you know your business bet-
ter than anyone, you will be able to come up with the best way
to showcase your brand on Pinterest.

39

 iBooks Author

Pinterest

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