Pinterest – it’s just another form of social scrapbooking, isn’t it? Yet another social media site demanding my attention. Sigh . . .
But please do read on, because the sales potential and the ‘numbers’ may just surprise you.
Pinterest is a virtual (online) pinboard system where you are encouraged to ‘organise and share the things you love.’ At present, membership is available by invitation only and you can request an invite by entering your email address on the website (Pinterest.com).
If you currently sell products over the Internet via your website or an online store, then it’s easy to catalogue them on your Pinterest board also – complete with price tag! For example many people who sell their gifts on the creative marketplace site Etsy, have a dedicated Pinterest pinboard on which to display and sell their goods. Indeed, Pinterest is responsible for generating a 75 per cent increase in traffic according to some online sellers. Now that’s serious business.
But Pinterest isn’t just for craft-workers or product sellers – oh no. It’s ideal for those with businesses in the service industries too.
Let’s say for example you run a hair salon. You could share ideas for hair colouring techniques, the latest celebrity hairstyles, bridal hair accessories, and so on. Or perhaps you’re in the travel industry? Your pinboard could contain your predictions for the 50 most fashionable resorts for this year, or the world’s top 20 remotest trekking areas.
Maybe you run an events company? In which case you probably have some great photos of events you have produced that you’d love to share with your audience. Alternatively, how about celebrity gigs you wished you’d produced! And if you are a designer, photographer, artist, or other kind of ‘creative’, then Pinterest is the perfect place to display your portfolio and win more commissions.
Whatever business you are in, with a bit of creativity you should be able to come up with a suitable angle for one or more pinboards. Even if your primary aim is to make sales online, the key thing here is to offer content that will engage and inspire your potential buyers, (minus the hard-sell.)
Here are several ideas for generating interest for your Pinterest pinboard(s):
Give your customers a personal insight into your company by including photographs of your team in action. Or if your business has several branches, how about a ‘sales team of the month,’ or ‘employee of the month’ pinboard?
Contests are a wonderful way to create a buzz, so why not build one around your business. Don’t simply make it a prize draw, but rather ask people to vote for their favourite product, holiday resort, or whatever. The aim of the game is to get your contestants to promote your business for you.
Pinterest is visually driven, so think about how you can best provide dynamic images accompanied by just a couple of words of text. Clean and elegant boards usually attract the most attention. For each picture you post (sorry, pin), you can include a link back to your website or blog.
So, tell us about the numbers then . . .
Well according to the social media bookmarking site Hitwise, Pinterest received almost 11 million hits on the week ending 17 December 2011 – a 4000 per cent increase in visitors compared to six months’ previously. That’s one serious spike! Especially when you take into account that Pinterest has only been in existence some nine months. Consider the growth potential here.
Pinterest is worth checking out even if you have no inclination to sign up for an account and create your own pinboards. Why? Because there are some really exciting and unique concepts on the site which are bound to inspire you when it comes to developing your next advertisement or marketing campaign.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say, virtually every business owner will find something of interest on Pinterest.
But please do read on, because the sales potential and the ‘numbers’ may just surprise you.
Pinterest is a virtual (online) pinboard system where you are encouraged to ‘organise and share the things you love.’ At present, membership is available by invitation only and you can request an invite by entering your email address on the website (Pinterest.com).
If you currently sell products over the Internet via your website or an online store, then it’s easy to catalogue them on your Pinterest board also – complete with price tag! For example many people who sell their gifts on the creative marketplace site Etsy, have a dedicated Pinterest pinboard on which to display and sell their goods. Indeed, Pinterest is responsible for generating a 75 per cent increase in traffic according to some online sellers. Now that’s serious business.
But Pinterest isn’t just for craft-workers or product sellers – oh no. It’s ideal for those with businesses in the service industries too.
Let’s say for example you run a hair salon. You could share ideas for hair colouring techniques, the latest celebrity hairstyles, bridal hair accessories, and so on. Or perhaps you’re in the travel industry? Your pinboard could contain your predictions for the 50 most fashionable resorts for this year, or the world’s top 20 remotest trekking areas.
Maybe you run an events company? In which case you probably have some great photos of events you have produced that you’d love to share with your audience. Alternatively, how about celebrity gigs you wished you’d produced! And if you are a designer, photographer, artist, or other kind of ‘creative’, then Pinterest is the perfect place to display your portfolio and win more commissions.
Whatever business you are in, with a bit of creativity you should be able to come up with a suitable angle for one or more pinboards. Even if your primary aim is to make sales online, the key thing here is to offer content that will engage and inspire your potential buyers, (minus the hard-sell.)
Here are several ideas for generating interest for your Pinterest pinboard(s):
Give your customers a personal insight into your company by including photographs of your team in action. Or if your business has several branches, how about a ‘sales team of the month,’ or ‘employee of the month’ pinboard?
Contests are a wonderful way to create a buzz, so why not build one around your business. Don’t simply make it a prize draw, but rather ask people to vote for their favourite product, holiday resort, or whatever. The aim of the game is to get your contestants to promote your business for you.
Pinterest is visually driven, so think about how you can best provide dynamic images accompanied by just a couple of words of text. Clean and elegant boards usually attract the most attention. For each picture you post (sorry, pin), you can include a link back to your website or blog.
So, tell us about the numbers then . . .
Well according to the social media bookmarking site Hitwise, Pinterest received almost 11 million hits on the week ending 17 December 2011 – a 4000 per cent increase in visitors compared to six months’ previously. That’s one serious spike! Especially when you take into account that Pinterest has only been in existence some nine months. Consider the growth potential here.
Pinterest is worth checking out even if you have no inclination to sign up for an account and create your own pinboards. Why? Because there are some really exciting and unique concepts on the site which are bound to inspire you when it comes to developing your next advertisement or marketing campaign.
In fact, I’d go as far as to say, virtually every business owner will find something of interest on Pinterest.
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