Friday, 20 April 2012

4 Ways Your Small Business Can Reach Out On Pinterest

As I am sure you are aware, Pinterest is being talked about in every coffee shop, hair salon and boutique from here to the Tatooie. But for those uninitiated, think of Pinterest as like twitter for photos and videos, but with a fun layout. Not only does your Pinterest wall show pictures and video from all your friends and followers in a scrolling box, Pinterest creates a captivating interface that posts pictures and video everywhere; up, down, left, right, all over your screen. Upon creation of your account, Pinterest will ask you your hobbies and interests and automatically connect you with relevant and frequent posters of content that fits your tastes. You can filter these posts (or pins) by topics or fans, thus allowing you to find things you are looking for instantaneously or just browse around and see who's looking at what. Pinterest welcomes new content and is a viral hotbed for interesting and fresh content.

The current profile of the average Pinterest user tends to skew toward women of all ages, but primarily those in the oh-so-precious 17-27 range, making it a hot new proving ground when marketing to those Millennials we've been hearing so much about. However don't forget about those guys out there. Men, who are typically later adopters of social media, are sure to jump in the game however as soon Pinterest picks up more steam and goes into the forefront of the social media world.

Unlike Twitter, Pinterest isn't about noise. However, it is about viral content. No need to post every photo from your last party here, save that for a Facebook album. Pinterest wants content that is fun to share, consider it visual bubble gum. Something that consumers can take in quickly, sweetly and be done with soon after. Using Pinterest in your everyday browsing is easy as all getout too. After registering your account, Pinterest will prompt you on how to install a "Pin It" button to your task bar which makes sharing the things you find across the web a simple and painless process.

Let's explore some ways you can harness Pinterest now to expose yourself to whoever your target market is:

Creative Use of Your Brand In Action

What are some fun or avant-garde ways to use your product? Show off the secondary and tertiary modes of use for your product or that special feature that your brand has that others don't. Consumers of your brand/product will either find it clever or relate to it a way they have or thought to use it; either way, people are likely to share this content.

Users Showing off Your Product

Brand advocacy and personal sponsorhip is all the rage in social media these days. After all, it is free advertisement. When you show off a brand ambassadors allegiance to your product, you make them feel closer to your brand. Support those people taking cool pictures of themselves with your project by posting them across Pinterest, be sure to give their page a link too!

Fun Modifications/Prototypes of Your Product

Has anyone added their own custom paint job to your product or modded it in their own special way? That is definitely viral, Pin it! What about a fun prototype version of whatever you sell that you've been tinkering with for fun? Like the idea I mentioned above in showing off creative uses of your product, show off these fun tweaks to your brand is sure may create a viral buzz.

Striking and Creative Advertisement

Has your ad team come up with a crafty or clever marketing campaign or print ad? If they have, Pinterest is a great place to show it off. A striking image with compelling copy can send your brand spinning across the site. Shoot to inspire, motivate, lead, or simply stand out from the rest.

There are many other ways to use Pinterest to your advantage. Frequent and compelling posting will prompt Pinterest to automatically make new users follow your account (just like it did for you when you first registered). By organizing your photos and pins on different boards and categorizing them by what your target audience wants to view, you will increase the virality of your content and make it easier for Pinterest to sort through and match you with random users. Make sure however that what you share is fun enough for anyone in your target market would want to share. And of course, like any social media campaign, don't forget to reciprocate.

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