Images are far more interesting than plain textual content and are instantly eye-catching. Even companies that don’t necessarily need to depend on images should use high-quality images on their websites to make their websites much more appealing to customers. The appeal of images can be seen by the fact that Pinterest and Instagram are some of the most popular social networking sites on the planet. These websites only allow users to share images, but smart businesses have been able to use them to promote their products and brands.
Pins do not have to be only about fashion, flowers and naturally photogenic items. Pins about storage containers and gardening tools could also go viral. Pinterest is the perfect social media platform for any company. Here are some Pinterest best practices that can help you attract more traffic:
Use Pinterest plug-ins
Like and tweet buttons are common on most webpages, but “Pin it” buttons can also be very effective. Also add a “Follow” button to allow people to follow your Pinterest profile easily.
Pin frequently but be selective
As with any other social media platform, you need to keep the content fresh on your Pinterest boards too. Pin images frequently as this will keep your brand at the top of your followers’ minds. Pins on Pinterest do not get buried as easily as tweets or posts on Twitter and Facebook respectively, so the more you pin, better are the chances of your old pins being found too. You also need to engage with other users and like, repin and share other interesting pins to connect with other users on Pinterest.
However, when you are pinning images from your website to your boards, don’t pin all the images. Use only the best ones and urge people to visit your website to see all the other images.
Create boards on other topics
If yours is a marketing firm, there will obviously be very few images about marketing itself many of them can be boring. In such cases, pin images that your followers will find interesting. They don’t have to be related to your brand or industry but just on topics that may interest your audience.
Create taller pins
The layout of Pinterest is very conducive to longer images so make sure that your pins are taller and not wider. Adding funny text also makes pins more interesting. One of the advantages of creating taller pins is that you can create mash-ups. Mash-ups are basically pins that are created by joining many pictures together to tell a story. You can use mash-ups to show progression and cause and effect.
Use secret boards
Secret boards are best used for loyal or VIP customers and followers. You can create exclusive secret boards with exciting content that can be seen only when customers and followers attain a VIP status. This is a great way to encourage interaction and participation among followers.
Make use of Pinterest tools
A number of tools can help you manage your Pinterest marketing campaigns. Even the free ones are pretty great and more than enough for most businesses. WiseStamp is one such tool that allows users to add pins to emails. Companies should use this tool if they have email marketing campaigns running. Reachli is another excellent tool that helps you track the reach of each pin. This application can help you analyze the success of your pins and help you understand how you need to change your Pinterest boards.