Using Pinterest to Expand Your Reach

Pinterest may not seem like it would be a very good business tool. After all, isn’t it more for DIY projects and tasty looking recipes? While those things are definitely prevalent on the pinning site, you can still make a solid representation of your brand here. While most trending “pins” are food, interior design, and fashion, there is still plenty of space for an IT company. If you can make it pretty—even if that just means constructing an infographic—then Pinterest has a place for you.

How to Use Pinterest to Your Advantage

First, realize that Pinterest isn’t necessarily going to generate a bunch of leads for your company. While it will “diversify” your social media holding, alert people your company exists, and spread your presence out that much further on the internet, it plays more of a supporting role. We’re looking to expose your company to new faces, not necessarily new business.

However, Pinterest can still generate leads that will visit your website, and at the very least, you should see some significant traffic if something you pin starts to trend. If people click the links related to the pins you upload, it’s likely your website rank will start to creep up in search engines. Besides, who doesn’t want (good) exposure for their company?

Rule #1: Don’t Skimp On Good Pictures

Nothing’s going to trend unless you have some seriously quality pictures. You want clicks that go to your website, and no one’s going to click on an ugly picture on Pinterest. Pinterest is all about appealing to the eyes. Sometimes people will re-pin something because the picture’s pretty and won’t even read the content associated with it. This is okay, of course, but it does mean you have to really step up your game when it comes to photos. If you aren’t a photographer (not everyone has an eye for the creative), don’t be afraid to hire someone else to take photos or design infographics for you. Always try your team first, though, as you never know who might have a backyard passion for photographing on the weekends.

Rule #2: Description Keywords

Keyword stuffing may be a pretty big no-no for your website, but for Pinterest, it amounts to traffic. Keywords mean more clicks. However, there is a description limit on Pinterest, so if your description is full of spam or poorly written, someone will rewrite it when it gets re-pinned. This pretty much destroys your chances of benefitting from keywording to begin with. Always make sure you include a description that can be easily found. For example, “bathroom remodel featuring Clawfoot bath tub and ceramic tile” will get more hits than “new bathroom.”

Pinterest may not generate the same type of traffic that Facebook and Twitter do, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. Web presence is good, and anything that builds yours will likely benefit you in the long run.