Start Slowly
One of the main ways to connect with potential customers is to have a presence on social platforms where they spend time. Before you assume you don’t know how to use Pinterest as professionally as other brands, don’t focus on having a picture-perfect profile. It’s perfectly acceptable to begin your dabbling in Pinterest slowly.
Do you have content from your website that you can deploy in a Pinterest-worthy way? Follow other small businesses in your field on Pinterest, take time to look at what they offer, and evaluate it carefully. What value do these businesses provide on Pinterest? Is it relevant? Is it inspiring? Once you feel comfortable assessing the merits of pins, you can start pinning. Feel free to re-pin posts by industry leaders or even competitors. Industry publications are another great source for valuable pins. Think broadly because if you place too narrow a limit on “relevance,” you may miss out on some great content.
Matter to the People You Care About
Of utmost importance to consider is what information may be important to your customers. For example, a home improvement small business may want to have a board with information on how to hire contractors. You can use visually gripping images to share the information or even create your own infographics to assist you in telling a compelling story that helps your customers get comfortable with your service and ultimately choose your company.
Think about what pins will help generate trust and make a potential customer a life-long customer. Your business’s Pinterest page can tell your customers quite a bit about your business. Are your boards organized? Are they helpful? Are you boosting good signals or just generating more noise? View your small business Pinterest page from the perspective of a customer. Be a tough evaluator or invite a power user to browse it and ask for an honest assessment. If you know your weaknesses, you can work to strengthen them or, if necessary, avoid them.
Pin What Wins
Pay attention to what pins generate interest to determine where to best focus your efforts. It may take time for your posts to resonate, so be persistent in developing boards and pins that will grab attention. Think of Pinterest as a garden where you nourish the earth (follow other users and boards), till the soil (organize your boards), plant seeds (pin original content), water the vegetation (re-pin other’s posts), and maintain the garden (respond to comments).
Study what successful Pinterest users in your field have done and emulate them. Remember, originality is attractive, so don’t just re-pin everything they do, but give yourself time to develop your own personal rhythm that demonstrates what your business can do for your customers. Pinterest is another powerful tool to you develop your small business and boost your relevance in the marketplace.