Manassas Park Community Matters Blog Post - Get to Pinning! – By Jennifer Deuterman

We have all heard of Pinterest and a lot of us use it in our personal lives, but what about using it to help out your business? Let’s first talk about what Pinterest IS and where it was derived from! Because we all know that behind a successful social media outlet, there is always that one person who thought of the idea and made it beyond successful!

Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, and hobbies. Users can browse other pinboards for images, “re-pin” images to their own pinboards, or “like” photos. The site was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp. It is managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and investors.

Development of Pinterest began in December 2009. Nine months after launch the website had 10,000 users….

I found a great list of the 10 Commandments of using Pinterest for business:

1. Plan for Thy Pinning Success:
Set up your account properly, prepare your blog for pinning, start integrating Pinterest share buttons with other social media platforms, research what your ideal client is pinning, set up initial pin boards and start PINNING!

2. Honour Thy Source:
Be copyright savvy – read the terms and conditions, click before re-pinning – check that your source is legitimate and add a watermark to preserve your pin integrity.

3. Thou shalt Pin Strategically:
Pin across a range of boards, if you sell products, create a price banner and add a dollar amount to your pin description, add weblinks to your description, time your pins – DONT PIN DUMP – space them out!

4. Thou shalt Remember to be Social:
Remember to comment and like other pins, tag other pinners by name, track repins from your site and say THANK YOU for repins!

5. Thou shalt Produce Visual Pinnable Content:
Choose great images for your blog, pin different image types, use image creation tools, keep it simple and create your own infographics.

6. Thou shalt Create as well as Curate:
Don’t just self promote – showcase the lifestyle behind your brand. Pin about your business and others in your niche, become a go-to-source for information, learn from other brands who pin successfully.

7. Promote thy Business Creatively:
Use a “call-to-action” in your pins, think outside the square, allow users to post on competition or promotion boards.

8. Thou shalt Consider Referral Traffic and SEO:
Set your profile and pins up to be noticed – add categories, keywords, captions and urls to your pins and your ABOUT profile, consider what content will bring users to your site and what content you want them to take away, entice users to stay on your site, pin original images and content from your website.

9. Take Advantage of thy Tools:
Use the PIN IT button on your browser, download the Pinterest mobile app, try the new management tools as they emerge.

And last but not least…

10. Research and Measure thy Pins:
Track recent activity for followers, likes, comments and repins, research pins, boards and brands that get results and check your Google Analytics for traffic from Pinterest.

There you have it! Now, how do you know that Pinterest is right for your business? Think about your target market and how they can connect with your brand. Chances are, like most businesses, any presence on these social media networks can benefit your company in some form. I hope you found this blog useful and if you were on the fence about using Pinterest, you have a clearer understanding of how it can help your business.

Have a great day!

Jenn

Jennifer Deuterman is the Marketing Manager for the Department of Parks and Recreation. She can be reached at 703.335.8872 x3143 or via email at j.deuterman@manassasparkva.gov

Community Matters is a blog created by the City of Manassas Park Department of Parks and Recreation. The blog features program updates, announcements of new services, special event notices, or information of general interest.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinterest