As we covered last week, Facebook czar Mark Zuckerberg is the latest celeb to join inspiration board site Pinterest. Non-stop buzz notwithstanding, Pinterest certainly has its limitations. Primarily, the super visual site simply won’t work for companies that aren’t image-based or don’t have physical merchandise. Pinterest is all about sharing pictures of things you love with followers who love the same things. So this concept won’t really be of any use to, say, a headhunting agency or accounting firm. But Pinterest can work incredibly well with your company blog if you happen to be in a “ooh, look at that” type of industry.
Food, fashion, interior design and exotic locations are the topics Pinterest users like to pin the most of. Therefore, any catering company, jewelry designer, furniture maker, or travel agent with a blog should really consider hopping on the bandwagon. If you’re in one of the aforementioned industries and you do blog, chances are you have tons of photos of what you do and what you’re working on to give your customers and readers a taste of your genius. Sharing those pictures on Pinterest is a snap and literally takes seconds. Once the photos are shared, users interested in your images will start pinning them, too. But the Pinterest possibilities don’t stop there. Art galleries, graphic designers, cartoonists, landscapers, wedding planners, ceramicists and florists who blog should consider “pinning” as a way to gather more readers, as well.
Again, Pinterest isn’t going to work wonders for every blog. Image-friendly blogging platforms like Tumblr seem to work better on Pinterest than text-friendly sites like Blogger. Also, Pinterest, like all social media marketing channels, takes time. As one would do with blog creation, Pinterest boards should be carefully curated and planned out to really convey your brand’s message. And like other social networks, gaining followers takes time and engagement as well. Don’t expect one fabulous photo of one of your products to bring in thousands of blog readers and buyers without a little work.
So let’s hear from you, readers: Have you had any success with marketing on Pinterest or do you think the whole thing is just something bored, crafty housewives like to do over a glass of wine? Sound off below!
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