The first blog post in our Pinterest for Business Series, “Why Your Business Needs to Be on Pinterest,” discussed the two major reasons why Pinterest is beneficial for your business:
#1 It generates sales
#2 It drives traffic to your website
While our hope is that our first post inspired you to create an account for your business, you may be scratching your head as to what to do next. How should you brand your page? How do you gain a steady following? Which resources can help you create eye-catching pins? And most importantly, what is the secret to creating a successful Pinterest page for your business?
This post will answer those questions as we give you a step by step guide to getting started and constructing a successful Pinterest page.
Step 1: Brand your page
One of the advantages to creating a Pinterest page for your business is generating brand awareness. From your collection of boards to font choice, and even the kind of photos you choose to include, your page needs to be an extension of your business identity. It’s important to stay consistent with the look and feel to give your Pinterest audience the best impression of who you are as a company.
Create boards that are relevant to your target audience. For example, Home Depot’s Pinterest page includes boards that cover a variety of home improvement projects and do-it-yourself activities. It’s important to produce content that is relevant to your business and in line with the content your audience is looking for. Creating boards that include fall fashion trends and baking recipes would not be in Home Depot’s best interest because these topics are not suited to their target audience and do not align with their overall brand.
Using your brand’s standard fonts and colors is another important way of upholding your brand. The incorporation of these details allows your audience to easily associate your company with your page and pins.
Lastly, be sure to include your logo and mission statement. Use your logo as your profile picture and as a watermark on any of the original pins you create. This will help your audience identify which infographics or pictures are your original work. You’ll also want to include your mission statement in the “About You” section at the top of your page. This confirms what is most important to you and what your audience can expect from your page.
Step 2: Create the perfect pin
If the goal of your Pinterest page is to drive traffic to your website, there is no better way to do so than by creating your own pins. However, creating your own eye-catching infographics and images can get a little technical. It is important that your pins are beautiful and high quality to draw attention.
There are several inexpensive and free resources that can help you more efficiently create outstanding pins. Sites like Piktochart, Picmonkey, and Canva allow users to create custom infographics and add text to images transforming them into pinnable eye-candy.
Step 3: Generate a steady following
Generating a steady following comes down to two things: consistency and perceived value.
It’s important to pin on a daily basis. Not only does it give your audience a steady stream of fresh content, but it keeps your page in the forefront of their newsfeed. While many of us don’t have time to sit on Pinterest and re-pin images all day long, setting realistic, attainable, goals will help you stay consistent. Setting a goal to pin five things per day will add up to 35 pins to your boards per week which is plenty of content to keep you in the spotlight.
In the simplest of terms: the more you pin, the more people will see your pins, and the more likelihood they will follow you.
Generating a steady following also comes down to perceived value. It’s important that your audience sees you as an expert in your field and finds value in the content you produce. Someone is more likely to follow you if they believe what you share will benefit them.
Step 4: Track your analytics
One of the best benefits to creating a business Pinterest page is having access to detailed analytics. Paying attention to these numbers will provide insight on which pins are well liked by your audience, how much traffic is being driven to your website, and how many people you are reaching.
Knowing your numbers will enable you to reevaluate and reinvent your strategy and position you to be more successful on Pinterest in the long-run.
Do numbers tend to intimidate you a bit? No worries! Here’s a helpful video that provides you a beginners guide on how to navigate Pinterest analytics.
Step 5: Pay attention to trends
Staying on top of your followers’ ever-changing taste will help you create relevant content that stays true to current trends. I’ll use Home Depot’s Pinterest page as an example for this one as well. Their Chalkboard Paint board caters perfectly to this DIY craze as it offers their followers creative ideas and projects using chalkboard paint. Because Home Depot understands current trends in home projects, they’ve dedicated an entire board to satisfy their audience’s craving for this topic. Smart move.
Step 6: Take note of brands who’ve mastered the art of pinning
While it’s important to educate yourself on how to create and run a successful Pinterest page, you can further your understanding by looking at brands who have already mastered the platform.
From flawless branding to perfectly crafted pins, here are two companies whose Pinterest strategies have proven successful.
● Chobani
Chobani often receives praise because they create pinnable recipes that use their yogurt—a flawless integration of their product into their pins. Notice the board “Baked with Chobani” shows users how to recreate their beloved dishes using yogurt as a healthy alternative.
● Lauren Conrad
I wanted to give the team behind Lauren Conrad’s brand a shout-out for the design of their page. Notice how the signature pale pink is carried throughout most of their cover photos— this color is a staple of their brand identity and is featured beautifully.
Following these six steps will help you create an engaging and aesthetically pleasing Pinterest page that represents your brand well.
Curious as to why your business needs to be on Pinterest? Check out Part 1 of our Pinterest Business Series HERE.
So what are your thoughts? Are there any additional steps that you would include in our list? Do you have any questions about Pinterest?
