How To Use Pinterest To Give Your Start-up Business A Boost
When you start a new business, the biggest challenge is not the funding, or delivery, but rather getting people to hear about your start-up. You’re new, and nobody knows about you, and the internet is a huge place chock full of people just like you, clamoring for attention. So how do you ensure that you make the right contacts with people that matter? Well, social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter are the obvious solutions, but another awesome platform, that start-up businesses ten to overlook, is Pinterest.
If you have been living under a rock and don’t know what Pinterest is, let me enlighten you. Pinterest is a social photo sharing website that is styled like a pin-board. Users on Pinterest can create and manage theme based photo collection.
Businesses use Pinterest to create a pin-board for their brand of products or services, so as to generate a buzz among other users. However, the real test will be to gather viewers and followers for your boards. So, now that you’ve created a Pinterest account, how do you ensure that people actually see what you are posting? I’m going to share six really simple tricks with you, to use Pinterest to generate publicity for your start up business.
1. Do NOT create too many boards
While it is tempting to create as many boards as you can, to showcase the interesting topics you can think of, it is much more prudent to stick to eight or less boards. Remember, first time visitor will be overwhelmed if they see a screen full of boards, or have to scroll down to see all of your boards. A limited number of boards give the impression that you are actually passionate about the topics you post about, and aren’t just pinning for the heck of it. If a visitor can see all of your boards at one glance, they have a better chance of taking a liking to most of them and following them.
2. Follow one single board for each person at a time
If a fellow pinner likes your board, or repins something you’ve pinned, or follows you, visit their profile and follow one, and just one, of their boards. They will immediately be notified by email, and even if they don’t visit or follow immediately, they are bound to do so eventually, as you keep liking and commenting on their posts. The reason I ask you to not follow more than one board per person is that you are going to follow a lot of people, and you don’t want to be inundated with mails every time a board is pinned upon.
3. Keep some boards to showcase your interests rather than your products
It is understandable that since you are trying to publicize your start up, you are going to devote some of your boards to your business and the products and services offered by you. However, be sure to have a few boards that solely reflect your interest and have nothing to do with your business. This gives a human face to your company and helps the viewer identify you for who you are. Moreover, it doesn’t feel like blatant advertising.
4. Have a board for repining
A repin is a post originally pinned by someone else, that you are pinning to your own board, while giving credit to the original pinner. Repinning is a great way to build connections over Pinterest, because whenever you repin, the original pinner is notified, and will probably be very happy with you for sharing. They might even start following you. However, be discerning about what you select, don’t just repin anything for the sake of luring new followers, as this might turn off your current followers.
5. Have a board for something that appeals to everybody
While some of your boards will certainly reflect your personal interests, such as reading or taxidermy, which may attract a niche group with similar tastes, be sure to have at least one board that caters to more popular demands, such as posts on food, or cute animals, or funny pictures. This makes your profile accessible to even those people who do not share your interests.
6. Time your pins
Normal people do not open their Pinterest account as soon as they reach their offices or otherwise start their day, they wait till at least mid-afternoon to do it. So time your pinnings accordingly, such that people can see them all fresh and ready just as soon as they start goofing off from work.
