While the novelty effect has faded, Pinterest has proven that it is much more than another fad. The multimedia-friendly social network is captivating the ladies with a delightful array of visual content and rapidly snagging the attention of success-craved businesses. This platform offers the ability to meet a wide range of business objectives, but like with most social tools, one of the first steps in the journey is building your audience. Not only are we about to share some marketing wisdom that will help you build your following on Pinterest, but measure the impact you're making with that audience.
Know Your Market
In order to build your audience on any platform, you need to know what your specific market wants. Do they mind videos, or do they strictly prefer to see photos? Are they looking for products, or do they want to see a more personal side of your brand? You can find out what your audience wants by doing your research beforehand and monitoring what competitors and potential customers are pinning on Pinterest.
Rub The Right Shoulders
This one trait is common across the vast social media landscape - follow a user, and there is a good chance they will follow you back. Pinterest is no different. But business have to be more selective in this process. While the exact criteria depends on a number of specific factors, your audience and objectives among them, it's always a good idea to follow the power movers in your niche. You also want to connect with users who have an engaged following of their own because it could mean more exposure for your brand should they follow you back and start pinning your stuff.
Pin Good Stuff
Speaking of pinning stuff, you need to make sure your content is compelling enough to share. Like the retweet function in the Twitterverse, the Pinterest repin button carries your content far beyond the borders of your own audience. Users lust high-quality material that taps into their emotions to a point where they want to connect and experience more. If content is king, then quality content is the almighty emperor with the power to put his highness in checkmate.
Pin What's Trending
Tapping into trending news and events has become a sound marketing practice. It works for traditional marketing tools, blogs, and even visual destinations the likes of Pinterest. Whether it's a recipe that received exposure on a talk show or the latest fashion trends, users often take to the site's search box to seek out the content everyone is talking about. If you pin this type of content to your boards, you can captivate that trend-seeking crowd enough to where they want to follow you. You can find out what's trending throughout the web by using tools such as Twitter, Google Trends, and your favorite search engine.
Promote Your Presence
Executing a marketing strategy on Pinterest doesn't mean you have to limit your efforts to its confinement. Tell your fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter to come join the party. Incorporate plugins like the "Pin It" button on your website to let visitors know you have an active presence on Pinterest.
A Measure Of Success
Pinterest took its marketing potential to all new heights when rolling out an analytics tool. Previously, marketers who wanted to measure their impact were forced to rely on third-party tools. The new analytics feature offers an intuitive dashboard that lets you measure pins and repins from your website, track the number of visitors Pinterest is sending to your website, determine reach, and keep up with your most clicked and repinned content.
Each of the aforementioned metrics can tell you how your content is resonating with your audience. Study them so you can understand that impact, then react to their message. For example, if you continuously see that content you curate from other sources is driving a high number of clicks or repins, it could mean that your audience appreciates your knack for interesting material, and may like to see something besides your own products.
Another way of measuring your success doesn't necessarily involve using Pinterest Analytics or any other conventional tracking tools. This method involves determining how the platform itself effects your overall marketing strategy. For instance, is it helping increase your fan base on Facebook? How's it impacting email subscriptions? What about sales? You may not notice immediately, but if you look in the right places, you will see that over time, Pinterest can weigh substantially into your marketing ROI.
With visual content being all the rage in the digital realm, it is more than safe to say that Pinterest is one of the most powerful social platforms on the scene. If your brand has a visual story to tell, then more than likely, you can benefit from this web property. Success goes beyond having a large following, so when you go to lay your foundation, make sure you have a plan for measuring your performance.