As a self-confessed Pinterest addict, I have got to know the platform from every angle approached. Pinterest is a niche platform, yes. There are some companies/pins/individuals that simply will not thrive on Pinterest but instead will look “dead” and undesirable. The highest percentage of the Pinterest demographic are women aged 25-40, that’s not to say no one else uses it but some industries will benefit from this platform a lot more than others. Most popular albums include Food, Weddings, DIY, Home and Fashion – but that already gives us quite a big market to work with. The most common mistake a company can make on Pinterest is brand promotion, which is quite possibly the quickest and easiest way to turn people off following you and pinning from your boards.

When Pinterest first launched, it did not allow brands to create pages on the platform at all, but we all found ways around it – slyly pinning attractive images from our company websites to drive back traffic and hope that those images spread far and wide across the community. But now, some companies think that by posting ANY images related to them will get them followers and repins. Eh, no. The whole point of Pinterest is to create aspirational and inspirational mood boards, not to spam feeds with bog standard photography.

Let’s take the interior and décor industry for example: pinning pixelated images from a website which were shot with not so great lighting or have of your company name plastered all over it in comic sans text is a big no-no. Pinning styled images of your products in a desirable setting (for example a brass stag head in the living room of a modern barn conversion) is a big Yes! It inspires. That clean cut oak dining table you can’t seem to sell? Place it in a setting of a modern garden during a picnic with beautiful green grass, cocktails in Kiln jars with striped straws, flowers in hanging vintage milk bottles and trust me – pinners will promote.

There is space for a little self promotion in the text box where you can tell people where the photos are from, include links back to the website which presumably will be yours, include the price, special offers or the address of the showroom / shop.

Using hashtags can help your pin get recognised in searches and picked up by more users who are searching for specific items.

Pinterest promotes a lifestyle, a personality, an idea and helps pinners bring it to real life: remember that and you will find your place within the community.

Rooster Digital offers clients’ advice and strategies on how to engage audience over social media platforms and keep them interacting with you. For information on how we can help your brand engage with social media, call us on 01962 841200 or email [email protected]