Pinterest, although a relative newcomer to the social media scene, has become increasingly important to social media marketing strategies as it rose to the position of third-largest social network. This pin board-style image-sharing network with around 30 million unique monthly visitors is a very different concept to social networks like Facebook or Google Plus, which means that brands have to develop unique strategies in order to make a success of their Pinterest presence.
Here are 5 tips for doing just that:
- Name your images for search engines.
Every image that you pin is discoverable by Google and other search engines, so having an image name that agrees with search engine best practises will increase its rankings and make it more discoverable. This means that before you pin, some SEO work and collaboration with the rest of your content marketing team is necessary.
- Put a lot of effort into your image description.
With this social network, descriptions matter a lot. Make sure that your descriptions contain popular keywords and your brand name so that they are as discoverable as possible. Don’t go overboard though – keep your description concise and to the point. The tone of this social network is very casual so also keep that in mind when crafting your description. At the moment you can even use Twitter hashtags in your descriptions that will make your posts easier to discover, although there are rumours that this may be stopped sometime in the future.
- Pin for longevity.
Pinterest is very different from other social networks in that the content is far less time-sensitive. Content can be re-pinned over a significant amount of time, so you want to make sure that your content has that sort of longevity. Seasonal relevance or event relevance is great and shouldn’t be ignored, but it should be balanced with content that can last for years.
- Quality images are essential – conversation is not.
While Facebook and Twitter users engage in conversation over time-sensitive content, Pinterest users tend to surf rapidly through content and pin images that immediately catch their eye for consumption at a later stage. Rather than trying to engage with people through conversation hooks, you need to concentrate on that first moment when you can visually catch their attention – making interesting, quality imagery essential.
- Drive traffic between social media platforms.
The best way to promote your Pinterest presence is to promote it on your website, through your blog and on established accounts on other social networks. You can introduce your new account to your current followers and even offer an incentive for them to share and link with you on Pinterest.
WSI is an Internet marketing company that specialises in social media marketing. To find out more, contact us today.