The pinboard-style photo-sharing site Pinterest has been rapidly growing in popularity among users and businesses. At first glance, the site seems to be another social media site used to share photos of outfits, recipes and DIY ideas displayed on aesthetically-pleasing Pinboards, however according to research conducted by Shareaholic, Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined. So how can you take advantage of the whimsical Pinboards on your profile and start generating website traffic?

Here are a few tips for your business to get stared on Pinterest:
1. Set up a Pinterest Business account
Firstly you should consider opening up a business account on Pinterest or converting your current profile. Although it is not entirely necessary, it’s definitely recommended if you are planning on selling products via Pinterest. A Pinterest business page, similar to Facebook, will create a more professional and credible look for your profile.
2. Let your personality shine through
Your Pinterest profile should not be a replica of your website, instead it is a great place to let the personality of your brand shine through. Unlike traditional advertising, this social media platform is unique in that it allows your business name to get in front of people by others ‘repining’ your fun content. As well as showcasing your own work, you can use it to show more wide-ranging interests, such as a commitment to environmental issues, pictures of food you would like to try, places you would love to visit, or your customer’s pins.
3. Watermark your content
Adding a watermark to your images is a great way to make sure those who come across it know its origin. There are many tools out there to do this, it can be easily created in Photoshop or using Microsoft Word. Placement and size of the watermark is important. While putting your watermark over the entire photo will make it much more obvious who the owner is, it will make users less likely to share your image. For Pinterest it’s better to use a simple watermark in a corner, that way the quality of the image won’t be impacted and brand awareness will increase and direct traffic back to your website.
4. Provide Tutorials
Make use of your YouTube videos to get your message out there. Similar to images, YouTube videos can be pinned to boards so you can provide users with interesting and beneficial ‘How To’ videos. Pinterest allows for the video to be watched in its entirety from wherever it is sited by the user. Pinning videos creates a great opportunity to showcase your expertise.
5. Show off your current clients
One of the best ways to persuade potential clients or customers to do business with you is through highlighting the fantastic work you already have done. Not only is a board dedicated to current clients and projects an excellent way to brag, it also provides the opportunity to drive more traffic to your client’s websites.
6. Give a glimpse of behind the scenes
You can use Pinterest to show behind the scenes of your company with boards of your staff, location and industry, or other ways of using interesting images to shed led on what your business is about and offers. Service based businesses could benefit greatly from this and use it as a tool to drive sales.
7. Engage
If you want users to engage with you then it’s important you spend some time engaging within the Pinterest community yourself. By regularly liking, commenting and pinning, your chances of getting likes and comments from others as well as more followers are increased. Make sure you stay true to your brand and pin only what you feel is relevant and represents you business.
Need help with your social media management? BFJ Media, Brisbane Marketing Agency, can help prepare and manage on-going social media campaigns on any platform like Pinterest. Contact us for more information.