What is Pinterest?

"Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organising the things that inspire you".

Pinterest is a visual, virtual cork board that allows users to find and curate images and videos, and share, like and repin images linking to articles, blog posts and websites. It is the fastest growing social media site in history, and in January 2012 Pinterest drove more referral traffic than LinkedIn, Youtube and Google+ combined. We all know that a picture speaks a thousand words.

The visual aspect of the site is one reason why it has garnered interest from so many businesses. It is also a collaborative site, allowing you to link to other social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as well as links to your website or blog. Contrary to Twitter, where the life of a tweet is very short, a Pinterest pin lives on through search categories, allowing your content to be discovered over and over again.

Furthermore, Pinterest boards have been known to appear at the top of Google search results. Pinterest creates a fantastic business opportunity to attract leads and develop brand awareness. Pinterest is ideal for companies that sell products, but how can B2B businesses use Pinterest to promote, create interest and position itself well to business customers?

Pinterest for B2B

Given that Pinterest is all about visuals, find images that are in line with your company image. Use pictures that are related to your brand and highlight what inspires your company culture. Through taking a good look at the products and services that you offer, you should be able to come up with creative ways to promote your B2B business. An example could be photos from a company event, or photos of your team at work. Display your work culture as this humanises your company and creates relatable interest from followers. Explain your services using visuals that relate to your service. Another great way to share information visually is through the use of data charts and infographics. Infographics are all the rage right now!

If your company has published e-books, add attractive images and add it to Pinterest. Do the same with guides and white papers. Pinterest for B2B can also help with SEO, through highlighting keywords and links to your website or blog. If you don’t have a lot of visuals, Pinterest now has an Article Rich Pin, which allows users to include the article headline, story description, author and link, thus showcasing written content in a rich media-friendly way. “Pin now, read later”.

Pinterest has also recently launched an analytics tool for businesses. These analytics show how many people are pinning from your website, seeing your pins and clicking on your content. You can also view your most repinned and clicked on pins so you can tailor your content and add pins that will engage with your community. Maintain a social conversation with followers through repinning and commenting on their pins, thus creating and maintaining relationships with your followers, current customers and potential customers.