words integral to your business to facilitate
searches for your Pinterest account.
Your business-related boards might
include compelling images tied to your products or services; photos or even video testimonials of happy customers; a logo or
coupons; pictures of employees, company
events and awards; and “infographics” about
corporate values and key statistics. Perhaps
you could invite your Pinterest followers to
create their own interactive boards where
they can discuss experiences with your firm.
“When I started, I pinned everything into
the ‘Interiors I Love’ board,” says interior decorator Semerjian. “Now I’m organizing better
and have separate boards—for instance, for
specific rooms and spaces, repurposing ideas,
food ideas and video reports I’ve done for
television.”
Small firms might revise their business
pinboards based on which ones draw the
most or fewest likes, repins, followers and
comments, all of which could offer insights
into customer preferences and ways to
improve your company.
Pin sins
Pinterest no-nos include pinning junky,
boring pictures and not posting enough of
your own graphics, says Nelson of Anduro
Marketing. Also, regularly groom your account, subtracting and adding photos.
Furthermore, steer clear of
offensive or controversial images,
says Manailescu. She and many others are especially careful about which
images they post because of a predominant Pinterest concern: copyright violations.
Adds McCaffery, “If you’re using
other people’s stuff, you want to make
sure to credit the original source.”
Practice and experiment It may take a while to learn how Pinterest best suits you and your com- pany. Fortunately, Pinterest is flexi- ble—and forgiving—enough to let you experiment. “I am absolutely convinced Pin- terest is here to stay,” says Sansevieri. “But I think you’ll see it morph in different ways that haven’t been con- ceived of yet.” C
Harvey Meyer, a freelancer from
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, writes for
a variety of national publications.