Pinterest is now the third most-popular social network in the U.S., and the best part about Pinterest is that it is an image driven site, and people love browsing image after image. And if your business is a product based one, you’re a great fit for Pinterest.
If you have a service business, you can still leverage Pinterest, but it will probably be through other means such as producing viral image rich content. If you can get other people to share and repin your images, then you’ll create a boom in traffic to your site.
Here are 9 tips on how to help you do just that:
Tactic #1: Craft a message on your images
As a blogger you will put a lot of emphasis on writing great content and optimizing it for the search engines, but not so much on the optimization of the images you include.
However, if you use the right image, you’ll get your post pinned.
In fact, the image may be the difference between drawing in more traffic and not seeing any traffic. And if you want to increase the power of that image put a clear message on it.
Here’s a message on the blog post title from Complex Style that will drive click throughs:
G Adventures, which is a travel tour company uses this strategy well, too. For example, promoting their Europe trips they show you that it’s not just about touring cathedrals:
The secret is to use bold, simple text. Here are some image editors you can use to add text to any image (and they’re free!):
- Pixlr – You can create new images from scratch or edit one from the web or from your computer.
- FotoFlexer – Lots of visual effects with this free image editor, but the advanced features are harder to use.
- Gimp 2.6 – A really powerful image editor, but very complex.
Tactic #2: Create a daily theme board
An organization that has taken the text-based image into over drive is Sevenly.
Sevenly raises money and awareness for charities around the world and one of the boards they’ve created is the Daily Inspirational board. The description tells you the purpose of this board:
To date there are over 79 pins with inspirational text-based images like this one:
Notice three things about this image:
- Sevenly branded it with their URL so that even if someone doesn’t link back to them people still know the original source for the image.
- The text on the image doesn’t have to be long. If you can blend the right image with the right words, the picture will literally speak for itself!
- And then in the description they’ve encouraged you to repin it. That’s a great call to action!
Keep in mind that since this is a board that people know will be updated daily, they’ll keep coming back to check up on it.
Tactic #3: Format your photos right
Any time someone visits your site they should be able to pin them to Pinterest, which means your images need to be optimized for Pinterest.
A simple way to test to see if your site is optimized for Pinterest is to go to this page and replace your URL with “YourWebsite.com.”
This is how QuickSprout looks.
Or you could install the “Pin It” button to your browser, visit one of the pages on your site and pin it. This will show you how your image looks.
The more images you have on your page…the more pins you will get…as long as your images work on Pinterest.
Here are some great tips on optimizing images for Pinterest:
Tactic #4: Run contests and giveaways
An increase in traffic to your site can lead to more pins for images…and what better way to increase traffic but to throw a contest?
Contests are very popular on Pinterest. Just do a search for “giveaway” and you’ll get a ton of options:
As you can see that many people put the word “giveaway” in the description. You can up your chances by putting other keywords in the description like “contest” or “enter to win.”
In addition to that, include keywords related to your industry. For example, if you sell body lotion add “body lotion giveaway” in the description. If you sell karate lessons, add “enter to win karate lessons.”
This Etsy giveaway does a good job of including excellent text in the image:
Whenever you use a bold image for your giveaway you’ll surely generate more pins.
Tactic #5: Create a board around broad interests
Let’s say you sell custom-made iPhone cases. Instead of creating a board called “Cool iPhone Cases,” you can create one called “Cool Illustrations.”
This will open up your category so that you can share a lot more awesome images on it…including your iPhone illustrations.
Or if you make hand-made objects like Umbelas then you can create a board for iPhone cases:
If your product changes with the seasons, you can create boards for those…or if you sell sports gear, you can have boards for different sports.
Images rule on Pinterest and if you can share some pretty awesome stuff then people will repin it.
Tactic #6: Show people and animals
Some people will tell you that Pinterest isn’t for every brand…I’m not sure I would agree with that.
Look at a company like GE who sells light bulbs…they’ve got a super cool Pinterest account that helps consumers understand that they do a whole lot more than build light bulbs.
There badass machines board shows that they build trains, airplanes and huge turbines:
And the U.S. Central Command has really humanized their organization with boards like Interesting:
Or their military dogs board:
You have to remember that Pinterest is a social platform like Google+ or Facebook…and that means you have to be very human on it.
This means you have to leave comments but also that you post photos of people and animals in your pins.
Tactic #7: Follow the golden rule
Speaking of being social, make sure you take the time to repin other people’s stuff. If you are constantly pinning your own stuff, the less likely you are to get followers or get your own stuff pinned.
If you want to be repined…then you must repin.
And think outside of the box by creating boards that are dedicated to things not necessarily tied to your business.
For instance, even though I’m a marketing consultant and co-founder of two web analytics companies, I have boards on my Pinterest account dedicated to other stuff I like:
And just like on your blog or website, the more images you pin, the more chances you’ll get content shared.
Tactic #8: Use the Pin It button
If you want to encourage the sharing of images on your site then step one for you is to put the Pin It button on your site.
If you have products, then put the Pin It button beside them, too.
And do the same for your blog. (You can get the buttons here.)
Let people post your blogs to Pinterest. In addition, encourage people to follow you with the “Follow me on Pinterest” button.
And like I said above, if you use a clever message in your image, then you will have a higher chance of getting that image shared. And the more images on your site, the more pins you’ll get.
Tactic #9: Track what is being pinned from your site
No, you don’t need Google Analytics for this trick. All you need to do is put your web address in this link where it says “yourwebsite.com”:
pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com
If I look at the source for all my pins, then I see this:
I like to go through there on occasions and thank the people for sharing my pins. And then I can decide if I want to connect. Usually I’ll pick up a few followers, too.
This is a great strategy for keeping the conversation going on Pinterest and driving even more traffic to your site.
Conclusion
If you can invest the time, and your target demographic is female or you care about referrals, then Pinterest is a great inbound marketing lead generation tool.
Plus, when you can share beautiful images with compelling messages and you make it easy for others to share these images, then you’ll generate a lot of traffic from the boatload of pins and repins you’ll be getting!
What other tips are there for helping people generate more pins?
This amazing course will teach you, step by step, how to double if not triple your traffic over the next 30 days.
Awesome post Neil!
Pinterest is so very addictive that it gets tough to stay away from it at times. And I totally agree with all that you have mentioned, and this post surely needs to be pinned and shared with others too.
Thanks for sharing.
You are right, Harleena. Pinterest is so addicting everyday. With more people attracted to pinning more stuff everyday, it evolves into one of the best way to market and promote products and services. No doubt, this will become a new avenue for affiliate marketers to earn money with. And this is the beginning of the road to user’s abuse.
Yep, people cannot seem to stop pinning.
Thank you Harleena, I appreciate your support.
heard about this network but somehow never tried it. I think it was my big mistake. but still I can be in the game with the help of your post. thanks
Definitely, you should give it a try and see how you like it.
Hi Neil,
Thanks for the post…have never considered Pinterest as an option for social media but seems like it is only growing..beautiful post.
Nate
Thanks Nate,
You should look into it more, it is increasingly becoming a popular form of social media.
Awesome post, Neil! Need to pin this on my board about Pinterest
Thanks Andreea,
I appreciate the pin, glad you enjoyed the post!
Great post Neil – thanks. Totally agree with….
“And think outside of the box by creating boards that are dedicated to things not necessarily tied to your business.”
I try not to just pin stuff about business, and keep it personal and fun.
Cheers….Matt
Thank you Matt,
Yep, that is the way to go.
Nice post, as usual… I wish i had the time to implement all your tips and tricks… I’ll definitly ”pin” a task on the whiteboard so one of my traffic staff will do it for me !!! Implementation….. running a business is a never ending quest !
Thanks Neil
Can we see more exemple for a e-commerce site ? We have start working with a long range wifi manufacturer lately… http://www.illumi-nations.com and would like to find industrie specific success story in pinterest ?
Thanks for the request, I will look into writing something on that for a future post.
I don’t have a need to use Pinterest now, but it seems like a great way to get a lot of traffic to your site. I’ve read it’s great for female niches like cooking, clothing, etc too.
Amir
Indeed it is a great way to increase traffic.
Priceless thank you. Im on Pinterest slowly building a plan based on graphically presenting my business, but this confirms and enhances my plan, thank you
Awesome, keep at it. Let me know if you have any questions as you go.
Pinterest is the best for promoting business and its products as well as services graphically with the help of promoting images on it.
Yep, you have got it.
Nicely laid out information Neil.
Given that pinterest is still in growing stage, it is quite easy to draw some traffic from it.
Thanks Naveen, I agree.
Yeah how to use Pinterest for apps would be awesome.
Definitely.
it will be interested to see if the industry becomes at all segmented, i.e. male/female with the introduction of male oriented Pinterest-like sites. http://dudepins.com
Thanks for bringing this up, that will be interesting to see.
Wow, Neil, this one of the best posts on using Pinterest for biz, thank you so much! You have stimulated so many ideas that I must get them all written down and in some kind of format to expand. I have been using Pinterest cuz it is sooo much fun, addictive but fun! Now I can have fun And build my biz on Pinterest.
Thanks Kay, happy to hear this post has helped.
This is another milestone guide I love to follow and implement in promoting my site and other people’s online real estate. But I need to be cautious to avoid abusing this site to the detriment of all good users who only love to share the beauty and funny side of life.
Hopefully you will find a way to find a balance.
Best of luck.
Good Job Neil!
Pinterest is really a unique and promising site. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first but then I start seeing it all over the net so I became curious and started using it.
Thank you Maya,
I am glad you decided to give it a try.
Day by day, the demand of pinterest is increasing in most of the U.S. people. It is the good medium for the ecommerce business as well as for brand awareness also.
Yep, it is growing rapidly.
I ve been using pintrest for social integration for while but i learned more through neil patel thanks for it
That is great, happy to hear it.
Great tips Neil. Thanks!
No problem, happy to help.
Can’t wait to apply it on my boards. Thx, Neil!
Awesome, hope these tips help.
Nice timing with the article, Pinterest is just in the growing stage. Though I see large scope for it.
Thanks, I see it too.
Hi Neil,
Great Post, I have been doing a lot, and I mean a lot of Pinterest research recently and been so impressed with the results. It’s definitely worth taking the time to master it, the results are amazing.
Thanks
Dave
Thanks David,
I am glad you feel that way. Pinterest can be very beneficial if you take the time to learn how to utilize it.
In spite of all my thoughtful content creation at Pinterest, my most-repinned image was a casually-pinned infographic about coffee. I didn’t foresee it, but hundreds of repins later I realize it was inevitable. Infographic…coffee…unbeatable combination.
I hope the site I pinned it from got lots of high conversion traffic.
Cool, thanks for sharing your personal experience with it.
Hi Neil
First of all Salutation to the Master
You have nailed this one perfectly. For the last two months I have been doing a lot of Pinning, hoping to get tons of traffic, now I know the real deal. Cant wait to use all your techniques.
Thank you
Thanks Suyash, let me know how these tips work out for you.
Neil How do you get so much time to research all this data. I am addicted to internet but still not able to categorise and classify all that data. do you have any special software or a team of researcher? Thanks for this thoughtful article on pinterest. ~rakesh kumar
I take the data from research I do and personal use.
Lots of info and great insight given here. Must admit Pinterest is a fast growing site. Your post just made me register for my account at pinterest
Thank you, happy to hear you decide to give Pinterest a try. Let me know how you like it.
I’ve seen Pinterest around the web, but like other social media channels, I doubt its usefulness for b2b marketing. Does anyone have good examples of a company doing this?
Thanks for the content Neil!
Sure, thing, unfortunately I on’t have any examples to share with you. Sorry I couldn’t be of help.
Superb Tips Neil. Using pin button is very effective way to get more RePin. #9 is new for me. Would love to try this
Thanks.
Thanks Amit, happy to have shared something new with you.
It’s all good for the design community as pictures are all good for them. Referring traffic will be simple considering the points shown.
Anyhow you always keep bringing good things. Keep it up man.
Thanks.
Thank you Bobby, I appreciate it.
Amazing Post as always Neil
Can I ask something?
How do you manage to write such informative post while working on 2 startups? How do find the time?
Thanks Ankit,
I love to write and am a fast typer
. As for my businesses I have a co-founder and team that help run them.
These are really great rules. These rules inspired me first of all to get an account there on Pinterest. Then using your tips/strategies I am able to get almost 220+ followers for my board of the website. People who really like the pins are re-pinning it. This website I guess has same potential as of Twitter and is a great resource of traffic. Thanks for those strategies!
Awesome, happy to hear these tips have helped!
Great idea on #2 that Sevenly.org had, branding their pictures. I share a lot of pictures of my laser engraving work but doing that never occurred to me. I think a small logo is also in order. Thanks for the tips Neil.
Glad you liked it Alan, thanks for reading Quick Sprout.
I have experienced that Infographics work really well, thus they can be easily leveraged to get a viral marketing campaign up and working.
But some of the tips mentioned here are simply golden, could have never thought of them by myself.
Thanks.
Definitely, they do work well. Happy to be able to share some new and hopefully useful tips with you.
Before I comment on your article..
I must say.. WHAT AN IDEA…!!! Pinterest…
I think most of the successful internet entrepreneurs would have at least have had a though… “Why I didn’t get this idea before.’
Its so simple, but very powerful.. I heard Guy Kawasaki saying the same on CJ Live..
You have given some serious tips on how to use pinterest best.
Thanks for the yet another great article.
Yep, it is a smart concept and one that is increasingly catching on.
Pinterest have gained its name in the social media scene. Knowing how to maximize its potential and effectiveness is a must for social media marketers. Thanks for the very informative post!
That is correct, it is a good idea to utilize all social media and Pinterest is now growing into one of the big ones.
Oh My God
Great tips.
Damn I’ve been using pinterest the wrong way
Thanks Derek, I hope these tips help you use it to it’s fullest potential.
Pinterest sure is easy way to get lot of referring traffic but only if you have enough time anyways nice encouraging tips ..!
Thanks Racheel,
Pinterest can definitely be time consuming but worth trying out.
Those are very good tips on how to get many people to pin your products on Pinterest! I like the one at the top that tells you to put your website link on it, asking them to re-pin it ( call to action ) and also having a nice short message to help the photo speak for its self.
One word of warning: Pinterest is predominately used by women, so if your customer base is largely male – or you sell male focused products – your ROI may be fairly small.
Both of our eCommerce sites focus on primarily male audiences, and we’ve focused on other social media platforms instead. I’d be interested to know if there are male focused companies getting traction on the site….
Pinterest is easy way to get lot of referring traffic but it does take alot of time to make it work!
Great work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the net. Shame on Google for now not positioning this submit higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)
This is truly excellent and really educates me how to use Pinterest effectively and get ton of traffics. As I believe Pinterest is useful for both product-based and service-based business but for product based business it is like a boon. As you said Pinterest is image driven site and that is the thing I like the most. Also like the idea of Seventy.org. Really Pinterest is great platform for effectively organizing and sharing things and also great source of traffics. Thanks Neil for sharing this valuable tips.
This is an awesome post! As a travel blogger, I’ve been wondering the best ways to utilize Pinterest as I really wasn’t familiar with the platform, but this will help a lot. Thanks!
Pinterest is awesome when you have a product that is geared towards women in general i think. Not sure about how well men convert to sales through it.
I absolutely love pinterest but only as a social/personal site. My family all use it but I have to be honest, I don’t think of it as a business social site and in fact, it would be pretty depressing if businesses took over it with their corporate messages, etc.
Fine if you are a business but are pinning your personal interests and likes but just keep it to that.
Thanks for a great article Neil.
I am actually only now really starting to look at Pinterest as a viable tool due to being in the services business. However it has been on my radar for quite some time especially as you say for product businesses. So thank you for the guide.
Thank you Neil for this guid, I do not really use Pinterest as I should do!
Great guide, posting things that are funny and catchy can really get you a lot of views and a lot of traffic !!
Hi,
Pinterest is really great social networking its really help for our business and i totally agree with all that you have share, and this post surely needs to be pinned and shared with others too.
Thank you Neil.
I have key tip for marketers using Pinterest: be sure to backup your pins to protect them from hackers and accidents. Have you heard about all the people who have lost pins, even whole boards? Don’t let it be you! Pin4Ever can save a copy of all of your pins, boards, and likes on your computer. Don’t wait, because you can get a FREE backup of your whole Pinterest account at pin4ever.com today!
hey neil,
Great article again. i found all the tactics useful for me. i liked this post very much.
Thanks.
Matt
Oh,, I’v never tried this one but now as I see in your post I agree about this so I think I try for this I have trust in your tactics I understand the point so hope I do better in trieng this,,
Thanks for this post!,,,,,,,Happy,,,,
pinterest – where do i go to thank someone who repinned one of my images?
Thanks
Janice, you can just re-pin one of theirs. Reciprocity !
Brilliant guide, an extension of the marketer’s guide to pinterest. I’ll be using Pinterest on a weekly basis for my marketing efforts. Will be interesting to see what the results are like.
Like you recommended in the article, it is good to also be the original pinner of an image – you’ll get more followers that way as you profile is curated with the image everytime it is re-pinned.
Great stuff!
David, awesome points. I seem to already be a pro at Pinterest, keep up the great work.