Brand Marketing with Pinterest

As bloggers and social media savvy brands, we know how crucial a digital strategy is. For most of us, Facebook and Twitter are part of that strategy. These social networks are the top most important marketing tools for any brand out there – it’s proven most people like and tweet more than they eat or work! But there is a way you can pin-point your digital strategy in an even more effective direction.

At a recent Travel Massive meet-up in Toronto, Pinterest Power Pinner Paula Coop McCrory presented an inspiring session on the marketing potential of Pinterest and why we, as travel bloggers, should incorporate this growing social sharing site into our digital strategy.

Paula started pinning as a one-time hobby. She is now a social media influencer with an impressive following of over 4 million fans and is one of the Top 30 Pinners on Pinterest. Paula took some time away from her busy schedule as a Social Media Consultant (and mom of three!) to give us her pro tips on using Pinterest for brands and showing us how to harness the power of this under-used marketing tool. Here are Paula’s tips on how to be a Power Pinner, grow your following, and up your brand.

Quality not Quantity

Remember when your mom told you not to judge a book by it’s cover? Well, scrap that. On Pinterest, image is everything and quality photos do get better results. It’s a visual medium and no one likes to see images that are grainy or blurry. Tempt people visually and you will grow your following.

What Should You Pin?

Travel, food, and fashion. These are the top 3 things people pin and the top 3 things consumers look for!  Pin any of these types of images and you should see a big leap in your following (and ROI).

When Should You Pin?

Like Facebook and Twitter, there is always an ideal time you should be active. Get online when your followers are online. On Pinterest, the best days to pin are Saturday and Sunday then Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Stagger don’t Cluster

Most people think it’s enough to drop in once or twice a week, pin a set of 20 or 30 pics all at once then skedadle, but you might want to re-think your strategy. It’s more effective when you can pop-up on other people’s feeds a couple of times per day throughout the week. The best way to grow a steady, loyal following is to stagger your pins, not cluster. Check in to Pinterest 3-4 times per day.

Interact

Yes, Pinterest is a visual medium but like any social networking site interaction is key.  Interact with other pinners, use hashtags, ask questions, and answer other pinners’ questions. Use it to “talk” to your followers.

Inform

Regardless of what kind of brand you are, use Pinterest to give people value – educate and inform. People naturally want to learn something new. When you pin, write something interesting in your description. If you’re a traveller, pin and “talk” about the how-to of travel.

Map It

Pinterest has a new feature called Place Pins. Brands should take advantage of this feature to pin destination-specific images and target niche audiences looking for specific things. It works with FourSquare so it can add addresses and phone numbers making it easy for consumers to find. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Link Juice

Make sure each and every pin directly links back to something – to your blog or to the brand you’re working with. Don’t pin unless you plan to link!

Schedule your Pins

With all the social networks we try to stay on top of, there is now a way to make Pinterest easier to manage by scheduling your pins in advance. Viral Woot is the best (and also free) social scheduler for Pinterest users.

Measure ROI

Did you just say ROI? YES! The digital world is still brand spanking new and marketers are increasingly trying to figure out how to get a return from social media. What you may not know is that if you sign up as a business account Pinterest will give you access to your analytics and click-through rates. This is key if you want to know which images are doing well (or not doing well). If you’re working with a brand you’ll see where your followers are from and where they are clicking. Right now, this service is free but Paula thinks it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a paid feature. If you already have a Pinterest account you can convert to a business account. Did you know you can also see who is re-pinning your images? Just type http://www.pinterest.com/source/www.[YourURL] into your browser and learn what people are pinning and where!

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One of the best take aways I personally had from this event is this:

Consumers don’t want to hear from brands anymore. They want to hear from real people – Paula McCrory

Lucky for us, bloggers are real people and Paula is proof social media can influence! Coming from a traditional media background myself, I’ve been saying for years – brands need to ditch traditional advertising and invest in online influencers if they want real ROI.

Thank you Paula for sharing your knowledge with us. You can connect with Paula on Twitter or, better yet follow her in action on Pinterest.

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Cristina is the co-organizer of Toronto Travel Massive. A TV journo turned blogger, she left traditional media for the digital world. She publishes the blog Chasing Travel and works as a PR and social media freelancer in Toronto.