Chapter 4

Reviewing Pinterest

IN THIS CHAPTER

Bullet Understanding Pinterest

Bullet Creating boards, pinning pins, and growing your Pinterest community

Bullet Driving sales with Pinterest

What is it about Pinterest that’s so attractive? Is it the mouthwatering food images, the inspiring island-getaway shots, or the humorous jokes?

The answer is all of them. Pinterest is a social network that enables you to share content, but with a twist: You can’t see the text beyond the caption that the pinner adds when pinning the image to his or her board. Because Pinterest pulls only the images from blog posts and web articles, the site is very visually appealing. It’s not an eye-catching headline that pulls you in, but rather colors and creativity.

One complaint people have about the various social networks is that everyone is sharing the same things across all the networks. They’re making the same comments and sharing the same links and videos. Pinterest takes that sharing to a new level. It’s not the same old, same old. Instead of seeing nothing but links, you’re seeing vibrant, enticing images.

Pinterest is the perfect place to plan a vacation, redesign a kitchen, or landscape a backyard. By creating boards for all your interests, you’re also saving images you might want to refer to later.

In this chapter, you find out about Pinterest, why it’s so popular, and how you can use it to grow your online community and drive sales.

Understanding Pinterest

Pinterest is a social network based on images. Users upload photos (called pins) to create boards, or groups of images centered on a common theme. Members of the Pinterest community use Pinterest for different reasons. Some just like to share pretty photos or recipes, and others share images in hopes that those viewing the photos will click through and drive traffic to their blogs or website. Because it’s a visual site, it’s perfect for product-based retailers who are hoping to drive sales.

Pinterest is the perfect social network for clothing retailers, interior designers, foodies, landscapers, travel professionals, and members of any profession who can benefit from telling a story with an image. Although the U.S. user base is primarily female, men are also using Pinterest to share funny images, sports-related photos, gadgets, and the great outdoors. Knowing how the different demographics are using Pinterest is important, especially if you're reaching out to a global market.

Before you dive into the Pinterest deep end, be familiar with these common Pinterest terms:

Pin: An image or a video that you or someone else has uploaded to a board on Pinterest, such as the one shown in Figure 4-1, is a pin. When you enter a URL or upload an image to one of your boards, you’re pinning to that board.
Boards: Each time you add a pin, you assign it to a category of your creation called a board. In essence, you’re creating virtual pin boards. For instance, you can create a board named Funny and pin images that make you laugh, or you can make a board named Knitting Patterns to pin images from relevant how-to articles.
Pinner: Someone who uses Pinterest.
Repin: When you repin something, you add something pinned by someone else to one of your boards. (The Save button appears at the top of a pin when you hover your mouse pointer over that pin.)
Comment: You can discuss pins by commenting in the area on the right side the pin.

Screenshot of pins that helps the video to be uploaded to a board on Pinterest. — FIGURE 4-1: Each pin includes buttons for sharing or repining, and commenting.

Getting Started

Before launching your Pinterest account, take some time to see what a few brands are doing on Pinterest. Whole Foods Market is a great example of a business that effectively uses Pinterest. Its boards tell the story of who it is without being overly promotional.

To search for a specific brand on Pinterest, follow these steps:

In the Search box at the top of the page, type any company name (see Figure 4-2), and then press Enter.

As you type, a drop-down menu appears with suggestions and items with that brand’s name. You can choose the brand itself from the drop-down menu. Or you can choose one of the keyword options. If you do this, a results page appears, displaying every pin that uses that search term.

At the very top of the page, you see more keywords. Choose one if you want, or browse the pins to see whether one of those has what you’re looking for.
To the right side of the search box, use the All Pins drop-down list to focus your search:
- All Pins: Shows all pins that contain the search term. This is the page you land on by default.
- Your Pins: Shows pins you added to Pinterest that fall within the search term.
- Product Pins: Showcases products people can buy directly on Pinterest.
- People: Shows all users who have that search term in their username or profile description.
- Boards: Shows all boards that have a title that includes the search term.
  
  Figure 4-3 shows several keywords, as well as the five ways to sort your search results.
Click the Boards link to see the boards and the pins they contain.

Check out boards that have a good variety of pins and start thinking of ways your brand can incorporate pinning.

FIGURE 4-2: Type the name of the brand you’re searching for in Pinterest’s search engine.

Screenshot of the five ways to sort your search results. — FIGURE 4-3: The five ways to sort your search results.

Navigating Pinterest

You have to know your way around Pinterest so that you can pin like a pro. Whenever you log in, you see the most recent pins added to the boards you follow.

Your Pinterest home page is organized as follows:

Search box: At the top of the page is a Search box. Type a search term to open a page that lists pins associated with your search term.
Following: The images you see on your Pinterest page are from pinners whom you follow. For each pinner, you can follow specific boards or all the person's boards.
Plus sign (+) button: Click the plus sign (+) button, in the top right of your screen, to open a pop-up menu that you can use to add pins to your own boards. You can select the options Create Pin (to open the Upload an Image pop-up window, which you can use to locate an image file on your computer), Create a Carousel (which opens a window to add several images to display), or Create Ad (to promote a pin).

Setting up your Pinterest profile

As with any social network, first impressions are important. They're especially important if you’re using the social network as a marketing tool. Your Pinterest profile page is where pinners stop by to find out more about you. To get to this page, click your person icon in the top-right corner of any Pinterest page and select Settings from the drop-down menu. The profile page contains your profile image and a few words about you, links to drive traffic to your website and social networking accounts, and your boards.

Before you get started on filling in your profile, get to know the elements of the Pinterest profile page, as shown in Figure 4-4:

Profile image: The image you want to display that best represents your brand. Most brands use their logo or a photo of their product.
The profile itself: The profile page shows your business name, information about your business, your location, and a link to your website.

After you have a Pinterest profile, you can change it to a business account. Go to your profile settings to set this up. (See Figure 4-6 to locate settings icon).
Following: The people and boards you follow on Pinterest.
Profile Picture: Takes you to your profile.
Plus sign: You have the following choices — Create Pin, Create Carousel, and Create Ad/
Settings button: When you click the Settings button (…), you see a variety of options, including Account Settings, Ads Support, Help, Add Account, and Logout.
Notifications: The red Notifications button shows a number to tell you when people follow you or like your pins. (See Figure 4-5.) It also notifies you when someone has repinned your pins or added your pins to other boards.
Boards: All your boards appear on your profile page, and you can see how many boards you have at the top of your profile page.
Pins: Shows how many pins you have.
Followers: The number of people who follow your boards on Pinterest.

FIGURE 4-4: Your Pinterest profile page.

Screenshot of the Notifications button that is located at the top right of the page. — FIGURE 4-5: The Notifications button is located at the top right of the page.

Make sure your profile gives a positive impression to your Pinterest community, as well as any potential community members or customers, by filling in your profile information. Follow these steps to set up your profile page:

Click your name or the person icon at the top right of any Pinterest page.

Your profile page appears.
Click the … icon, as shown in Figure 4-6.
Under Account Basics, click Profile.
Fill in all pertinent information and upload your profile photo.
Click Save Settings.

FIGURE 4-6: Click the … icon to set up your profile page.

Getting on Board

Pinterest organizes users’ content in boards, which resemble a series of bulletin boards hanging on a wall. Each board has its own label, as shown in Figure 4-7.

Screenshot of pins that are organized into topics called boards. — FIGURE 4-7: Pins are organized into topics called boards.

Boards organize your pins into categories of your choosing. However, if you treat your Pinterest boards as mere categories, you end up with a bunch of random generic groupings. If you treat boards as a marketing tool for your product, brand, or business, you can create content that people want to follow, encouraging them to find out more about what your brand is all about.

Basic boards can accomplish any number of goals, such as the following:

Show steps in a process. For example, create a craft project and visually list the instructions.
Reflect different elements of planning. Highlight party or wedding planning; kitchen and bath renovations; or food, drink, table settings, and theme ideas.
Provide an industry overview. Pin the clothing styles, designers, and fabrics of the fashion world.
Show how something works. Point out all the moving parts of a vehicle and how they come together to make the vehicle go.
Offer a recipe. Provide pins illustrating the process of food preparation, from beginning to end.
Highlight your business departments. Include images from meetings or production facilities, as well as news items, awards, accolades, and online mentions.

Planning your initial boards

Before you start pinning, you want to have several boards in place. You’ll create new boards while you progress on Pinterest, but do plan the first few. Following are suggestions for your first boards:

History of your brand: Go back to where you began and show how things have changed throughout the years. Pin promotional material or product labels from prior years to show how they’ve evolved.
History of your products: Have your products received a makeover over the years? Has the packaging changed? Or maybe you have an archive of print ads spanning through the decades. Use these items to create historic boards. When viewers see how long your product has been around, it tells them you have a product and a name worthy of their trust.
Brand showcase: Entice people into buying by showing them how they can use your product or service. You can even pin unusual or uncommon uses. Additionally, community members love it when they’re highlighted on brand pages. Ask your community members to send photos of themselves using your product or service.
Who you are: A Pinterest board can make a great About page. Use it to highlight your team members, location, mission, and products or services.
Tips, how-to’s, and DIYs: Use your pins to teach. For example, if you’re a writer, give tips for creating headlines and hooks. If you're a carpenter, share tips for creating projects that don’t look homemade.
Gift ideas: Product-oriented brands can benefit from pinning gift ideas. Take it even further by pinning a series of gift boards.
Books: Recommend books that relate to your field. Lead a discussion in the comments section.

If you’re at a loss as to the types of boards you can create, go through your company’s archives, photo albums, and old files. You might find some literature from back in the day, memos and announcements, storyboards, and all kinds of inspiration.

Creating your first board

To create a board, follow these steps:

On your company profile page, click the Create Pin link

A pop-up window appears.

Choose the Choose a Board (Required) link.

A list appears of all your current boxes.
At the bottom of the list, click the red + sign that says Create Board.
Fill in the Name text box.

Choose a name that will describe what your board is about, but in a way that catches the eye so other pinners will want to learn more.
In the Description text box, enter a description of your board.

Add a brief paragraph or two describing your board and what makes it so unique.
If you want to keep your board a secret, click the Keep It Secret option so that it displays Yes.

This option is set to No by default. If you’re using Pinterest as a marketing tool, you most likely don’t want yours to be a secret board that no one can see. However, if you’re using Pinterest for research or to plan an event and don’t want the world to know, you can select this option to make a secret board.
If you want to add collaborators (pinners to contribute pins) to your board:
1. Click the + sign next to your profile when you’re on the page for that particular board.
2. Add the collaborator's name and email address, or invite a person from your contacts.
If you want to be the only pinner, don’t change a thing.
Repeat Step 6 to invite more people.

A collaborative board is a wonderful way to find out how others see your brand or niche and to get people excited about what you do.
Click the Create button.

You arrive at your newly created, and sadly empty, board. Go add some pins!

Pinning on Pinterest

Pinning can be addictive. Many pinners admit to spending hours pinning and finding items to like and repin. From a brand perspective, it may not look or feel like marketing because you’re not doing, say, creating eye-catching headlines. (You will need a way with words for your descriptions, however.) But instead of those attention-grabbing headlines, you’re using images and videos to capture the attention of the Pinterest community. That’s why your content has to be appealing and colorful, and it needs to make folks want to learn more.

Pinning an image

Pinterest is a huge traffic driver. Funny and vivid images can capture the attention of thousands of people. To start, go ahead and pin something.

To pin an image from a blog or website (which, by the way, also links back to the blog), follow these steps:

To pin something, click the Create a Pin button at top of the page.

A dialog box appears, containing a text box where you can enter a URL.
Enter the URL of the item you want to pin, and then click Next.

Pinterest automatically pulls images from the website and displays them in the Choose a Pin page that appears.
Click the arrow to cycle through the images to choose the one you want to pin.

Make sure you select a photo that’s eye-catching and properly showcases what you’re trying to show.
Hover your mouse over the picture you want to pin and click the Save button that appears.

The Pick a Board dialog box opens.
In the Board drop-down list, and select the board you want to pin to.

Alternatively, you can create an appropriate board. See the section “Getting on Board,” earlier in this chapter, if you still need to create a board.
In the Description text box, add a description of up to 500 characters.
Click the Pin It button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Your pin now appears in the feed on your main page, as well as on the feeds of everyone who follows that particular board.

Some websites and blogs have blocked the capability to download or share their images because they don't want them reposted on Pinterest. If you come across a photo that has sharing disabled, seek permission before pinning the image. Don't violate a copyright.

Choosing what to pin

When you first start with Pinterest, it may be frustrating to wait for people to comment on your pins. It takes a while to grow a community and start receiving comments. Use the following tips to create the types of pins people feel inclined to comment on:

Appeal to emotion. Whether it’s laughing out loud or choking back tears, people talk about pins that inspire emotion. Before you pin something, ask yourself how you feel about it. If the answer is indifferent, consider finding something more thought-provoking.
Pin items your target audience can relate to. It’s important for you to stay on topic with your Pinterest community. For example, if you’re marketing to parent bloggers, your pins should reflect items of interest to parents. If you’re an automotive dealership, consider posting photos of cars or funny street signs. You want your community members to relate to you. If you go off topic, that only confuses people. If they’re relating to your pins, they’ll comment to tell you why.
Nothing is wrong with controversy from time to time. Don’t post negative pins, but don’t shy away from discussion-worthy topics simply because they’re hot topics.
Be different. There may be times when you look at your feeds and notice that everyone is repinning the same thing. It’s great for the original pinner if something goes viral, but after a while, seeing the same image over and over gets boring. Go against the grain and find something different. Search Pinterest for compelling and unique pins, or create unique content and share that.
Find out what people are responding to. Take a ride around Pinterest. Which types of pins are getting the most comments and why? Is it the type of pin? The types of friends? How is the pinner interacting? Take notes.

Pinning the right images

At first glance, Pinterest might seem like a random bunch of images. On a typical Pinterest feed, most users see dozens of photos, and many of the same pins are repinned over and over.

Being random and repetitive might be okay for personal users, but a brand must make sure its pins are well thought out. Keep these points in mind when selecting an image to pin:

Images shouldn’t conflict with the message you're trying to send. You want the viewer to be clear, not confused, about what you pin. For example, it wouldn't make sense for a ravioli manufacturer to post pictures of vehicles — unless they were delivery trucks or made out of ravioli.
Images should make people feel good or evoke emotion. You want people to see the images and react with a comment, a like, or a repin. Just like with Facebook posts or Twitter tweets, you want to know your Pinterest community is paying attention.
Images must be eye-catching, engaging, and unique. You want your content to stand out, and you have only a few seconds for your pin to catch someone's attention. If a viewer’s response isn’t positive and immediate, chances are your pin won't get a second look.
Images should support your goals. If you want to drive sales, create pins with sales in mind. Create a board of images showing happy people using your product or the result of using your service.

If you want to drive traffic to a particular website, create one board with pins that link to the site. If every board you create and every image you pin is a link to your blog or website, you'll lose followers — fast — because they want to view wonderful images without feeling like they’re being sold to all the time.

The rest of your boards should represent what you do without pushing sales or traffic.

Pinning the wrong images

You can come up with many ideas for what to pin, but there are plenty of types of pins you need to avoid. Because Pinterest is visual and pins appeal to emotions, pinning one of the following can lead to unfollows:

Out-of-focus photos: Images should be sharp and vivid.
Photos that have no rhyme, reason, or purpose: Although not every pin should be about your brand, if you have too many pins that are off topic, you might confuse your followers.
Repins that everyone is repinning: If you pin the same things everyone else is pinning, Pinterest users have no reason to follow you.
Rude and offensive photos: Be considerate of your community. Leave swearing and vulgarity out of it, lest folks get the wrong message about you and your brand. If you wouldn’t say something to a customer in person, don’t say it on Pinterest.
Constantly spamming with sales messages: Few people use Pinterest to receive sales messages. Avoid pitching to the Pinterest community. Instead, let your images be your pitch. If you’re known for making it all about the sale, no one will want to follow you.
Bait-and-switch images: Don’t mislead your followers. If you pin an image and it refers to an article called “10 Reasons to Paint Your Bedroom Purple,” that’s what people should see. Don’t reference one thing on Pinterest only to have users click through to something different, such as a sales page.

Whenever you repin someone else’s pin, make sure the pin is legitimate: Test the pin by clicking through to the website. There’s nothing worse than to repin something only to find out later that it’s one of those hated bait-and-switch pins.

Tagging

Tagging on Pinterest is similar to tagging on Facebook or Twitter. You tag people, or type their name so it links to their account, to call their attention to your pins. For example, you can tag someone if he’s in the photo you're pinning or if the topic is of interest to him. When you call someone's attention to your photos through tagging, she might be inclined to share your pins with her communities too.

Here’s how you tag someone on Pinterest: In the description area of the pin, put an @ symbol in front of the name of the person you want to tag. If that person is a friend (see the following section for a discussion of following people on Pinterest), a menu of pinners' names appears from which you can select. If that person isn't a friend, you can’t tag him.

When a person is tagged, she is notified that you’ve tagged her in a pin. Tagging is a great way to call a person’s attention to a particular pin. For example, suppose you have a client who loves Italian food. If you’re connected to him on Pinterest, you can let him know you posted a delicious recipe for him to consider. He’ll appreciate that you were thinking about him!

Following on Pinterest

What fun is it to create boards and share pins when there’s no one to share them with? To make friends, you have to first follow others. Following is similar to friending on Facebook. When you follow someone, you're choosing to have her boards and pins show up in your feed, which can help you find people you want to know more about and inspire others to follow you in return.

Determining the types of people you want to follow and want to have follow you requires some strategy. Although your goal is to reach a wide variety of people, you also want to target the people who will do the most good — those who will follow through with liking, commenting on, and repinning your content.

Following friends

Because you’re representing a brand, you definitely want to appeal to the people who already follow your brand on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. However, you don’t want to solely rely on your loyal existing online community to make up your Pinterest community. The reason you join any social network is to grow your community, and you can’t grow it by following (and being followed by) the same people on every platform.

Definitely announce on your blog, Twitter, Facebook and other social media services that you’ve started a Pinterest page. But to build up the number of pinners you follow and who follow you, also contact social-networking connections directly and let them know you want to connect on Pinterest.

Following folks you don’t know

After you exhaust all your known contacts, it’s time to branch out to make new friends to follow. To find new friends to whom you aren’t already connected, use the Search box located at the top of any of your Pinterest pages.

Before randomly following everyone who pins, make sure you share common interests and that your brand page fits the types of pins they post and the interests discussed in their personal profiles.

Also, before you begin following others, have some boards already created. This way, when people follow you in return, they have something to look at, as well.

If you’re worried about being overwhelmed by too many images in your feed, you don’t have to follow every board by a particular pinner. You have the option to follow only the boards that interest you.

Don't randomly follow people. Make a list of the types of people you want to follow and the keywords and phrases you can use to find them, including the search engine optimization terms you use for your website or other social-networking profiles. Search for existing customers so that they can continue to support you by sharing your pins.

Sharing on Pinterest

Many marketers who were skeptical about Pinterest now admit that it’s a great source for sharing information about brands, products, and services. With the right image and the right descriptive text, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Sharing other people’s pins

When you share another person’s pin in your feed, you repin it. Similar to a Facebook share or Twitter retweet, a repin tells the original pinner you liked what she posted so much, you also wanted to share.

To repin a pin that you like, follow these steps:

Hover your mouse pointer on the pin that you want to share, and click the red Save button that appears in the top left of the pin.

The Choose a Board window pops up with the pin on the left and board options on the right. The Description section automatically populates with what the original pinner wrote.
From the Boards drop-down list, select the board to which you want to repin the image.

You have the option to select a board you already have or create a board. As soon as you select a board, it will save your pin.
(Optional) Change the description.

If the description contains helpful information, such as the name of a particular food dish, leave it as-is.

Note: You can also click the pin, which takes you to the pinner’s page and to the pin itself. You can like the pin from there in the same manner. Click the pin image one more time to be taken to the original website where the image came from.

Using share buttons

Ultimately, you want others to share your content on Pinterest. The ideal situation is for other people to read your blog or view one of your photographs and pin it, inspiring dozens of repins. However, you have to make it easy to do so.

Most people who read content online won't share the same content if sharing isn’t made easy for them. Although it doesn’t take more than a few seconds to cut a link and paste it into the Pinterest Add function, it’s too much trouble for most. They want to be able to share at the click of a button and not have to leave their current page.

Share buttons enable the people who view your content to share it without visiting Pinterest. The user simply clicks the Pin It button, fills in the description, and chooses a board, and your content is pinned to his board. If you’re not logged in to Pinterest already, you’re taken to the login screen so you can do so first.

Here are a few features and plugins to look into:

Pin It: Available from Pinterest https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/save-pins-with-the-pinterest-browser-button, the Pin It button enables you to embed code on your blog or website so that others can pin your content. Pin It is available for WordPress blogs and even Flickr so that you can share your photos with others.
Pinterest Follow button: You can add this button to your blog or website. Grab the code at https://developers.pinterest.com/tools/widget-builder/?type=follow and paste the code where you feel it will do the most good. Most people like pasting the code into their right sidebars at eye level. Share buttons should never be difficult to find.
Sumo.me Image Sharer: This WordPress plugin, at https://sumo.com/app/image-sharer, enables the user to share visual content on Pinterest, Instagram, and elsewhere.

Driving Traffic with Pinterest

Did you know that Pinterest drives more traffic to individual blogs and websites than YouTube and LinkedIn combined? That’s a force to be reckoned with, and it’s why Pinterest, unlike some of the other emerging social networks, is something anyone marketing a brand needs to take seriously.

Here’s how the traffic flow works. If you’re following proper Pinterest etiquette, you’re sharing a good mix of content (which can be both images and video). Some of that content is from your own sources, such as your blog or website. The rest of your content is from other content, including repins and other people’s blog posts or videos. In fact, most of the items you pin shouldn’t be your own content. Unless an image is uploaded directly, most images are links from external sources. Most people who are marketing with Pinterest do so because they want pinners to click their links. However, it isn’t as simple as sharing a link and hoping people visit your website; you have to be strategic.

Consider the following when creating and sharing content on Pinterest:

Select images with Pinterest in mind. Your most important goal when creating pin-worthy content is to select an image that represents the article and entices others to click through to the originating site. Don’t go through the motions and select some random stock photo. Use colorful, thought-provoking, and awe-inspiring photos. Pinterest automatically gives image options when you’re preparing to pin something from a site, so take advantage of that opportunity to select the best pin! Photos that tell a story will inspire others to click to learn more.
Be descriptive. On Pinterest, brevity is essential. With that said, you should write a description worthy of the image. It’s not exactly a headline but, similar to a headline, you want to use the description to capture attention. Share one or two sentences describing the image but leave most of the details to the imagination.
Tag when possible. Tagging all your friends every time you post a pin is annoying. However, if a pin reminds you of someone or if you want to give credit to a particular pinner, do tag. The person being tagged, more often than not, will like or share your pin, and that helps get your brand on other people’s radars. Individual followers appreciate the shout-out and will be encouraged to share as well.
Give others the opportunity to pin your content. Use share buttons on your blog posts, articles, images, and videos so that others can share with their friends.
Use keywords and search terms. In your descriptions, use the words and phrases that people are searching for. People also search for images online, so optimize your photos for search to help others find them.
Grow your community. Keep finding new people to follow and interact with. While you grow your Pinterest community, you also grow traffic.
Be consistent. Pin on a regular basis. If people never see anything new from you, they have no reason to continue to follow your pins.
Get nichey. Cater to your niche. Appeal to the people who are most likely to use your products or services.
Use humor. People love to share funny pins, and humor is a great way to break up the themes of your regular pins now and again.
Pay attention to your board categories. Don’t be generic. Your boards should be as eye-catching as your images. Take special care with the names you use for your boards. Pinterest suggests names, but those are only suggestions. Don’t be afraid to change them. Be creative and imaginative, and explore how other brands are using boards.
Be strategic when arranging your boards. Don’t have a random mishmash of boards. Arrange them in an order that puts the most important boards first. If your goal is to sell, place the board with pins relating to your products or services first.

When sharing content and arranging boards, not every pin has to be your content or from you. You can use other people’s content on your boards and in your pins.

Being descriptive but brief

The descriptions you include with pins are just as important as the images. The words you use to describe an image, not the image itself, brings in search traffic.

If you’re a travel agent and are posting a photo taken in Bora Bora, for example, you should let the viewer know where the image was taken, but you also need to tell the viewer that you can arrange vacations there. Write a description such as, “This gorgeous vista is Bora Bora. Now doesn’t it make you want to plan your next tropical getaway there?” With this description, you appear in searches for Bora Bora, tropical, and getaway. Did you notice that the description doesn’t directly sell the vacation to the viewer, though? Drive traffic with your pin but avoid appearing too “selly” to the viewer. You want the viewer to come to you.

Pinterest doesn’t allow descriptions to break text into paragraphs, which means descriptions can become one long-winded block of text if you’re not careful. Make sure your message comes across in a few clear, concise sentences.

Finding the right words

Because you’re using Pinterest as a sales or marketing tool, you want to be visible to search engines. You also want to create a description so enticing that pinners click through to your website when you pin your own items.

What follows are a few best practices for creating the best descriptions for your pins:

Use search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is discussed a lot with regard to digital marketing because it’s so important to catch the attention of the search engines. By all means, use search terms in your pin descriptions, but don’t make it obvious. The terms you use should flow naturally. Think about what words people use, or words you want them to use, to land on your brand in Pinterest. Use those words or terms in a way that doesn’t look silly.
Use words that paint a picture. A description should, well, describe. If you pinned an image of a hen holding a flag, avoid stating the obvious. This is a hen holding a flag is descriptive but kind of boring. Calling the hen patriotic is less boring and describes the hen without insulting the intelligence of the reader.
Use words that stimulate discussion. Try to phrase sentences so they’re open ended. When you ask questions, request more information, or make a statement that leaves room for interpretation, you’re more likely to receive comments.
Use titles if they benefit you. If you’re pinning from a link to an article or a blog post, nothing is wrong with using the original title as your description. However, there’s also nothing wrong with not using the title and instead describing the image using words that benefit your brand and bring searchers to your board or pin.
Let your personality show. Don’t be afraid to be funny, perky, or anything else that helps you and your brand shine. Avoid bland, general terminology and Internet slang. Use words that show your personality instead.
Avoid negativity. Don’t use words that evoke negative images or connotations. Always go for a positive point of view. But be appropriate and authentic. If your business sells Goth items, for example, dark words might be expected by the audience.

Finding pinners to emulate

You can get help from the top pinners in your community to see which pins are receiving the most attention. Just type a search term at the top of any Pinterest window, and then select the pins that will best suit your needs. Each pin shows how many likes and repins it receives. If a pin is going viral — you see the pin more than once — look for the pin’s original source.

Using keywords

After you find the top pinners (discussed in the preceding section), read a sampling of their pins. Think about the descriptive words and phrases you would use to find them. Are they using the same keywords? For example, if a bedroom set has gone viral, read the description to note if it’s a girl’s bedroom set or a blue bedroom set. Those descriptive terms are keyword phrases. Consider the words and phrases people are using to find pins and use those words and phrases in your own pins.

What follows are some best practices when using keywords on Pinterest:

Keywords and phrases should sound natural. People don’t type information into search engines in the same way they speak. For example, they would type wet iPhone instead of How to dry a wet iPhone. When pinning, use phrases that sound natural. Pinterest is a visual platform, and the words should be as pleasing as the photos.
Avoid creating pins with keywords in mind. Write for the people, not the platform. Definitely use keywords in your pins, but don’t put up any old photo just because you want to use a keyword.
The keyword or phrase should match the pin. Don’t use a keyword unless it describes the pin. You’ll lose followers if you’re known to bait and switch.
Use keywords for board titles. Rather than using Pinterest-suggested titles for your boards, use your own titles that include keywords. This way, both boards and pins will appear in a search.

Building Your Pinterest Community

Even though you’re using Pinterest as a marketing tool, make no mistake: Building a community on any of the social networks is more about others than it is about you. Your Pinterest community is made up of people who share like-minded interests. They visit Pinterest for their own reasons. They may be pinning to promote books, learn about particular topics, or market their own businesses. They want you to be part of their communities, too. That’s why interaction and participation are so important.

A variety of people make up your Pinterest community. As with the other social networks, you follow and are followed by friends, co-workers, family, new friends whom you met online, and strangers. When you harness the power of your community, you’re turning online friends into loyal customers and creating word-of-mouth marketing.

Driving traffic isn’t about typing CLICK MY LINKS in big, bold letters. It’s about giving people a reason to want to learn more about you. Driving traffic is more about creating the right types of content and building your community than it is using a sales pitch. When you take on a warm tone over marketing speech, you have a better chance of winning them over.

Collaborating with group boards

A great way to connect with your community is to collaborate on boards. Pinterest lets pinners participate in group boards, where like-minded people add pins around a common theme. For example, crafters can contribute to a board featuring current projects, or LEGO enthusiasts can pin their latest creations.

Here are a few reasons pinners are collaborating:

Exposure: You’re marketing your brand, and others are doing the same. Having pins on a collaborative board means more exposure. Moreover, some of the pins you share will lead to your blogs and websites.
Community: If you consistently post intriguing pins, others will want to see more of your Pinterest pins and boards. Group boards are a terrific community-building tool.
Camaraderie: Some pinners just enjoy planning boards around a theme in the spirit of fun collaboration.

To create a group board, you essentially follow the steps to create a regular board. See the “Creating your first board” section, earlier in the chapter. After the group board is created, those who are invited to collaborate receive a notification and can begin pinning immediately.

Check your notifications — the number in the red box at the top of your screen indicates how many you have.

Here are some additional things to consider about group boards:

Invite people you trust. Be sure group pinners have your best interests at heart and won’t spam the boards.
Invite people who are knowledgeable about the topic. When you plan a board, choose people who know the subject matter. If you don’t, your board will be a mishmash of items instead of a visually, informative resource.
Establish clear guidelines. You want to establish some guidelines for pinning to your group board so there’s no inappropriate content. You can provide this information in an email before you invite pinners — in either a heads-up that an invite is on the way or, better, a request asking whether it’s okay to send the invite.
Stay on topic. If the board is meant to share the architecture of New York City and someone pins an image of the St. Louis’s Gateway Arch, you’ll probably want to alert the pinner to remove it unless it’s germane to the discussion.

Commenting on pins

You may think the fun is in the pinning, but that’s not it at all. The fun is in the conversation.

Don’t wait for people to make remarks on your pins to engage with your community. Go ahead and comment on other people’s pins. Do you have an opinion on a particular image? Tell the pinner how you feel! Does an image evoke emotion? Share that emotion with the person who pinned. Do you have questions or concerns? Share those, as well. Conversations ensue when others comment.

To comment, click the pin. That pin now fills your entire window. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you see your picture or logo. Right next to that is a Comment drop-down link. Because it’s white on white, the text box can get lost on the page; but if you remember that it’s next to your picture towards the bottom of the page, you’ll find it. Type your comment and press Enter.

Always be polite in your comments. Some people on the Internet are looking to start fights by posting rude and negative comments. Don’t give them the pleasure of knowing they’ve gotten under your skin by responding. Take the higher road.

Playing nice

Every social network has its own set of etiquette rules, and Pinterest is no exception. Most social networking etiquette is in place so you don’t annoy others, but most of it’s common sense and courtesy.

Keep in mind that etiquette isn’t made up of hard-and-fast rules; rather, it’s a series of best practices most pinners follow to keep Pinterest free of spammers, trolls, and people who make the experience more difficult by causing arguments. Here’s a list of Pinterest etiquette tips:

Give credit where credit is due. If you’re sharing another person's pin, always give a shout-out to the original source. For example, after uploading a pin and sharing it in your feed, type via @name at the bottom of your description.

When sharing online content, some photographers or websites want you to ask permission before posting their images on Pinterest. You may feel you're doing a third party a favor by linking to that party’s work, but because Pinterest pulls the image and you gave Pinterest permission to use your content, the original source may want compensation or recognition.

Be safe; follow the intellectual property rules laid out in the About Pinterest page. https://about.pinterest.com/en/copyright.
Fill out descriptions for all your pins. It’s not always easy to tell what the pin is about. For example, not everyone will know the name of a recipe or the location of an island scene. It’s a courtesy to your friends to let them know what you're pinning.
Avoid over-pinning. Pinning can get addictive. However, don’t flood your friends’ streams with dozens of photos at once. Pace yourself. If they see only your pins all the time, and everyone else’s pins are lost, your friends are going to stop following you.
Don’t spam. Mix up your pins so they provide a variety of content. For example, share other people's blog posts, web articles, and images (if you have permission). Don't make everything link back to your own website or sales page.
Keep your pin descriptions brief. If your description is filled with all the details that are in the pin’s original link, why would anyone click through to the pin’s site for more information? See the earlier “Driving Traffic with Pinterest” section for tips on writing a tantalizing pin description.

Most rules of etiquette are good common sense. If you think something you do might make others uncomfortable, it probably will. Also, take some time to test other people’s links before sharing to make sure they’re still active and lead to appropriate content.