Since we started our Pinterest account a few months back, we’ve been learning some things about Pinterest that we thought you’d like to know about. Whether you already have an account, are considering one, or you’re sitting there scratching your head going “what the heck is Pinterest?” this article is for you! 

Back when we first wrote about Pinterest for business, we talked about the basics like setting up an account, strategizing, planning, choosing your pins, and following key people. This time, we’re going to delve a little deeper into the finer points of maintaining your boards and participating in the Pinterest community. Just like with any other social media platform, Pinterest has some rules and best practices that we all need to follow if we’re going to keep it civilized amongst the 17 million users.

By knowing and taking the right steps, you can leverage Pinterest’s massive potential for referring folks to your business.

Use tools

Get the Pinterest app for mobile so you can participate wherever you are. There are lots of new management tools emerging too, so give those a whirl as they come up!  And don’t forget to put that “Pin It” button on your browser so you can share awesome things when you see them. You can use image creation tools such as Instagram to create your own “fresh” pins as well.

Be fresh!

Pinterest is a space buzzing with creative energy. Most pins are re-pins from someone else, so if you want to be noticed, create some new content by pinning your own original, “fresh” pins. You can do this by choosing great images for your blog and pinning them. You can also pin a variety of different things like photos, infographics, video, and text. That said, be careful about being self-promotional. You don’t always have to be trying to sell something on Pinterest.

However, when you ARE doing something promotional, don’t forget to include a call to action in your pin to invite people to act on what they see!  You might also want to put a little price banner at the corner of your pin if you’re pinning one of your products.

Be social!           

Simply pinning things isn’t going to get you very far. You’ve got to get in there and engage people by commenting on the pins of others and tagging other pinners by name. Don’t forget to acknowledge people for repining your stuff!  Just like you say “thank you” when someone re-tweets your tweet or shares your Facebook status, you have to acknowledge kind pinners too.

Follow, follow, follow!           

Remember to follow lots of people. These folks can be customers, but also what we call “taste makers.”  Tastemakers are the heavy hitters on Pinterest who pin all the livelong day and have scads of followers. Follow everyone, comment, like, re-pin, and when you’re done, do it some more!

Oh, and the SEO!           

Everyone is always talking about SEO because it’s really important that people notice your profile and pins! Otherwise, why are you pinning?  Be sure to add categories, keywords, interesting captions, #hashtags, and URLs to your pins. By all means, pin original pictures and content from your website, but carefully consider what content might entice Pinteresters the most. What do you want to bring them in with?

Don’t forget to track your ROI!

Google Analytics can help you track your traffic from Pinterest via referral sources and keyword searches. You can use that to see how people are reacting to your pins. You can also track your activity to count followers, likes, repins and comments. As always, use what you find to help guide your efforts.

Just like with any other social media platform, rocking it out on Pinterest involves some degree of trial and error. This whole thing is a learning process and it takes experimentation to learn what your particular audience is going to be into. Stick with it, follow these best practices, and you’ll be leveraging the potential of Pinterest in no time! Happy Pinning!