Make Money Blogging

When Pinterest was created, it happened to be the perfect social network for women. I can’t say for certain that it was designed originally for women in mind, but that’s just who it’s target market is for. Of course, after Pinterest went viral, everyone joined in and now the service has blown up.

My wife first joined Pinterest, and I joined suit immediately after. I was curious, but that’s all. I had no desire to actually use the social network because Facebook has been my thing ever since I stopped using MySpace. Just recently though, I decided to use it as a traffic tool. As with any social network, you must use it within it’s terms of service limits. If you go into marketing via a social network with spamming on your mind, you will only get yourself banned and probably hold a grudge.

What’s with Pinterest anyway?

Pinterest is a website where you can “pin” an image to your categorized board. That image links to a source where you found the image, and you can describe the image and/or link on your board. You and those in your network can also comment on pinned items.

Because this is still a young and fast growing social network, you can really benefit by joining in as soon as possible. As the social network grows, there are more people pinning things which makes it a much more saturated place like Facebook and Twitter.

How can I market my business with Pinterest?

It’s a social network. As with any social network, you need to be social for it to be beneficial for you. Don’t go in it with traffic and conversions on your mind. If you do, you will likely spam on accident which will be counter-productive. Instead, you need to actually take interest in what others are pinning. It shouldn’t be too hard. There are lots of things on there that may very well look interesting. Because it’s picture based, it’s easy to spot things you may want to check out and comment on.

You can also share your actual business links. For example, you can setup a board that says “my businesses” and place all of your links in there. Another board for your favorite places to vacation, or another for your favorite foods. That’s what I mean about “taking part” and not spamming. It’s ok to promote your own links, but just categorize them as such and don’t just promote your business. You wouldn’t just go onto Facebook and join a bunch of groups that you can post your link on would you?

Use comments like you would blog-hopping

Pinterest allows you to post comments on other people’s pins. As with blog marketing, if you go to other people’s content and comment, they will return the favor on yours. This results in other people finding your content and commenting as well as sharing if they find your pins interesting.

Commenting is one of the easiest and fastest ways to bring traffic to your boards. Use this technique immediately so you can start benefiting.

TAG – You’re it!

Tagging is something you are probably very familiar with if you use Facebook. When you want to notify someone that you are talking about them, such as in a post or a picture, you post their name. Pinterest ran with this feature and it works the same.

When you tag others (only if it’s relevant though), then you are likely to get their interest and “network” with them in a positive way. Just don’t abuse the tagging feature by naming people that have absolutely nothing to do with your pin. If you see someone really loves trains and you post a pin about trains, then you can tag them and get their interest. If you are selling luxury shoes and tag a bunch of men, then you are likely to be reported and even yelled at virtually by a bunch of dudes.

Titles make or break articles

If you are going to write a blog post, then you want to create a title that catches peoples’ attention. The same goes with pinning. Use a creative title that can possibly go viral.

Be descriptive in your title by mentioning what’s actually in it, but do it in a unique way. For example, the title of this article is “I Lost Pinterest“. That’s an eye catcher right there. You know automatically that it’s about Pinterest. The browser title also shows that it’s about Pinterest Marketing, and this is a marketing blog, so it all fits together.

As always, be creative and follow the rules. Pinterest can be a really big traffic source for you, and possibly get you some new business. You just have to join and take part.

Are you using Pinterest in your marketing campaigns?