How building product brands can leverage Pinterest to achieve goals

Pinterest is an opportunity for you to gain fans, educate customers

At the beginning of this year Renae introduced you to Pinterest as a way to build brand recognition, share ideas, research competition and make connections. But now that Pinterest has been popular for over a year (and has nearly 15 million users), I think it’s time to take another look, and see what you should be doing with Pinterest to showcase your brand, your people, and your products.

• Show your creativity. Pinterest is a great place to show how creative you can be. The use of infographics, videos, e-books, and humorous memes make it easier for people to consume information and more likely that they will share it. Considering 80% of pins are repins, this is essential to the success of your Pinterest efforts. GE does a great job of showing their creative side: http://pinterest.com/generalelectric/

• Create a “company newsroom” and post all press releases there. In addition, place videos, interviews, and other interesting company information there to ensure it’s easy to find and easy to share.

• Optimize your pins using SEO-friendly keywords. Because Pinterest is already established and has good SEO, adding the correct keywords will make it easier to find your brand on the web. Make sure you use the appropriate keywords in the title of your pinboard, in the description of each pin and add them as a hashtag. For help with this read this.

• Create a “company culture” board. Even in our B2B industry, people still buy from people they like and showing your company culture can set you apart from your competitor. Feature photos of employees, activities, tradeshows and more.

• Run a building products promotion. This can be used as a support tactic to a larger campaign or a separate social campaign to encourage social engagement. To check out some companies that have done this successfully, check out this case study.

• Create a “company history” board. Especially if you’re company is more established, these nostalgia-based photos can evoke an emotional response to your brand. Show pictures of old offices, products or employees.

Some other basic Pinterest tips:

• Optimize your Pinterest profile. Make sure your profile accurately and concisely describes what you do as this will help people find you. Ensure it includes keywords to make you more likely to show up in searches.
• Pay attention to Pinterest’s term and conditions.
• Do monthly reporting on your traffic and evaluate the leads you receive. This will help you prove ROI and determine whether Pinterest is an important part of your social strategy.

For more information on Pinterest, check out this overview.