How to be Pinteresting as a B2B Company
Here at Trapit, we love social media. As a B2B company, we understand the struggle to be innovative and striking on platforms dominated by consumer brands. However, it’s not impossible to stand out, and we love to share our tips for maximizing impact on social sites. We have explored Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and recently gave you some pointers for tackling Instagram. Up next: Pinterest.
According to Mashable, Pinterest users have increased by more than 145% since the beginning of 2012. That’s a lot of users, so you don’t want to miss out on this audience. This post will give you some tips on how to use Pinterest, and then how to maxmize your results on this site.
How It Works
Okay, let’s start with some Pinterest basics.
1. Boards
On Pinterest, you create groups of related articles or images called boards, which you can share with others. When sharing boards, you can share full boards created by someone, or you can pick individual pieces of content and create your own board.
2. Liking and Repinning
You can “like” something so it will come up on your homepage. Or you can “repin” (a.k.a. “share”) the content right from the screen from which you are reading it. For instance, let’s say that you search for “content marketing.”
You’ll find a wide array of articles and infographics, and at the bottom of the post, you can choose to “like” or “repin” something.
If you click on an image or an article that someone already pinned, a new window will open, and from there, you can visit the original site on which the content is posted. Additionally, you can email or share the link to other social media platforms like Facebook.
3. Being Social
The third part of Pinterest is the social part. Like most other social media sites, you can connect with and follow people. You can comment on their content, begin conversations, all of the great things we love about social media.
Ideas for B2B Companies
Great! Now you have an idea about how to use Pinterest. So, how can it be helpful for a B2B company? Here are some ideas:
1. A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words
Pinterest reminds me of Instagram and Twitter rolled into one. It is very visually oriented with short descriptive text. So, imagery is vital.
We’ve talked before about thinking outside of the box when creating images for your company. It wouldn’t be a blog post without reminding you that “People buy from People.” So show off your offices, employees, and retreats- anything that gives your company a face.
For some tips on how to show the human side of your company, click here.
2. Organize, Don’t Agonize – As Nancy Pelosi Would Say
The cool thing about boards on Pinterest is that they inherently help you organize. They are based on themes, or related topics. You are already creating tons of great content for your business- whitepapers, blogs, infographics, eBooks, videos, customer testimonials, charts/graphs, etc. So, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel! Each of these types of content can be a board on Pinterest, creating an easily navigable resource for your audience.
For example, Marketo has an entire board dedicated to the company’s infographics:
Another way you could organize your content is based on theme, as opposed to kind of content. If you are focusing on content curation or social selling, for example, you can create boards that are related to these topics.
If you’re feeling like you don’t have enough content in one or more of your boards, you can keep them private until you can beef them up. Then, once they are ready, you can make them public for others to see.
3. Beefing Up Your Boards
If you follow the Trapit blog,you’ve heard us talk about the importance of balancing both original and third-party curated content. Best practices say that a ratio of 4:1:1 should be used (share 4 pieces of third party content, to every 1 soft selling original piece of content, to every 1 call-to-action).
The same idea applies to Pinterest. You can incorporate both original content and content that others have posted to create an amplified message about your brand. According to a Pinerly Study, a call-to-action pin description sees an 80% increase in engagement.
With Trapit, you can discover and pin other people’s content, as well as share your own – all from one platform:
We know that building trust is an important component for businesses when using social media. By curating content you can help show thought leadership, become an outstanding resource, and increase belief in your brand.
4. Keywords are Key
Boards are linked to keywords. When someone searches for a topic, all the boards that are connected to those keywords will pop up. Therefore, you need to make sure you take some time to ensure your boards will be found.
Be sure that you include the link to the original source when you are posting your content. The goal is to drive traffic back to your website, so you don’t want to forget to do this. Think of Pinterest as a springboard to bring people to your site, and hopefully your product.
5. Be Social
Pinterest is a social media platform. Therefore, you need to be social. It is important to engage with others on this venue. Comment on great content, repin things that are interesting, fuel your connections through activity and presence. Be certain you grow your followers, because like with all other social sites–or life in general–it is about networking.
By following these 5 tips, hopefully you can increase your B2B presence on Pinterest.We never want you to be afraid to engage on as many social media platforms as possible, so if you have any questions, let us know! We’d be happy to help.
Until next time,
-Maura
Looking to get started on Pinterest?
Check out Trapit’s Pinterest publishing capabilities by requesting a demo!