Marketing ideas

It's really important that when you use Pinterest that you try and 'think outside the box' and be as creative as possible in promoting your products and brand in a new way. The suggestions shown below are in no specific order. They are ideas that may help you generate some new ways of 'pinning'.. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. You may have many more ideas of your own once you get started.

1. Give your customers ideas on how to use your products

By doing this you will give your customers new ideas, which will provide them with more incentives to buy from you, as shown by Etsy below

2. Create a pin board featuring specific visual content

Okay you know that Pinterest is a visual social network but why not create a board that highlights some of your best visual content.

3. Pin ebooks or book covers.

If you have an ebook you have generated. Why not pin it to one of your boards? It's important that you showcase anything that helps to show that you are an 'industry expert'. The example below is an e-booklet I have written and just posted it in to pinterest

4. Create a board showcasing satisfied customers

If possible encourage satisfied customers to send in photographs of themsevles (smiling of course) using your product or service.

5. Create an archive board

This might be about how your company started, it might show a visual history of products that have changed over a number of years.

6. Involve your customers or fans

General Electric have a board in which they post photographs taken by fans during a #GEInspiredMe campaign. This is such a great idea to feature user-generated content and gaining leverage.

7. Create a user-generated pinboard

You may be able to feature a board that is dedicated to some of your top customers . The idea is to show how your product or service has impacted on them, This is a good way to generate some customer testemonials

You can also ask people to post their own ideas on a particular topic. This will really encourage engagement. This is illustrated in the example below where customers are asked to include their own photos of recipes from their cookbooks. This is from Quail Ridge Press.

8. Use visual content you already have

You could showcase photographs that show off the company's culture. You could create a board that shows some of the key people of the company and even include a little bio for each person.

9. Use strong visuals from your blogs

There has been a lot of research about the importance of having visuals in your blogs so hopefully you will have access to some good ones. Pin images that showcase your written content. Of course they will be linked back to your site and hopefully some of your followers will repin them to their own boards.

10. Run a contest

It;s important that you don't infringe Pinterest rules on running a contest so check these out before you start, but it is a fun way of engaging your customers. You can ask them to send a link to your board so you can evaluate them. Obviously this technique wants to be used with care. It would be awful to suddenly find yourself inundated with so much information you couldn't cope,. If you search contests you can find all sorts of ideas.

11. Promote competitions

You may have a competition that is run on your site and you can post pins to it as Country Magazine do on a regular basis on their board 'Win This'

12. Use Infographics & Data Charts

Infographics are very popular on Pinterest. You may have access to industry data that would be of interest to your followers. If you're good with Excel you can easily create a data chart and pin it with a good healine and description so people know exactly what they are looking at.

13. Create mixed boards

There are opportunities to earn income through affiliate links on Pinterest. Steer away from just creating boards with links only.

14. Stand out as an industry/sector expert

The aim is to be come the 'go-to account for pins related to certain subjects. There are many opportunities to still be the first to do something. Be innovative.

15. Remember to engage

• Respond to comments
• Post your own comments
• Repin other people's pins
• Like other people's pins
• Send your pins to other social networks.