In light of the clear opportunities that Pinterest presents to brands and businesses, Antler Agency has put together a guide to get you started and to showcase some of the brands that are using Pinterest most effectively to date.

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Guide
Presented by

2. W HAT IS IT ?
Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site that lets users
organize and share things they find on the web.
Users can “pin” images and videos around any topic,
browse other users’ collections and interact with this
content either by liking, commenting or repinning it to
their own profile.
What is it?

3. WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
Pinterest is a community based around interests rather
than users’ social networks.
Your Facebook friends may all be on Pinterest, but
you’re probably following only a few of their boards
based on what you’re genuinely interested in.
Thus, Pinterest creates a natural environment for social
commerce because the content users see is directly
relevant to them.
What’s All the Fuss About?

4. WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
• Over 10 million registered users .
• Over 100+ brands are on Pinterest
Pinterest hit the 10 million unique monthly visits mark
faster than any other social network
Pinterest is generating more referral traffic than
Youtube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined
What’s All the Fuss About?

5. W HO’S USING IT ?
Infographic from Mashable.com

6. W HO’S USING IT ?
Most of the early-adopters were retailers and media brands,
specifically in the following industries:
– Fashion
– Food
– Health/Fitness
– Home decorating/DIY
As the site rapidly expands, so does its brands. Now you can
find plenty of nonprofits, museums, agencies, and even
colleges using Pinterest to engage their supporters and fans.
Who’s Using it?

7. W HO’S USING IT ?
Just a sampling of some of the hundreds of brands on Pinterest:
Brands on Pinterest

8. G ETTING STARTED
There are 3 different ways to create boards
Creating Boards

9. G ETTING STARTED
1. At Sign-up
When you create you account, Pinterest suggests some
default boards to create. Opt out of these to create more
unique, personalized boards.
Creating Boards

10. G ETTING STARTED
2. Add a board
Use the “Add +” button in
the upper right navigation
to add a new board. All
you need is a fitting (and
ideally, clever) board
name and category.
Creating Boards

11. G ETTING STARTED
3. When pinning
If you find a pin you
like, but don’t have an
appropriate board for
it, you can create a
new board before you
pin. Use the pull down
list to scroll through all
your existing boards,
and enter a new board
name at the bottom
where it says “Create
New Board.”
Creating Boards

12. G ETTING STARTED
You can create as many boards as you like, around any topic you
like. While variety is the spice of life, we recommend creating more
in-depth boards around a niche topic for maximum engagement,
rather than a broadly categorized board.
For example, think “Ferocious Fall Flats” and “Leather
Accessories” instead of “Style” or “Fashion”.
Creating Boards

13. G ETTING STARTED
There are 3 different ways to pin content to your boards
How To Pin

14. G ETTING STARTED
1. Upload directly through the
site.
Click “Add +” in the top right
navigation. From here you
can enter an image url,
upload a picture or video
from your documents, or
create a new board.
How To Pin

15. G ETTING STARTED
2. Use the “Pin It”
bookmarklet.
Just drag and drop the “Pin It”
button into your bookmarks
bar to pin things straight
from the web-- clicking it
will pull any images and
videos on the page to
select.
Once you select an image, all
you need to do is assign it
to a board and type in a
short description. Use the #
sign to add tags.
How To Pin

16. G ETTING STARTED
3. Repin other users’ pins.
You can follow a user (and thus all of their
pinboards), or you can follow a single
board. You can also browse the Pinterest
universe by category. When you see
something you like, just hit “repin”
How To Pin

17. W AYS TO USE
Showcase Products
Pinterest is a perfect outlet to promote your products beyond your
own website.
Tip: Using a $ symbol in the description will show the price on
your pin and also enter it into Pinterest’ s “ Gifts” category. (You
may only want to do this if price is a selling point of your product.)
Showcase Products

18. W AYS TO USE
Bergdorf Goodman
integrates their products
with like-minded images
and related content for a
look that is seamless
and visually appealing.
Showcase Products

19. W AYS TO USE
Forever21 emphasizes
their purse-friendly
prices by including them
in the description.
Showcase Products

20. W AYS TO USE
Share Content
Similar to promoting products, Pinterest is also great for promoting
content. You should pin blog posts, articles, videos, even news
announcements -- just be sure that the image you pin along with it
is a strong visual, and try to keep descriptions succinct.
Share Content

21. W AYS TO USE
Real Simple Magazine does a great
job of describing their articles in just
a few words, and their images are
clear and easy to see.
Share Content

22. W AYS TO USE
Solidify Brand Identity
Even if your company lacks visually impactful products, you
shouldn’t be afraid to curate images that help convey your brand
personality. Select images that capture the essence behind your
brand philosophy or represent the lifestyle of your consumers.
For example, a camping equipment store might want to create a
board for beautiful camping grounds or easy meals on-the-go.
Solidify Brand Identity

23. W AYS TO USE
GE uses Pinterest to
show that they are
into “Badass
Machines” and quotes
of genius that inspire
their work.
Solidify Brand Identity

24. W AYS TO USE
Engage Consumers
Boost engagement with your brand’s audience by hosting a contest
that utilizes Pinterest’s unique functionality. Try asking fans to
create a custom board based around your brand, challenging users
to posts images of your products to see who can get the most
repins, or creating a scavenger hunt with multiple criteria.
ModCloth ran a great Pinterest contest using this last example,
asking fans to create a wedding-themed board with different
components.
Engage Consumers

25. W AYS TO USE
Only 4 out of the 20 items had to
be ModCloth products, which
was just enough to get
consumers engaged with their
products online without going
overboard.
Engage Consumers

26. W AYS TO USE
Add a Personal Touch
Pinterest is a great way to give consumers a glimpse “behind the
scene” of your brand and convey your company culture. Individuals
can have their own curated boards for the brand, like The TODAY
Show board, “LG and Hoda’s Favorite Things,” or you can pin
photos of company events or behind the scenes action.
Tip: Use the “ Add contributors” feature on some of your boards to
allow people to pin from their personal accounts if you’ d like to
spotlight employees.
Add a Personal Touch

27. W AYS TO USE
TODAY showcases
two of their biggest
personalities by giving
Kathy Lee Gifford and
Hoda their own board.
Add a Personal Touch

28. W AYS TO USE
This “Anchor Antics”
board shows a
lighthearted side to
the TODAY Show
family that makes
you wish you were
part of the fun.
Add a Personal Touch

29. W AYS TO USE
Collect User-Generated Content
If you have a loyal fan base, your brand content may already be on
Pinterest. Be sure to keep an eye on what your audience is pinning
from you. And don’t be bashful--you should show off user-
generated content by repinning or even creating a separate board
to showcase the creative ways pinners are interacting with your
content.
Tip: You can search your brand and product names with hashtags
or search for your web url as a source.
Collect User-Generated Content

30. W AYS TO USE
This “Style Your Sole”
board shows the
passion TOMS fans
have for their shoes--
notice that they are all
pinned from outside
sources.
Collect User-Generated Content

31. W AYS TO USE
Learn About Your Consumers
Pinterest offers an opportunity to recognize unexpected contexts in
which people are pinning your products. If your new line of urban
b-ball sneakers are being pinned amongst surfboards,
boardwalks, and casual Cali apparel, perhaps you could think
about marketing opportunities that reflect this consumer profile.
You can also be inspired by other items your consumers like. Check
out your followers boards and see what they are pinning - this
insight can be used to update your content strategy and maybe
prompt some partnerships with other popular brands.
Learn About Your Consumers

32. D O’S & DON’TS
DO:
• Comment and/or like other users’ pins. You want people to see your brand as an
active member in their online community, not as an outsider trying to make a
sale.
• Repin other pins. Repinning is one of the most social aspects of the site and it’s
an easy way to build your network of followers.
• Add a Pin button to your website. This is a good way for your fans to realize you
are using the site, and encourages people to pin your content themselves.
• Use keyword tags in your descriptions. This is a big one. Just like on Tumblr, a
good tag will lead people to your pins. Use as many as you want, but try not to
clutter the description.
• Connect to other social media profiles. Pinterest lets you link to both Facebook
and Twitter, which will show up as little widgets on your profile. You can also
enter in a website url, so be sure to get these bases covered.
• Optimize your website for pinning. Pinterest is a visual network, so be sure to
have great visuals! Remember that all images and videos get sized down, so
your pictures should look good both big and small.
Do’s & Don’ts

33. D O’S & DON’TS
DON’T:
• Pin things only from your site. Consumers want to see brands that show
interest in things other than themselves. Keep a balance between pinning
your content, content from other sites, and repinning others’ pins.
• Pin content that doesn’t really have a place on Pinterest. The community
has certain affinities – learn them, and find a side of your brand that
appeals to this to ensure success.
• Pin something without a description. It might be tempting to leave this field
blank, but even a simple, short description will help your content appear in
searches.
• Follow anyone and everyone. You want to follow boards and people that
make sense for your brand. Recognize the influencers in your industry and
be sure to follow them. Quality, not quantity.
• Create broad or basic boards. Your boards should be selective in subject
and cater to the unique aspects of your brand. Keep an eye out for over-
used board titles and be clever with yours to get people’s interest.
Do’s & Don’ts

34. T HE END
Looking for more on social media? Check out the Antler
Blog for the latest and greatest in digital marketing.
Want to learn how Antler can help your company make
the most out of Pinterest and other social media
channels? Give us a shout!
www.antleragency.com
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Thanks for listening!

35. S OURCES
• http://mashable
.com/2012/02/14/pinterest-daily-users-are-up-125-percent/
• http://www.readwriteweb.
com/archives/what_pinterest_is_doing_that_facebook_isnt.php
• http://mashable.com/2012/01/19/pinterest-brands/
• http://www.ignitesocialmedia.
com/social-networks/pinterest-demographic-data/
• http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/real-simple-pinterest-drives-traffic-fac
• http://www.fastcompany
.com/1816603/why-pinterest-is-so-addictive
• http://blog.hubspot
.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31428/How-to-Master-Pinterest-for-B2B-Marke
aspx
Sources