Pinterest is often overlooked as a reliable source of visibility and and option for driving traffic to your website. In this program we discussed inspiration, best practices, and outside of the box thinking for businesses who might not consider Pinterest as a marketing tool.

1. January 10, 2017
Julie Kittredge
Business Services Advisor
Arlington Heights Memorial Library

2. What is Pinterest? ?
 Social Media platform that was started in March 2010
 Serves as a visual bookmarking and link-sharing
platform
 Users “pin” photos from websites which link the viewer
back to the website where the photo was posted
 Users create boards to organize and share images
 Users can also upload images
 80% of users are females between 25-34 years old

4. Why Pinterest for Business?
 Attract new customers/different audience
 Provides added visibility
 Establish your expertise
 Educate customers
 Gain inspiration
 Drive traffic to your blog or website
 Learn from your competitors

5. Did you know?
 people bypass Google
and go directly to
Pinterest
 to search for products
and lifestyle topics
 content is curated by
actual users
 results tend to be high
quality

6. Personal Account vs. Business?
 You can convert an existing personal account to a
business account.
 Benefits of business accounts include insights and
analytics
 Number of unique users, repins, likes, views, etc.
 Additional resources such as “Pin it” buttons to install
on your website
 Your profile image should be consistent with other
social media platforms
 Always include your website and/or facebook page url
Check out “Steve”

7. Inspiration: Content Ideas
 Showcase your company
 Your work or services
 Share links to your products (etsy, e-commerce site)
 Share items that are interesting to your target market
 Curate images that reflect your branding
 Curate content related to your industry
 Educate your customer
 Example: Photographer might include a board of what to
wear, or ways to display images
 Create a referral board for local businesses, affiliates,
partners or organizations (networking)

8. Real Life Inspiration
 Artist – Katie Daisy
 Service based:
 Landscape design – backyard
bliss
 Interior designer – color
swatch ideas, styling,
lighting, collaborating w/
clients
 Retail - anthropologie
 Etsy shop – Studio Jewel
 Insurance Agent
 Life Coach
 Arlington Heights Library

9. Content “rules”
34%
33%
33%
What to share
1/3 Business
1/3 Industry
1/3 Personal

10. Inspiration: Secret Boards
 Collaborate with Co-workers
 event planning
 product launch
 Collaborate with a client
 Great for branding ideas
 Collect gift ideas for customers
Note: Secret boards can be converted to a
public board, but once public, it cannot be
changed.

11. Increase Your Followers
 Follow others on Pinterest
 Pin regularly = visibility
 Embed the “Pin it” or “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on
your website or blog
 Pin content from your blog to drive traffic back to it
 Pin content from your e-commerce shop
 Share a link to your social media (facebook, youtube)
 Share a link to an individual Pinterest pin or board on
social media
 Pinning great content will create a visual personality for
your business

12. Install the button
 Go to the Pinterest “Goodies”
 Install the pin-it button to your
bookmarks bar
 Allows you to pin from any
website
 Simplifies your ability to
curate content based on your
surfing habits.

13. Image details
 Image size and image quality does matter
 Cheat sheet for images sizing:
http://www.authormedia.com/the-pinterest-cheat-
sheet-to-image-sizes/
 Basically, a minimum of 735 pixels in width
 Beautiful images get repinned
 Vertical images post best & are mobile friendly

14. Additional assistance @AHML
www.ahml.info/business
 One on one appointments with Business Services
 Tutorials in the AHML Databases
 Gale Courses – Using Social Media in Business
 Lynda.com – Pinterest courses
 Treehouse – Social Media Strategy, How to Market Your
Business

15. Further Resources
 Book:
 Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with
Pinterest, by Beth Hayden
 Platform, by Michael Hyatt
 Best Practices for Brands Using Pinterest
 http://bryannagy.com/2012/05/13/best-practices-for-brands-using-
pinterest/
 Grow your blog with Pinterest
 http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/grow-your-blog-with-
pinterest/
 Pinterest tips for your business
 http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/pinterest-tips-for-your-
business/

16. Contact information
Julie Kittredge
Business Services Advisor
jkittredge@ahml.info
www.Ahml.info/business