in: Pinterest
by: Sabina Hitchen
How do you use Pinterest? Perhaps you pin inspiration for future product collections to a board, or color schemes. Maybe you're an expert and share your blog posts and tips on one of your brand's online "bulletin boards". Most product-based businesses have boards created for their products that are categorized and easy to search and show off their latest creations. If you're a "higher level Pinterest user" you maybe finding success asking people to pin items or articles of yours in order to win contests (while raising visibility and buzz for your brand). Or perhaps you're like several entrepreneurs and small biz owners who seek out inspirational quotes and posters in the vast sea of motivational images that Pinterest provides. All of these are valid and strategic ways to make Pinterest work for you and business, and we applaud you for taking the time to engage people on this platform. After all, with over 70 million users, this social platform is one that cannot be ignored.
Today we're going to give you 4 more uses for Pinterest that are as simple as they are strategic. We're guessing they may be new to you and before you say "but I do not have the time to add one more task to my social media To Do list" know this: these strategies are going to save you time, make you work more efficient and give your brain a breather. Sound good? Read on...
Let Pinterest Remember Press Targets & Story Ideas:
Ever read an article and think "I would have been perfect for this story"? Perhaps you see a specific writer or blogger who covers products, services or experts in your niche and you want to get on their radar. Maybe you read something online that triggers a story idea you want to create for your own brand. These things happen to me on a regular basis, but emailing myself the story links or committing them to memory in order to "get to them later" is never a good strategy. Instead, I started a (private not public) Press Targets Pinterest board. On this secret board I pin articles, story ideas and the work of editors or bloggers that I'd like to pitch in the future. Doing this gives me a visual PR inspiration board of sorts and guarantees that none of my ideas or targets will be lost or fall through the cracks. Then, whenever I want to reach out to a new outlet or work on my PR campaign, I simply click on my board and BAM all of my ideas are laid out in front of me in a visually stimulating and easy to view layout!
Create a Virtual Press Page You Can Share & Update Easily
Press pages are a necessary way to show off your brand and get people excited about all of the outside sources who have "validated" you via their stories, articles and TV segments. They're great to share with other members of the press, potential sales accounts and your entire brand community. Sure, you can post these on your website, and you should, but I also suggest creating a Pinterest Press Page for your business. It's easy for people to access - heck you can even link to it in outreach emails - and it's easy (and free) for you to update at anytime. The cherry on top? Every time you add a new item to your Pinterest Press Page you're able to alert people to this new press via Twitter and Facebook, allowing you to create even more buzz about your buzz!
Create a Reel - a Must if You Want On-Air Segments
These days video content is becoming a more and more essential component of brand storytelling and that's why this next use of Pinterest is essential. It's a must if you're an expert and want to go on television to share tips and advice, but these days reels are becoming essential to more and more types of businesses and are always useful to have on hand. The difficulty with reels is that they're expensive and difficult to make, unless you're an iMovie or Final Cut Pro wizard. Pinterest to the rescue! Instead of paying $$$ or spending way too much of your precious time creating a reel, start pinning your video clips (from TV appearances, YouTube videos and anything other video you've created that's brand-centric) to your new Pinterest reel. This will allow you to keep your reel up-to-date while keeping your overhead low. By using Pinterest to create your reel you'll be able to put clips in your preferred order and you'll also be able to describe each video that you're posting, which gives those who need it a chance to get the background information they need about each clip before watching it.
Motivation Board: Post What Moves You, Access When Needed
This post wouldn't be complete without a side of motivation and "holistic business". In order to keep going as business owners and entrepreneurs we often need to dip into our perseverance reserves, and I for one use Pinterest for this on a nearly daily basis. Years ago I created a "Motivation Central (secret/private) board on which I pin everything from quotes that I love to images and stories about other entrepreneurs that inspire me. Whenever I need a boost or pick me up I simply click on these boards and I find that extra bit of energy and that "I can do it" feeling I need to keep on going. Make it private if you want to keep it to yourself, or leave it public and share the love, the "how" isn't what's important, but doing it is. Never underestimate the power of a great motivation board!
