five Tips for Using Pinterest for Your Business

*editor’s note: dear handmade life is happy to welcome guest contributor andreea ayers. she’s an indie entrepreneurial powerhouse with a marketing degree and tons of first hand experience running her own business. if you missed her lectures at craftcation last year, don’t worry. she’ll be back for craftcation 2014. in the meantime you can read nicole’s post on marketing your products on a budget or her tips below for using pinterest for your business.

5 Tips for Using Pinterest for Your Business

by: andreea ayers

If you are not using Pinterest for your business yet, you might be missing out on a lot of potential traffic, sales and customers. Did you know that Pinterest now has over 70 million users and it’s the fastest growing social media network ever? There are many ways to use Pinterest for your business, but the most important opportunity it provides is to help you connect with your customers.

Here are five tips for using Pinterest to connect with your customers and grow your business

1. Introduce your brand

Welcome your followers into your creative workspace by sharing photos of your business’s day-to-day. Highlight team members, new products and new ideas to truly connect with your users and help them get to know you. Pictures, videos and descriptions of your creative process go a long way on Pinterest.

2. Link back to your website

While this tip may seem obvious, many Pinterest business users are missing out on the opportunities the site provides. Always link your pinned products back to your site so users can buy, or learn more about, what interests them without searching for it. Including product benefits, highlights and prices too can help users decide they want what you’re selling.

3. Ask for input

Pinterest offers amazing opportunities for crowd-sourcing by letting your customers tell you what they want to see. Ask your followers to pin their favorite item from your product selection or ask them to like your already pinned product photos. This will tell you what your most popular items are and help you develop new lines.

Another great way to connect with your followers and customers is to have them pin photos of themselves using your product. Remember to ask them to include a keyword to help you track the images they post and to re-pin them to their own boards.

4. Pinterest-only discounts

Periodically offer your Pinterest followers a special discount code they can use on your site to save on their purchases. This lets followers know you appreciate them and encourage new followers to visit your site to make their first purchase.

5. Offer inspiration

Pinterest is an amazing resource for sharing inspiration, and one of the ways you can do that is to post interesting photos to start a conversation. For example, if you sell surf products, you can invite your customers to pin photos of their favorite surf spot to spark a conversation. Once people start pinning and talking regularly, you’ll see more people visiting your pinboard to see what’s new.

There are so many ways to use Pinterest for your creative business and these are just a few. Share your favorites in the comments or let me know which of the ones above worked for you. And remember, have fun!

-andreea ayers

about andreea:

Andreea Ayers is a successful entrepreneur who has started and sold three companies over the last five years. Now, as the founder of www.launchgrowjoy.com, she helps creative entrepreneurs to hit a six-figure revenue stream within 18 months. And as the founder of www.SoapsToLiveBy.com she inspires others to think positively. Her area of expertise is guiding entrepreneurs who wish to launch a consumer product line through retail outlets and the media. A frequent contributor and guest author, Andreea has been featured in Yahoo! Small Business, Design Sponge, Entrepreneur.com, Independent Retailer and Gift Shop Magazine. She is also the author of Pinterest Advantage, a guide to using Pinterest for your business. Andreea is a mama of three and lives in Boulder, CO with her husband and kids.