Sure, Pinterest works for clothing brands and other retailers—but what about auto parts companies, repair shops, or metal fabrication brands? Are there ways that visually oriented Pinterest can be useful to non-visually oriented brands? To help answer those questions, let’s take a look at four ways to use Pinterest, even when what you sell falls outside the lines of food, fashion, and photography:
Tip #1: Think Bigger: OK, so maybe posting photos of your products won’t work the way it would if you were a clothing brand or restaurant, but product photos are not the only content that performs well on Pinterest. Think outside the box—What about the ways your products are used, for example, or inspiring images that relate to what you sell? Look at the example of GE’s Pinterest activity: This brand posting about everything from cool kitchens to eye-catching images with Thomas Edison quotes. Perhaps you share gorgeous photos of places where metal fabrication is at work. Maybe you post photos of slick cars to engage car buffs. Whatever the case, thinking bigger about what you sell can be key to finding your Pinterest voice.
Tip #2: Try Infographics: “The likelihood for infographics to be shared on social networks and become viral is much higher than ordinary text content,” according to Jeff Bullas in his article at Healthcare Communication News. People like seeing facts and figures laid out in an attractive, visually oriented way—and not just facts and figures that are already fun to look at. Whether your company manufacturers plastic packaging or sells commercial cleaning equipment, an infographic about some part of your industry can be interesting.
Tip #3: Look for Inspiration: Not all industries will have companies already engaged on Pinterest, but if yours does, you have a ready resource for new ideas and strategies. Check out what your competitors are doing. Where are they drawing engagement? What boards are seeing no responses? Use this knowledge to inform your Pinterest efforts. Likewise, when you want to save ideas from competitors or elsewhere online, but you don’t want all your followers to see what you’re saving, take advantage of Pinterest’s secret boards feature. Create a board dubbed “inspiration” or “future marketing ideas,” and pin away.
4. Collaborate: One of the side benefits of Pinterest is collaboration. Share ideas with team members. Work together with your staff to find good ideas for an upcoming sales campaign or advertising strategy. Through shared boards on Pinterest, you may collaborate to populate boards, or through shared secret boards you may collaborate to privately gain inspiration.
Your Thoughts
Are you on Pinterest already? Why or why not? If you’ve been avoiding the hot social network because your brand doesn’t seem visual, how could trying the above tips change that concept? Why not put Pinterest to work for you today?