One of the things I emphasize to my members and clients is the importance of using technology to spread the word about your business. As you might imagine, we talk about a lot about social media. One thing I always encourage people to do is to systematize their social media outreach so they are not overwhelmed, and to use the tools where their customers actually are. Being in the environment where your existing customers interact makes it easier to serve them as you also attract new customers. One of the places where Indie Business Network members and clients love having fun is on Pinterest, and my team and I spent some time over the past few days prettying up our Pinterest boards.
Our members make it easy by producing thousands of incredible handmade products that we could pin to several of our boards. Here are a few a few Pinterest tips, illustrated by a few of our newest Pinterest boards.
Pinterest Tips and Boards
- Choose board names carefully. Think logically about choosing a name for your board. Once you choose a board name, you cannot change it without breaking links to the pins people have previously shared from that board. Make your board names short and catchy. Two of my favorites are Honey Bee Mine (for honey recipes and products made with honey) and Autumn Inspiration. Those board names are easy to remember and contain good key words (“honey,” “bee,” and “autumn”) to attract people searching for products and inspiration in those popular areas.
- Post and share colorful images. Text is still important for your online marketing, but increasingly, images are becoming more important, and Pinterest is one of the reasons why. No one wants to look at dark, dreary, boring images. Make your product photos POP online, and share other images that pop just as much. This will attract more people to your Pinterest boards and result in increased sharing of your content.
One of my favorite boards is our Featured Indies board where we feature our members. This board features lots of colors and smiling faces. A great illustration of the importance of big, colorful pictures is this pin with me and Jamyla Bennu of Oyin Handmade in Baltimore, Maryland. Look at all the color: my nail polish, the brightly colored shirts we are wearing, our different skin tones and Jamyla's product labels.
- Use the analytics. Pinterest has amazing analytics. You can tell which boards get the most views and which pins get the most shares. You can use this information to see how pins and boards perform over time. Once you start to see patterns, you can repeat those activities so you can grow your following and expand your sphere of influence to more prospective customers.
Currently, our analytics show that our Autumn Inspiration board is getting more than double the traffic of any other board. Surely part of this is due to the time of year. (I hope our Winter Winds board gets at least as much traffic in December!) It may also be due to the fact that I blogged two pins from the board in this post last week. (Yes, Pinterest is a more effective marketing tool when it is used along with a blog!) Try creating seasonal boards as a way to boost traffic and re-pins throughout each of the four seasons.
I'm heading to Asheville in a few hours so I can speak about social media at “Farm to Market: 21st Century Practices For The Modern Herbal Entrepreneur,” an event co-sponsored by the North Carolina Natural Products Association (where I am a board member) and the American Herbalists Guild.
Click here to register if you're in the area and like connecting with local producer entrepreneurs. If not, I hope you have a great weekend with our friends and family members, and and all of your fall markets and fairs.
Best and Success!
