Pinterest can be a creative tool used for any business!

1. January 19, 2014
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
 Additional statistics can be found here.

4. Why Pinterest for Business?
 Drive referral traffic to your website or blog
 Share content to attract new customers
 Another platform for visibility
 Establish your expertise in your industry
 Educate customers regarding your business or industry
 Gain inspiration for your own business
 Keep an eye on or 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
 powerful way for users to
discover things they might
not have expected to find

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
 Always include your website and/or facebook page url
 Your profile image should either be your headshot, your
logo, or an item that is representative of your products
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
 Create inspiration relating to your industry
 Create inspiration relating to educating 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
 Photographer – wall displays
 Artist – Katie Daisy
 Landscape design – backyard
bliss
 Retail - anthropologie
 Etsy shop – Studio Jewel
 Interior designer – color
swatch ideas, styling, lighting
 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
 Basically, a minimum of 735 pixels in width – height will
be adjusted based on the size of the image
 Beautiful images get repinned
 Vertical images post best.
 Mobile friendly
 Pixelated or too small to view = unprofessional
 Example – AHML book pins

14. Additional assistance @AHML
 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/