Pinterest for your brand?

Pinterest now boasts more than 70 million users and ranks fourth in social networking traffic. With stats like this, it’s safe to say Pinterest is here to stay.

But . . . I find would-be users have many questions about how to start a Pinterest account for their brand. “Should I create my own pin or use existing ones?” “What should I pin?” “How frequently should I pin?” “Who should I follow?”

Fear not. Here are 10 best practices you can use to make the most of Pinterest for your brand.

1. Link all your touchpoints. When creating an account, make sure to include your website, Facebook and Twitter handles and physical location(s) so your followers know where to find you.

2. Make facts visual. Always use high-quality photos that showcase your products or services—with as little copy as possible. Since the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text, consider converting complex ideas into infographics or digital posters.

3. Mix it up. Create a range of boards to communicate your brand’s voice, personality and mission. The more diverse your boards are, the broader your audiences will be.

4. Write short descriptions. One or two quick and amusing sentences should do it. Just make sure your descriptions are easily searchable and inspirational.

5. Include a source for each pin. When users click on a photo, they want to be directed to the original source of the information. Make sure you’re directing people to secure sites. Not to spam. And whenever possible, post pins that direct users back to your website to increase traffic.

6. Follow top pinners. There’s a reason why they’re at the top. Their pins are interesting and inspirational . . . and can set a good standard for you to follow.

7. Be an influencer. You can do this by creating your own pins . . . and posting original pins from blogs, websites, and sources that are relevant to your business.

8. Interact with your followers. Show support and collaboration with followers by re-pinning, liking, and commenting on their pins. Also, recognize followers when they pin something interesting. The big idea here: don’t focus only on your pins.

9. Pin often. It’s not enough to pin once-a-week or even once-a-day. In order to grow and maintain followers on Pinterest, you have to feed them content. By pinning at least several times a day, you’ll be able to have fresh “pins” show up in your followers’ feeds throughout the day . . . every day.

10. Brand your pins. Unlike posts on Facebook or tweets on Twitter, pins have a longer shelf life. A pin you post one month, can be re-pinned months later. For this reason, always brand your original pins with a logo, hashtag, URL, or watermark, so that your followers know your brand is the source of the pin….no matter how old it is.

So, go ahead. Pin away. Just stick to these best practices and you’ll maximize the power of Pinterest as a social media marketing outlet for your brand.

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