Pinterest is a unique image sharing social site that took the social media world by storm with over 10 million users (mostly women) in 2011. It is also an online pin board where Nigerian professionals and businesses such as; hair stylists, architects, travel agents, bloggers, banks, medical doctors, restaurants, cooks, oil & gas, artists, designers, carpenters, arts and crafts peeps, jewelry designers, and even real estate agents can feature or share visual content like photography of food, clothes, motivational quotes, exotic places, furniture, infographics, animals, people, and behind the scenes in a corporate organization.
Below are examples of great branded accounts:
- Whole Foods – www.pinterest.com/wholefoods
- Perfect Hair – www.pinterest.com/perfecthairng
- Better Homes & Gardens – www.pinterest.com/bhg
- Caroline Wabara – www.pinterest.com/carolinewabara
One of the biggest advantages in which Nigerians must use Pinterest is because you or your readers can pin a photo from your website to the Pinterest boards, which links back to your website, which in turn drives massive amounts of traffic and potential customers to your website.
Therefore, it is worth taking a look at your website or blog and making sure that your content is “pin-able” by placing the Pinterest button widget or WordPress “pin it” plugin on your website or blog.
Now how can a Nigerian entrepreneur benefit from using Pinterest? Here are 22 creative ways in which Nigerians can market their brand on Pinterest to get more traffic:
- Create your Pinterest account at www.pinterest.com.
- Change the settings on your Pinterest account so that your pin boards show up on google search results.
- Create keyword-rich names for your pin boards, so that it shows on google search results.
- Use engaging and beautiful pictures on your website or blog
- Install “Pin It” Button plugin on your WordPress sites so that users can share your content on Pinterest.
- Make sure that your individual products or service images have the Pin It button to encourage users in pinning your company products or services to their boards (more traffic).
- Link Pinterest to your Facebook profile and your twitter profile in your settings so that your existing fans and followers can see your pins.
- Place the “Follow us on Pinterest Button” on your site, so your website visitors can easily connect with you on Pinterest and increase their engagement with your content.
- Start pinning, liking, repinning and commenting.
- Use @symbol to mention & tag your friends to your pinned images. This notifies them of your latest pins and increases engagement.
- Use Buffer to pin your images on autopilot.
- Pin your YouTube videos.
- Pin your slideshare presentations
- Pin your soundcloud audio podcasts.
- Hold a Contest such as photo/treasure hunts, wish lists (pin it to win it) so as to expand your reach, engage your audience and also gets them to your site, browsing your products, and linking to them!
- Feature your best customers on your pins to showcase customer purchases that exemplify their style or pin photos of products that go well together and that customer x recommends.
- Create pins for your events.
- Put a face to your brand by using Pinterest to showcase your style, what makes you different, what your brand stands for, and use it as an opportunity to highlight your employees too.
- Promote Your Blog Content on a board just like I do with all my favorite blog infographics, photos, and videos at www.pinterest.com/carolinewabara.
- Sell More Products by adding a dollar symbol “$” or pounds sterling “£” to your Pin description and Pinterest will automatically create a price banner for your photo and place in the gift section.
- See who is actively pinning your site’s images by simply typing pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com in your browser to see pinned content.
- Measure your Pinterest marketing performance and reach by using Tailwind.
Now your turn:
What other ways do you use Pinterest in marketing your business to your Nigerian customers? Sound off your comments in the box below.
