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People know what “going viral” means and, no, we’re not referring to infectious agents replicating themselves within organisms. We’re talking about viral marketing – self-replicating marketing initiatives that spread at a rapid pace and most-often through social/digital mediums. Pinterest’s success has this viral marketing aspect built into it and – if you’re thinking about using it for your brand(s) – you need to know how to use it right. This presentation is to serve as a high-level “how-to guide” as you begin to navigate Pinterest. Throughout this document, we lay out the basic functionality of Pinterest and also explain in more detail how it should be implemented. In addition to this, we lay out specific steps and instructions for pinning content onto strategic Pinboards created for the brand – some of these are used as “core boards” to drive traffic to brands’ websites, while others are used to increase engagement, grow fan base, etc. At a very high level, there are relatively simple strategies to apply to Pinterest. However, if you are not familiar with the fundamentals and how it works, it will never reach max potential as a component of your digital marketing strategy. Once you get through this presentation and nail down the ins and outs of this “online pinboard”, we look forward to working with you to see the strategic approach you take and help if we can!
-- Training & FAQ’s
Enter the lovely world of Pinterest, and all the troubles of your day-to-day life just seem to slip away in a stream of perfect little black dresses and baby otters. Pinterest is a social bookmarking tool used to “Pin” images found around the web into categorized collections or “Pinboards”. Think of it like an interactive, shareable scrapbook.
Pins A pin is an image or video, uploaded to a profile from either a website or uploaded from the user. A description should be added to every pin. When pinning content from a brand, the brand’s individual website link should also be included in the description (specify certain pages within site if applicable). This inclusion is a recognized best practice to incorporate. Boards A board is a set of pins which can be organized by any topic, such as “Cool Posters”, “Recipes For Dinner” or “Wishlist” boards. By default, Pinterest starts users off with several boards, but these can be deleted or renamed to suit a user’s interests. For brand’s purposes, these boards should be strategically created to ensure some of them are created predominantly for back-linking, while others are created to obtain “followers”, create engagement, etc. Following Similar to other social platforms, a user can engage with content and view, like or comment on what is pinned even if they are not following you back. You have the option to follow all of another user’s boards, or you can just select certain boards to follow. You can sign up using an email address, Twitter (business) or a Facebook (personal) account, which makes it easy to find existing friends currently using Pinterest.
Repins Repins are the all-important “retweets” and “shares” of the Pinterest world. Repinning is sharing an image/video pinned by someone you follow or found while browsing Pinterest, and adding it to one of your own boards. Repinning gives credit to the person who first pinned it and source links also stay on the pin no matter how many times it is repinned – this is where the viral marketing aspect comes in. Liking a pin adds the image to the “Likes” on your profile, but doesn’t add it to one of your boards. Again, you don’t need to be following someone to like, comment, view or repin their pin.
A few more FAQ’s and Fun Facts
§ Pinning from the web – you can add a “Pin it” button onto your bookmarks bar to pin content seen on the web
§ Weekly Pinterest Digest – this weekly email from Pinterest (which is sent to all users with existing profiles) is a good tool for finding new pinners to follow and content that is currently “hot”
§ Sharing – anytime you pin something, you can easily share to your networks on Twitter and Facebook (share buttons are conveniently located alongside any pin you click)
§ Pinterest is currently the third most popular social network in the U.S. in terms of traffic § Pinterest has accumulated 14.9 million users as of July 2012
§ Retains and engages users up to 2-3 times more efficiently than Twitter was at a similar time in its history
§ Over 80% of pins are repins, demonstrating the tremendous “virality” at work in the Pinterest community
§ Accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic as of January 2012
§ Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.
How People use Pinterest Most people use it to find inspiration, whether they are hosting a party, getting married, remodeling their bathroom or looking for a recipe for dinner. In other words, users of Pinterest are using it to help guide their buying decisions Pinterest for business combines two of the most compelling elements of social media: visual content and sharing what your product/brand represents Oh, and everything looks really pretty… Part of Pinterest’s appeal is that it’s beautiful Because it’s image-based, the core of Pinterest is overwhelmingly positive
-- Strategically Speaking
Benefits and Recommendations for using Pinterest for Brands Used as a social network, you can follow other users, share/repin their content, make comments and tag users q Get Seen
o A brand should repin content a minimum of 3x times per week, 15-20 images/videos pinned per session • Details on the optimal time of day to pin/repin are on the following page under “need to know”
q Audience o A majority of Pinterest’s audience is women between the ages of 25 to 44 with a much smaller,
slower and expanding male audience – this will be the easiest demographic to target and engage with q Discoverability
o The people you choose to follow on Pinterest should have similar tastes to your brand. These users will view the profiles and pinboards they follow to see pins that suit their taste and catch their attention – subsequently creating an emotional response to repin, like or comment on the content and creating a connection to the brand
q Building Links
o How does everything above help the brand? This backlinking is what really moves the needle o When content is pinned from a site, it “pulls” the image from the site and also the link. With the right
strategy in place, that pin can be repinned many times, building numerous backlinks to the website o Over time, this can drive significant traffic from Pinterest to a website and – if the website has been
created and/or optimized for this – will enable the brand to turn this into leads and revenue • To see if people are pinning content from your site, simply replace “yoursitename.com” in the link below with your
own website URL – http://pinterest.com/source/yoursitename.com/
-- Strategically Speaking
Pinterest for Brands – General Recommendations q Time of day
o The best time of day – based on traditional working hours – is between the hours of 10am -1pm and 2 - 5pm (non-working hours between 7 - 10pm is most ideal)
o During both of these timeframes, a brand should be applying 6 – 9 engaging pins. Relying on a single time frame is not ideal as it limits the content from being viewed
q How to use it o To see what others are pinning and what Pinterest is used for, you must research the platform.
Observe pinners who follow you as well as users who are pinning engaging content found through the “Search” function (go to “Search” box and type in “wedding themes” or the relevant search query]
o A couple notes: • Users can easily spot too much self-promotion – we’re not on Pinterest to directly “sell” • Pinterest is of vertical composition – MEANING – vertical images are more effective
q What to Pin o Pin AND re-pin beautiful/engaging content, videos and images. That being said, beautiful is not enough o Only brands with visually-appealing content have something to offer the community. The user must
be captured by the content and quickly be able to digest it without thought • The image should be clear and simple (single item, single focus). When pinning images, brands
should leverage the description box below the image. Use this strategically to write a keyword-rich description that is very short, but in-line with your keyword advertising strategy
• Use simple keywords similar to a Google search and include your brand name if applicable [Ex: wedding reception, healthy food, quotes, funny pictures, bridal themes]
-- Strategically Speaking
q How to…
o Login o Navigate o Upload a Pin o Add a Pin o Create a Board o Repin
The following pages layout how to execute each of the actions listed above. These touch points will provide the fundamentals necessary to connect with people based upon shared interests.
-- How to…
The following slides will provide step-by-step instructions on using Pinterest -- showing you HOW to login and ensuring you are setup for success once the optimal strategy is in place Username/Log - in q First, you will need to create a Twitter account OR create an account with Pinterest using an
email address. It is recommended to use your brands email domain address or an existing alternative email address if preferred.
q Next, open a new web browser and log-in to Pinterest o Step 1: Log-in to Twitter OR create an account on Pinterest o Step 2: Pinterest
• Go to Pinterest.com, then hit “Log in” • Select “Log in through Twitter” OR use your email and it will automatically log you in
*Once logged in to the account, you are directed to the main profile. The current default “Pinboards” are your default boards – these will be revised to create the brand’s “core boards” to showcase its personality while linking to its website.
http://pinterest.com/username is the link to send to friends, include into other social platforms and for co-workers to find the brand on Pinterest
-- How to Log-in
q “How to Navigate” The categories at the top of your homepage guide you through Pinterest to help find content-rich images using Option 1 or Option 2 below *See next page for a visual of what this should look like
Option 1 – Search function q Use the search function at the top left of the homepage using keyword search terms that will
potentially be used in the description by others to find Pins, People or Boards that match these similar titles
Option 2 – Top Center navigation to select an option/category q Once you have chosen a category, use keyword searches (like above) that would potentially be
used in a description to find Pins, People or Boards that match these similar titles o Pinners you follow
• The pins of users you follow and influencers who help guide yourself as to what is relevant o Everything
• This is the everything Pinterest has to offer and has limited filters o Videos
• Videos users have pinned o Popular
• These are current trending pins with the highest number of repins, likes, comments and user engagement
o Gifts • These are ideas for people who are looking to purchase gifts for friends, co-workers, family, etc.
-- How to Navigate
The categories at the top of your homepage guide you through Pinterest to help find content-rich images using Option 1 or Option 2 *See below for a visual of what the previous page referred to
Option 1 Option 2
-- How to Navigate
q “How to Upload a Pin”
o Select the Add + in the top right hand corner
*These photos/pins can be from a computer, smartphone, SDHC card, memory card, flash drive, etc.
-- How to Upload a Pin
q Select the Upload a Pin in the middle selection
-- How to Upload a Pin
q Select the Choose File
o Select the photo from a computer • You will upload pins from your computer – either saved from Facebook, from your
website or just beautiful photos you have on computer – and "edit" them prior to Pinning
-- How to Upload a Pin
q Select the Board drop down selection to choose the appropriate Board the uploaded photo/
pin to be categorized q The very bottom of the drop down selection also allows you to “Create a new Board” if the
photo does not “fit” with currently created Boards
-- How to Upload a Pin
q The photo has been selected, the Board has been chosen and now it is time to include a very
brief description that includes 2-3 specific keywords o Ex. Social Media, Wedding Cakes, Funny Quotes
**NOTE: Pinterest “search” is not as advanced as Google – so it won’t look up 20 words… Therefore, only include the short descriptions above
q A check box will appear for “Twitter” in the lower right hand corner if the Pinterest account is linked to dual-post on to Twitter. If you choose to use Twitter for duplicate platform postings, select “Twitter”. If not, the check box will not be available.
**NOTE: This will share the pin to Twitter and include your description and a short link to the pin
-- How to Upload a Pin
q When the pin is uploaded this page will appear showing what users will see
o This is the point where you select Edit to optimize the pin
-- How to Upload a Pin
q This is where brands should strategically link websites, facebook or any other hyperlinks to the
photo o *For the “core pinboards” (the ones specifically about the brand), you will use the website
address
-- How to Upload a Pin
q “How to Add a Pin”
o Select the Add + in the top right hand corner on the left
*This feature should be used to strategically pin photos from a website
-- How to Add a Pin
q Select Add a Pin in the selection
-- How to Add a Pin
q Input the website or photo archive being referenced into the tab
o Ex. http://frostedart.com
-- How to Add a Pin
q After you submit Find Images, the website photos are indexed
o The images available for pinning can be viewed by selecting the Prev and Next buttons
q Include a brief description that includes 2-3 specific keywords. At this point, the image has been selected, the description has been added and the Board now must be chosen (greater explanation of the “boards” in following slides) o NOTE: Pinterest is evolving and using the keyword search function similar to Google
-- How to Add a Pin
q “How to Create a Board”
o The “Pinboards” available when an account is created are simply default Pinboards. As eluded to earlier, these boards should be edited to serve as each brand’s “core boards”. These will consist of content – and links – from the brand created to showcase specific attributes, highlights, competencies, etc. They will be the main boards used to increase site traffic as more content is received and updated photos for the brand are pinned
o With the core boards setup, the remaining boards to be created will be used to increase the brand’s presence on Pinterest. Depending on the brand, the content of these boards will be strategically created to increase followers, engagement, etc.
-- How to Create a Board
q Select the Add + in the top right hand corner
-- How to Create a Board
q Select Create a Board
-- How to Create a Board
q Create a Board name that is 2 - 3 specific keywords similar to a category for the Pin
o You also must select 1 category related to the Pins for your created Board
-- How to Create a Board
q “How to Repin”
o Each brand is already following pinners, but should continue using the search function and also click specific categories to constantly engage new pinners
o Once following new pinners or seeing content in specific categories currently receiving a lot of engagement, that is when the repin function should be used
-- How to Repin
q When the mouse cursor hovers over a Pin you want to repin, 3 choices will appear:
o Repin o Like o Comment
-- How to Repin
q After clicking “Repin”, select a specific Board from the dropdown arrow
o When using the Repin function, the original text is also included. Revising the text and providing a customized description is strongly suggested if appropriate
-- How to Repin
q After a description has been inserted and a Board chosen, a confirmation window display box
appears q Select See it now
o You only have 4 seconds before this screen disappears
-- How to Repin
q When you select See it now, this preview is your repinned pin
o You can then select Edit to change the link of the repin if appropriate
-- How to Repin
As we discussed earlier, this presentation is to serve as a high-level “how-to guide” as you begin to navigate Pinterest. This information is an important first step to understanding how the medium works, but there is much more that must be in place for it to really move the needle for a digital marketing strategy. The primary users of Pinterest must match a brand’s target demographic. They must have SUFFICIENT content (photos/videos) for Pinterest. The website flow must be optimized for Pinterest – meaning users won’t land there in a “Pinterest mind-set” and then bounce from the site. The right benchmark metrics must be in place. The brand should know how to analyze the results correctly (primarily Pinterest/website analytics in this case)… Once all the above aspects are in place – as well as many other more detailed pieces of the digital marketing pie are setup – Pinterest can be huge for increasing brand awareness and driving web traffic. Down the road, there will also be HUGE opportunities for Pinterest as an ecommerce platform for brands. Good luck navigating this beautiful world of Pinterest and let us know if we can help you make sense of it!
-- Training & FAQ’s
The links provided below can be used for reference and additional information about Pinterest q Pin Etiquette
o http://pinterest.com/about/etiquette/
q Getting Started o http://pinterest.com/about/help/
q Websites, Mobile Applications, Artwork o http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/
STAY CONNECTED: Call us: Ben Smithee – (215)501-2341 or Landon Ledford – (318)355-9853 Follow us: @SpychResearch Become a fan: Facebook.com/Spych
“Succeeding on Pinterest is about finding how your products or services fit into the lifestyles of your brands target audience”
-- Resources
