Join us for our annual Holiday Mix and Mingle on December 13th Find Out More

Small Business BC

Resources for Entrepreneurs to Start and Grow Successful Businesses

  • Log In
    • Wishlist
    • Cart
    0
    MENUMENU
    • Resources
          • Articles
          • Room Rentals
          • Export Navigator
          • Business Checklists
          • Bookstore
          • Bizmap
          • Business Plan Template
          • Corporate Search Services
          • Frequently Asked Questions
          • Resources Quick Links

            Starting Your Business Checklist

            How To Choose The Right Business Structure

            Meeting Rooms Info Sheet

    • Advice
          • Free Introductory Business Advisory
          • Business Registration Services
          • Business Plan Services
          • Market Research Services
          • Talk to an Expert
          • Import and Export Services
          • Upcoming Talk to an Expert

            Talk to an Accountant

            Wednesday, January 8th, 2020
            09:00AM to 4:00PM

    • Education
          • View All Education
          • Meet Our Speakers
          • Customized Education
          • Upcoming Seminars & Webinars

          • Tue 10
            Saving

            TaxSense for Incorporating Your Business

            Tuesday, December 10, 2019 9:00am to 12:00pm
            Tue 10
            Saving
            PACKAGE

            Small Business Incorporation Package

            Tuesday, December 10, 2019 9:00am to 4:00pm
            Tue 10
            Saving

            Steps to Incorporate Your Business

            Tuesday, December 10, 2019 1:00pm to 4:00pm
            Wed 11
            Saving

            Start Smart 1: Basics of Starting a Business

            Wednesday, December 11, 2019 9:00am to 12:00pm
            Wed 11
            starting a business
            Saving
            PACKAGE

            Starting a Business: Start Smart Package

            Wednesday, December 11, 2019 9:00am to 4:00pm
            Wed 11
            Saving

            Start Smart 2: Key Considerations of Starting a Business

            Wednesday, December 11, 2019 1:00pm to 3:30pm

            View More…

    • Events
          • SBBC Awards
          • INSPIRE
          • SBBC Meetup
          • SBBC Popup
          • SBBC Meetup

            The 17th Annual Small Business BC Awards take place Friday, February 21st at Vancouver Convention Centre. Secure your ticket now and celebrate the best of BC’s small business community.

            Buy Tickets

    • Community
          • Client Stories
          • Community Events Calendar
          • Our Impact
          • Client Story

            Frederik Orlin and Julie Wu, ORLING & WU

          • Client Story

            Meet Jordan Rogers, Lloyd-James Sales & Marketing

    • Connect
          • About Small Business BC
          • Webinar Partner Program
          • Small Business BC Staff
          • Advertising & Sponsorships
          • Careers at Small Business BC
          • Request For Proposals
          • Sign up for our eNewsletter to get the latest updates

    • SBBC Awards
    • Cart
    • Account
    • Wishlist

    Upcoming Education


    Tue

    10

    Saving

    TaxSense for Incorporating Your Business

    Tuesday, December 10, 2019
    9:00am to 12:00pm


    Tue

    10

    Saving

    PACKAGE

    Small Business Incorporation Package

    Tuesday, December 10, 2019
    9:00am to 4:00pm


    Tue

    10

    Saving

    Steps to Incorporate Your Business

    Tuesday, December 10, 2019
    1:00pm to 4:00pm


    Wed

    11

    Saving

    Start Smart 1: Basics of Starting a Business

    Wednesday, December 11, 2019
    9:00am to 12:00pm


    View More…

    Resources > Articles
    Article

    Pinterest Marketing – 5 Simple Guidelines

    Marketing & Sales | Social Media

    For the uninitiated, Pinterest can be a confusing concept. An online pinboard? For what purpose? What am I even supposed to pin to this pinboard? Whether you’re a seasoned Pinterest user or a social media novice, Pinterest Marketing represents a powerful tool your business can harness.

    What is Pinterest?

    Simply put, Pinterest is an online space used primarily for collecting visual pieces of multimedia, mostly images. What sets this apart from Facebook or Instagram is the incredible longevity of Pinterest posts. Pinterest pins are 100x more spreadable than a tweet and the average half-life of a Pinterest pin is 16,000x longer than a Facebook post. Twitter and Facebook are both platforms where users are expecting a high rate of turnover. They want tons of new information, new posts, and new content delivered to them every time they log on. On Pinterest, users pin things they intend to share again and again or re-visit later. Clearly, this has important marketing applications.

    Aside from the surprising longevity of Pinterest posts, there are at least six other important reasons to consider using Pinterest in your social media marketing campaigns. Let’s take a look.

    Pinterest Converts

    A lot of social media applications can deter the casual browser from completing a purchase by putting a lot of steps between the potential consumer and the actual sale. Pinterest does the opposite. Pinterest greatly minimizes the number of steps a customer must take from the point of discovery to the sale conversion itself. As a result, Pinterest visitors are far more likely to convert into sales or leads.

    Pinterest Drives Traffic

    Pinterest can be a great way to just increase overall traffic to your site. Through Pinterest posts, you can greatly increase the amount of links back to your website, which will drive traffic. Don’t forget to keep creating great content though, as no social media marketing campaign can be successful if you aren’t creating content which is valuable to your customers!

    Pins = Links

    This neat feature means that every pin can be a potential inbound link to your website. Imagine how easy it would be to simply post high-quality images of your services on Pinterest, each containing a link back to its source – your website.

    User Engagement

    People who use Pinterest typically engage with content and with each other at a higher rate than other social media. It’s extremely common to find small groups or communities of like-minded people on Pinterest who spend a great deal of time finding and sharing things with each other. This means that each of your posts on Pinterest are more likely to get seen, interacted with, and even go viral!

    Social Media Integration

    It’s really easy to integrate Pinterest with any pre-existing social media. What this means is that you can set Pinterest up to share your pins on your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, taking advantage of followings you’ve already established in other communities.

    Follow Trends

    Pinterest does a great job of tracking what is trending at any given moment. This can give you unique insight into the market climate and what’s going on in your customers’ minds. When people follow you, you can follow them back to learn about what they enjoy or what inspires them, providing you with invaluable insight into the people to whom you are trying to appeal.

    How To Get Started With Pinterest Marketing

    Getting started on Pinterest is super easy. You can either go to the website or download the app on your phone. Once there, you simply need to enter your email address and a password and you’re off to the races!

    When you’re using Pinterest for business and marketing purposes, your goals are going to be a little bit different from those of a casual user. Some basic guidelines to follow include:

    Create Quality Images

    Images which gain traction on Pinterest need to follow certain rules. Aim for images which are bright, crisp, and high quality. You want to aim for an image resolution of 736×1102. Good images include things like infographics and should fit into popular or trending categories in order to gain maximum exposure.

    Get Seen

    The best time to pin is from 2PM-4PM EST and 8PM-1AM EST. Use your SEO knowledge and add keywords in pin titles, descriptions, and image file names. Include links to your other social media platforms and spread your pins throughout the rest of your marketing campaign, including links on your site and including your pins in newsletters.

    Engage Followers

    Like other social media platforms, never forget that Pinterest is first and foremost SOCIAL. This means you need to stay active, posting up to 30 times a day, but not less than 10 times. Comment on your followers’ pins and respond to their comments on yours. Follow similar brands, especially popular ones, and invite them to interact with you.

    Promote Your Brand

    Don’t be afraid to use Rich Pins, which allow you to include extra information on your pins. Include direct links to your site, post a variety of content (seasonal, trending, relevant, etc.), and promote your most popular boards at the top. You should also consider creating a board dedicated especially to your blog posts.

    Pinterest Analytics

    Pinterest offers analytics which can help you understand which of your pins are gaining traction and being seen the most. You can use this information to further hone your strategy and maximize the time you spend on this social media platform.

    Using these strategies and making sure to continually adapt to the changing climate of social media will ensure that your time spent on Pinterest is time well worth it. If you do Pinterest right, you can start to see improved site traffic, sales, and leads in no time at all. Happy Pinning!

    by Brittany HardyPosted: March 30, 2018Updated: September 23, 2019

    Related Articles:

    • How to Become a Recognized Expert
    • What's Left in Social Media for Small Businesses?
    • The Power of a Business Card
    Share this Article

    About Brittany Hardy

    Brittany Hardy is the Owner of Empty Desk Solutions, a boutique marketing company located in Port Moody B.C. Brittany is passionate about helping small businesses achieve their growth goals with marketing solutions that are both effective and affordable.

    • Note: you can withdraw your consent at any time - for more information see our Privacy Policy or Contact Us for more details.

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Stop by

    Small Business BC
    54 - 601 West Cordova Street
    Waterfront Station
    Vancouver, BC V6B 1G1
    Canada

    With Support by

    Government of B.C. Logo

    Say hello

    Phone: 604-775-5525
    Toll Free in B.C.: 1-800-667-2272
    TTY (Teletypewriter): 1-800-457-8466
    Fax: 604-775-5520
    Email: askus@smallbusinessbc.ca

    We're Open

    Monday – Wednesday, Friday
    9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    Thursday
    10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    Saturday & Sunday
    Closed

    Additional Links

    • About Us
    • Press Releases
    • Careers
    • Privacy
    • Media Files
    • French Language Compliance
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Cancellation Policy
    • Contact Us
    © 2019 Small Business BC