| By following these simple rules you can help ensure that any contest you decide to run will be popular and potentially profitable.
- Let's start with some Pinterest Do?s:
Respect other pinner's (users) and their followers. Don't criticize just because you don't like the content they're sharing. Remember, just like art pinning is subjective and their choice of pins is completely up to them as long as they are not violating any Pinterest policies or rules.
Create boards and pin content that is related to and best expresses your business. Always in two appropriate categories, whether it be DIY crafts, wedding events, architecture, food, etc.
You have to credit your pin sources. This will help prevent negative comments, suspension or termination of your account. Expect other pinner's will do the same for you.
Showcase appealing, original and unique pins for your business and share them to your Facebook and Twitter accounts to get the credit (backlinks) you deserve.
Always click the pin first before repining to ensure that it leads you to the original source. If it does you can continue with your re-pinning; if It doesn't, don't pin it because it will be considered spam.
Rename the default boards in your Pinterest account to relate to your business or to reflect your own personality.
Make your pins unique and appealing. To achieve high visibility for your company brand, products and services, give your pins a good title and informative descriptions.
Always use specific keywords and hashtags in your descriptions to make your boards SEO friendly and create backlinks.
Follow other brands, businesses and companies. Repin their pins, interact with them. This will help create networking opportunities and may even attract new customers!
Report objectionable business deals or offers, as well as, use of tiny URLs to avoid other pinner's being spammed.
Involve your co-pinner's, loyal followers and/or customers to create a business community that shares the same interests and goals.
Follow properly named boards, repin compelling media, and interact with companies as part of your networking strategy to get more customers.
Check out how other companies use Pinterest to promote their business boards, brands, contests, products and services.
Always enjoy the experience of pinning, repining, interacting and collaborating with fellow users. Whether you are looking for business prospects, you want them join your contests or you just want to make new contacts.
Make use of the pricing feature of Pinterest because it opens up a world of opportunities to online business retailers.
- Now let's go over some of the - Pinterest Don'ts
Don't post images/photos/videos that will have a negative impact on your Pinterest account and business image.
Don't be a pinning addict (?pinning everything you see?) because it will just clutter your boards will irrelevant pins and confuse your followers.
Don't post pins too quickly without carefully deliberating the impact that it will have on your followers. Remember that loyal followers are the key to success when it comes to effective social marketing.
Don't regularly rely solely on re-pinning and tagging with your own keywords and hash tags because it is still the original authors who will get all the full credits.
Don't steal credit for pins that are not yours, as well as, insert inappropriate titles and descriptions to ?repins?. (It's Spam)
Don't tag pins incorrectly or assign pin descriptions that don't correspond with the original content.
Try not to repin images/photos that lead you only to a secondary source or tiny URL so as to avoid being spammed or getting negative comments from co-pinner's, respectively.
Avoid making the habit of using secondary sources or those indexed only by search engines.
Don't be surprised if your boards are not getting noticed because they were named too specifically. Remember your keywords!
Don't promise anything on your Pinterest contests that you cannot deliver.
Don't post hateful comments on objectionable pins. If you come across a pin that you think is spam or offensive in some way, report it.
By using good business sense and following these simple do's and don'ts, I have no doubt that you will be able to take full advantage of everything that Pinterest has to offer your business.
The bottom line is that this popular social network isn't very hard to figure out. Its ease of use is what makes it so appealing, not to mention effective.
Just remember, when it comes to effectively using Pinterest to run profitable promotions for your business providing relevant content that adds value to the marketplace is your key to success. |