How to Use Pinterest for Marketing
We are always looking for new ways to grow our business, and we all want to do it in an organic, authentic manner. Pinterest has been a successful tool for individuals from multiple backgrounds. If you're a beginner to Pinterest, it can be overwhelming to see how the site can help generate traffic to your business. I have always thought Instagram and Facebook were essential due to their ability to allow you to sponsor and boost posts. However, you can gain a lot from Pinterest - helping both with your website SEO and in detailing your work.
As a newbie to the flower industry, starting any new creative endeavor can be rather daunting. Beginners are most focused on creating their business; gaining clients, branding, using our creativity. Because time is spent on so many things that make money, it is often forgotten how social media can make an impact on our businesses. Pinterest is often passed over as a tool that can generate business, but by making small changes in the presentation of your Pinterest page, you can yield excellent results.
ORGANIZATION
I have always used Pinterest for inspiration and taking note of things I liked, but I’d never had a system in place. Start by reviewing what you currently have and writing down categories that you can define from your website. For example, if you are a wedding florist, you could have categories like bouquets, head tables, and installations. You can break down categories further, by season or style as you gain greater clarity, or better yet, start with a basic outline of work you’ve done previously.
By creating consistency and breaking things down, you make it easier to locate specific items potential clients may be looking for. With the thousands and thousands of images found on Pinterest, you want to make it easy for people to find your specific page. Images may overlap in different categories, and this can be good for search optimization tags, but having a cohesive system will make it more attractive to explore further on your page.
“Best of Work” Board
Beyond focusing on categories, you can make a single board that has images from styled shoots or favorite event work. This is a board that will highlight the type of work you feel you’re best at and are passionate about. It is a great way to give a quick overview of your style and designs as you seek to attract your ideal client.
Keep in mind that you should always be looking to share your best work and who you are as the face of your business. Make it clear that the photos you are sharing are your own or specify who the photographer was. Clarity in who you are and with whom you work will help clients gauge the type of events you are drawn to. You'll also have a higher chance of working with vendors you prefer. For instance, if a client likes your work and the manner in which it was photographed, you could help to create a working team relationship.
All of your photos can be linked directly to your website or a more comprehensive post of the specific event. Highlighting your style will make an immediate statement of what it is you're passionate about. Though your style may not be precisely what a client is looking for, they are still able to see what you are capable of artistically. Simply choose photos you feel best represents who you are as a designer and what sort of events and designs suit your interests.
KEYWORDS
Using specific phrases and words can help create a higher chance of your photos showing up in search results. By optimizing these words in the description of your photos, it will not only help within Pinterest but in a Google search as well. By linking back to your work, you are continually accelerating the chance of your photos being seen in top search results.
Certain phrases get more hits than others, so you may need to research what pertains to the types of designs and clients you work with. Don’t overuse these phrases, but if the wording is similar both in your Pinterest photo descriptions and on your website, it helps keep not only your brand identifiable but also reaches people on a more personal level. Don’t think of it as tags but rather as a simple description detailing what it is you do and look for when designing and creating.
Having links back to your website through your photos create more connections to your business site. These connections will help you build stronger ties to your business and generate more traffic throughout Pinterest. Individuals will see your post and may change the description so that it fits their interpretation, which would lead to additional hits during searches. This will allow a wide range of viewers to be exposed to your work and be directed back to your page.
JOIN PINTEREST GROUPS
Join groups where you can share your content with other creatives. You may be most familiar with groups on Facebook, but you can find a number of these on Pinterest as well. By joining these groups, you will receive feedback, gain opportunities to have your work shared, and meet fellow creatives who may even have tips for growth through Pinterest from previous experiences. The groups help with networking to participate in styled shoots, receive references from fellow florists, or make new friends in the industry – something people always need more of.
By joining a group on Pinterest, you can ask for feedback on blog posts which is helpful since many people may not realize you have a blog. Blogs are an optimal outlet for clients to see photos of your design work. By sharing your work and receiving feedback, you can see what draws people to your site, and how you can better optimize the images you share on Pinterest. Sharing images yourself will allow people to click on who shared the photo, and if they like it, they may investigate further. It’s all about sharing your work in a way that will increase the number of people who view it.
CREATE GRAPHICS
Share photos from workshops, how-to guides that you create, and your work. You can create posts that, for example, highlight summer weddings, color palettes, or a particular style. Graphics stand out to viewers. This visual appeal will draw viewers in and allow your techniques to be on display.
Brides looking for a certain look for their wedding browse through thousands of photos, so a collection of pictures of a specific style will make it easy to get a good variety on your page. They won’t find it as easy to move on from your work because they are discovering such great ideas in one location. Using Canva to make quick graphics is free, and they set the template up for you. You can even reuse the same model to keep a cohesive look for your Pinterest feed. Try to maintain a degree of consistency, as it makes it much easier to find you and identify your work.
Don’t stress over being perfect - especially when just starting out. There will always be something to do and something to learn. Let yourself discover by doing. Share your work, photograph everything, build relationships, and work hard. Let Pinterest work for you.
