How to use Pinterest to promote retail business online!

Social media is a growing platform and millions of people are extensively making use of it to create their brand presence online. One such platform which has seen an increase in traffic by more than 145% since the beginning of 2012 is Pinterest. Pinterest is turning out to be the hottest and lucrative social media website for e-commerce businesses.

But do you know why Pinterest is popular among e-commerce promoters?

E-commerce business primarily relies on images to market its product and there is no better social media platform than pinterest which can do that. That is because Pinterest is an online ‘Social bulletin board’ which allows users to create, share and link their product images in the perfect manner to attract visitors to their website. Pinterest is considered as one the best visual marketing platform because of its quick and easy to use functionality. No wonder, it is the highest referral traffic provider than you tube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

So if you are a retailer then pay attention because we are going to tell you how to use Pinterest in the most professional way to grow your business online.

Be professional– If you are going to use Pinterest for promoting your online business then make sure your pinterest profile looks very professional. While creating an account you can add your website name and get it verified which will be an added advantage for you. Also ensure that your pin boards are properly organized and you have given appropriate board covers. The more your profile stands out from others, the better your chances to get traffic via Pinterest.

Product pinning– Pinning a product’s image will definitely help grab attention but for an e-commerce business that is not enough. You need to convert pinterest users to clients and that can happen if you include the price of the product on your image. By adding a “$” and price “99.99″, your product will have a corner price overlay on each pinned image that includes the price you enter. This is especially necessary when retailers want to include any deals or special offers on their products.

Descriptive image– Although it is said that images are the major form of communication on Pinterest but text is still very important. Adding a liner or 2 would provide vital context to your products images. As an alternate to product pinning, some people also make use of description to announce any promotional deals on specific products.

Effective tagging– If you have a twitter handle, then you must be aware of the tagging feature. Well, Pinterest shares a similar phenomenon with twitter here. As an online retail promoter, you can make use of @commands and #hash tags to address, appreciate and thank your customers or people who have supported your company. Therefore, tagging allows you to effectively manage your online brand reputation and directly connect with your clients and increase your client base.

Add a Pin it widget to your product pages– Adding a pin it widget to your products pages is essential if you want to increase targeted traffic to your site. When an image from your products page is repined, it will include a link to your site as well as your profile. So when interested users click on your products image, they will be redirected back to the relevant page.A single image when shared/repined by thousands of pinterest users can result in significant percentage of traffic increase to your site. Image the traffic to your site when lots of other images as well are repined and shared. See, that’s how beneficial pinterest is.

Make connections– Pinterest is not just for you to pin your images and wait for others to repin, like and comment on them. If you expect others to re-pin your images and follow you, then you have to make an initiative too. Interaction never happens one way. You have to notice other users pin boards, like their images, re pin them, comment and follow the users. However, do not lose focus that you are using this visual social platform for promoting your business. When you are engaging in social activities make sure that they are in line to your business interest. Nevertheless to keep things interesting on your profile, you can always create separate boards, where you share funny and interesting pins from other users.

Protect your images– Protecting the ownership rights of your images is very important. Pinterest is lately seeing an increase in copyright infringements. Hence in order to make sure that your products’ images do not lose their ownership even if they are re uploaded or used from an unauthorized source is to add a copyright mark on the image. You could also add your website URL or business name to ensure that you retain the credit of the image even when it is shared.

Do not forget about other social networks– Although Pinterest is the hottest platform for online retail marketing but let’s not forget about other social networking sites which are still very popular till date. It is advisable to link pinterest account with your Facebook and twitter profile in order to retrieve the maximum benefits from other social media.

Here are few reported facts about Pinterest which may help you as a retail promoter to enhance your brands visibility and reputation on Pinterest:
1. As of February 2012, Pinterest had accumulated 10.4 million users
2. 80% of Pinterest users are female.
3. The top interests on Pinterest in the U.S. include crafts, gifts, hobbies/leisure, interior design, and fashion designers/collections.
4. A call-to-action pin description sees an 80% increase in engagement.
5. Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.

There is no denying that Pinterest is a fantastic and popular platform for both small and medium sized e-commerce businesses who want to make a mark for their brand in the online world. Pinterest not only helps drive targeted traffic to your website but also gives you an opportunity to create, build and manage your brand reputation online. All you have to do now is start using Pinterest or if you don’t have time, you can always ask for the services of reputed social media marketing agencies.