Depending upon your local business goals, Pinterest can be a great way to build your customer engagement. However, like with other social media platforms, its important to understand the nuances of the audience on Pinterest and craft content which will resonate with that group.
The following are seven steps your local business should take to grow your customer relationships on this platform.
1.) Define what you want to achieve through your activities on Pinterest. In order to determine the best way in which to market your local business on Pinterest, you must first define what you want to achieve on the platform. For instance, are you looking to grow engagement with a particular segment of your customer population? Or, are you seeking new ways to test market potential new products? Whatever your goals for your local business may be, articulate them as clearly as possible and if practical, list your targets in terms of numerical or measurable terms.
2.) Be strategic with your use of keywords. Your local business should already have keywords it uses in copy and on other social media platforms. Be sure to use these terms wisely on Pinterest as well. The consistent use of carefully selected keywords can help cement your brand and can increase search rankings. If your local business hasnt taken the time to research and select appropriate keywords, now is the time to do it.
3.) Interact with the community. You want your current and potential local business customers to interact with your local business through Pinterest. One of the best ways to accomplish this aim to first go out and engage others through their Pinterst accounts. So go ahead - - comment and pin away. This strategy will be most effective in building your community if youre actions are consistent with your brand messaging and target audience.
4.) Look to build a broad following. Creating different boards can allow you to engage different segments of your potential customer base. Because your local business can create a variety of boards, your content can be somewhat diverse without appearing to be random and scattered. However, its important to start your local business board creation with a solid understanding of your customer base and what they like. Use what youve gleaned about your current and potential customer preferences from your other social media platforms as you create your visuals on Pinterst.
5.) Maintain clearly defined boards. Although Pinterst provides the opportunity to showcase a diversity of information and visuals on a wide array of topics, its vital to be organized about your sharing of information. This step alone can help your local business information look organized and intentional.
6.) Encourage interaction between Pinterest and other platforms and media. As your local business builds its Pinterst community, its important to tie the platform into your other social media platforms. Its often as easy as adding a pin it button to your blog or tweeting about recently added Pinterest content.
7.) Monitor whats working and whats not. As with any other social media platform, it is key to determine what content resonates with those youre trying to attract. Without this step, theres a good chance over time youll be wasting your local business time creating content which may be slightly or completely off the mart.
Would you like more information on building your local business presence? Check out this local business article on Pinterest practices.
I find the idea of using Pinterest in a local business capacity intriguing. In theory, finding and building relationships with local buyers helps you reach more buyers and in turn build your business. I think your article gives good advice for all of this. I am just curious about real world application. Can you elaborate on what local businesses you have seen effectively do this? Have you done this for a small local company?
I think the main benefit of Pinterest comes where you have your own content which you can share. I’m not sure re-pinning other people’s content has the same effect although clearly the social interaction is a big part of the experience.