As simple as Pinterest’s interface seems, whether it is a business or personal account, not everyone has quite grasped what they should be pinning, how exactly they should organize their pins and boards, and what it is that drives traffic to their Pinterest profile. If you have never used Pinterest before, it is a social network that is filled with endless categories to sift through for the ideas that most “interest” you so that you can “put a pin in it”, essentially saving the idea to come back to when you are ready to start that project, buy a product, or return to a recipe. Once people have, for example, completed a project or made a recipe, they will usually return to comment on their experience and reveal whether or not they would recommend it to others. This is one reason (of many) that Pinterest is an important tool for many businesses. That is, if you make an idea appealing enough for people to want to try it and the idea consistently generates the expected result then the resultant word of mouth will drive more business toward you.
Anyway, we want to make sure that you are at the top of your game. Since pinning=winning, here are 10 Pinterest tips to bring you from beginner to pro:
#1: Check out the category “popular” for trending pins. The search results will be a compilation of all the pins that currently boast the most likes, repins, and/or comments. Thus, when you also like, repin, or comment on some of these popular pins, it gives your profile more visibility. However, avoid posting generic comments like “That’s cool” or “Great idea” because it may give the impression that you are not attempting genuine engagement. Something important to remember is to not post more than 2-3 comments in a single day or Pinterest may suspend your account for “spamming”, even if that’s not your intention.
#2: Pin and share photos. Just as on other social media networks, colorful photos and attention getting graphics receive the most likes and repins. Subsequently, to make your boards more appealing, they should have attractive cover photos to get more clicks and remember to change out these photos every once in a while.
#3: Detail what your pin is about. Provide rich content descriptions for each pin that tells the viewer exactly what the pin is all about. Remember, the more key words and hashtags that you use, the more easily it will appear in the correct search.
#4: Avoid pinning generic ideas. Generic ideas are boring and unnecessary; you want pins that are innovative and exciting. For example, if you pin a stock photo of a birthday cake to your “Birthday Parties” board, with the description of “make sure to have a birthday party”, it is going to be meaningless to your followers because that is such a regular idea that you don’t need to save it for later to remember. Instead, you want to pin ideas that will not just be useful for every day events but that will actually elevate them. Therefore, for your “Birthday Parties” board it is much more beneficial for both you and your followers too if you were to post an idea regarding how to set up the food table in the best way or pin some unique cake decorating ideas.
#5: Know what you’re pinning. Don’t pin anything that is offensive or conflicts with your brand or statement you want to make. Likewise, don’t pin things that are not interesting to you or your followers or really, what’s the point? So, make sure to click and review all content before repining so that you are aware of what that pin says about you.
#6: Follow people with similar interests. Not only will those with similar interests be more likely to follow you back but by doing this you make yourself available to the great content flowing from their boards and you can be the first to pass it on to your own followers.
#7: Make your boards be specific and the title appropriate. When you name a board something like “Outdoors”, the viewer doesn’t know exactly what to expect if they click on your board. “Outdoors” could be ideas for yard landscaping, activities to try outside, or even camping equipment. So, it is a good idea to make your title specific and to only include pins that are relevant to that title. For example, if you have a board titled “Party Ideas for Little Boys” then do not pin wine party ideas to that board (yes, we are exaggerating here to make a point). Additionally, don’t be afraid to have a little fun with your titles to make them stand out, but refrain from making it so abstract that a new visitor won’t know what they are clicking on (or they won’t click at all).
#8: Multiple boards are preferred. This is the aspect of Pinterest that lets you go be wild and free and make a board for everything that interests you. The more boards you have, the more opportunities for your pin and profile to be brought up by someone’s search. So, the minimalist in you has no need to compact all your ideas into the least amount of boards because more people prefer to have a diverse selection of material to look at. Therefore, if you have a board that is named “Style”, you could separate it into multiple specific boards like makeup, nails, jackets, shirts, shoes, and so on.
#9: Fill your boards up. As previously stated, you are more likely to attract followers if you have a variety of boards to look at but making sure those boards are filled with lots of content that the title promises is just as important. If you were a follower, you wouldn’t waste your time following someone who only had 2 pins located on one single board because you know that you aren’t going to be getting very much content to pass along to your followers from them.
#10: Reorder your boards. The boards that receive the most likes or repins should be organized in the top row of your profile so that they are the first ones viewed upon visiting your page. If you are just beginning, place the boards that are more important to you or that you predict will generate the most interest first. Also, for your boards to appear in someone’s categories search, you need to categorize your boards correctly when you create a new board (i.e., just choose the category most relevant to your board from the drop-down menu and if your category isn’t listen select “other”).
*BONUS TIP: If you have a business account, remember to link and verify your website address when setting up your profile so that people know that it isn’t a fake, which makes you more trustworthy.
We covered some of the most important tips that will get you revamping your profile or starting one off right. Happy pinning!
Did we leave something out that led to your Pinterest success? Share your comments below, we love to hear from you!
We already answered some of the most asked questions about Twitter and now we want to give you our top 5 exclusive tips and tricks for taking your business to the next level on Twitter.
#1: Keep Your Tweet Short and Sweet
Keep in mind that people who are checking their Twitter accounts are usually scanning quickly through just a few top Tweets in their news feed and let’s face it, attention spans are on the decline. So, the question is, how do you hook future customers for a click? Try using Tweets as a headline. If you cannot think of a catchy title, try quoting from the actual article instead.
#2: Make it Interesting
Make sure that you base your content on interesting and intriguing information so your customers will want to stay updated and “follow” you just about anywhere. Always be on the lookout for fresh and exciting news so that you might be the first one that delivers that news to your followers, which makes you appear to have first dibs on the best content out there. Basically, get to know your audience and write about what you think they would enjoy reading.
#3: Let a Picture Do the Talking
Use a colorful/attention grabbing graphic in your content. Do you want to stand out on the Twitter news feed? Of course you do. We’ve got one word: Picture! Not everyone uses them but they should. No, we aren’t talking about selfies… We are talking attention getting graphics that reach out and grab those Twitter skimmers and tell them to “stop, look, and listen” to you and your brand.
#4: Utilize the Right #Hashtags
Check hashtags before you use them and make sure to do your research on the best option for your next Tweet. Helping you find that perfect hashtag is a snap with these amazing tools so you can grab the attention of your audience.
- Hashtag.org: Hashtag analytics report on how that specific hashtag has done in the past 24 hours and also estimates how well the hashtag will do in future hours based off of its past 24 hour performance.
- Tagboard: This amazing website helps you search potential keywords or hashtags and tell how well it’s currently doing. Tagboard also lists a few of the top recent Tweets featuring that keyword, including pictures and full content of that Tweet.
- Hashtagify.me: This site helps you search the top 10 trending Twitter hashtags by using keyword definition. Hashtagify also displays top recent Tweets by keyword, and helps you find a related keyword based on the one that you were searching for – Just in case you need a backup, right?
#5: Find the Best Time to Tweet
Good news! Finding a formula for your business doesn’t have to be rocket science. There are amazing analytics tools out there that help you and your company find out when your customers are online with no stalking required! Social media reports can be conducted to collect data in order to find the prime time that your customers are usually online, Tweeting, and interacting on their accounts. This data will reveal the “prime time” that YOU need to be online, Tweeting, and interacting on your account. Social media reports can also tell you what days are more active during the week, which in turn, shows you what days YOUR company should be more active and attentive on your Twitter account as well. When you Tweet at the prime times for your audience, you get the most out of your post!
Looking for the perfect Social Media Marketing (SMM) tool to help with your company’s analytics needs? You can try a quick search for “Twitter Analytics Tools” or check out a few of these awesome links below:
- SocialBro: With a ‘Best Time to Tweet’ report by SocialBro, a free account will run an analytics report based on your top 100 followers to help you get the right idea. This report will also suggest the best time to Tweet to your audience, give you the rundown on the latest hot keywords and hashtags, and provide you with visual charts on where the majority of your followers are located in the World Wide Web. Why should you know this? Because this information will assist you in selecting the right content to share at the right time for your audience. Fist bump, bro!
- Hootsuite: Social Media Reports have never been easier than with a Hootsuite Analytic Report. These quick and easy statistics are pulled from previous account history. These reports now show which of your Tweets were most retweeted and mentioned in the past. This feature helps you gauge a better time to Tweet in future and you can also view a graph displaying the detailed summary of how well each of your Tweets did from your account. This is one app that is not just for the birds…get it? Hootsuite also has an amazing little feature called “Autoschedule”, this option will help you select a time, based on the results of your past Tweet history’s peak performance, and “autoschedules” them for that time in the future.
- Twitonomy: It’s not just fun to say, it’s pretty helpful too! Twitonomy helps you create a detailed and visual analytics report on anyone’s Tweets, retweets, replies, mentions, and hashtags. It can also help you monitor your interactions with other Twitter users like mentions, retweets, and favorites as well as get actionable insights on your followers with the Followers Report to name a few.
- Buffer: Buffer helps you schedule and track the analytics of your Twitter content. You can also schedule upcoming Tweets and get some great suggestions on future content and updates.
Hopefully, these tools will help you always know WHEN to send out that awesome content that you have been just itching to share! After all, what good is a Tweet if no one is online to read it?
If you follow these basic steps to socializing Twitter-style you will be well on your way to effective social media success one Tweet at a time. Don’t forget to Tweet us @Giant_Marketing about your travels through the Twitter universe!
Got more tips or tricks? Leave us a comment below, we love to hear from you!
There are a few questions that tend to fly around (<– see what we did there?) when a business is starting up on Twitter. Some of the more prevalent questions are: “What content should my business Tweet?”, “Who do I follow?”, “When are the best hours to Tweet?”, and “What keywords or #hashtags are most used by my followers?”. So, we want to get you in the know by providing you with the answers to these questions in order to help get your business growing on Twitter today in a GIANT way!
Where to Start: What Should I Tweet?
If you want to know how to find amazing new Twitter content, then we need to start with the basics. It’s easier than you think – just put yourself in the shoes of your audience! Most of your customers only have about 5 minutes to check their personal Twitter accounts during their lunch or break before they must return to the work. So, what would YOU want to read during your 5 minute digital escape? Some company’s latest sales pitch? Probably not.
Think about it this way, most personal Twitter accounts are used for checking personal updates and scanning through the latest news stories relevant to what your audience has chosen to follow. We have to put into perspective the fact that Twitter is a personalized news feed which is completely LIVE and on the go with your viewers. It is when we finally realize this and get our gears in motion, that we really find ourselves on the right track to a more successful and engaging business to consumer relationship.
You might begin by looking for the right information to share by finding something that inspires you, follow people who are interesting, and make sure that you retweet (RT) the latest information, news, local events, and content with helpful tips and tricks. But don’t limit yourself to only retweeting (RT) information—make sure that you also create some of your own content too! When Tweeting original content, be sure that the headline is HOT and interesting, and use keywords or #hashtags that are trending and popular with your followers and your brand. Be interesting and don’t forget to have fun with it!
Following The Leader
Believe it or not – following members and brands on Twitter is a BIG part of YOUR company. Your business can find value in following members that align with your brand’s general tone. Let’s say there is a business selling home insurance starting a new Twitter account. We would suggest that this business may find it valuable to follow insurance based brands on Twitter, of course! But they may also find it helpful to follow members who Tweet about buying new homes. Likewise, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to follow members that offer tips and tricks on home improvement. Keep in mind that they might Tweet things that this business may also want to retweet to THEIR followers in the future.
You may also consider following brands that reach outside of your brand’s “comfort zone” by following non-relevant Twitter accounts like informational feeds, news sites, humorous quotes, small business marketing, inspirational photos – anything that you deem worthy for your company to share as your brand’s future Tweets, so keep it fresh!
Lastly, we here at GIANT Marketing always suggest that you follow competitor brands. You may find it hard to believe but this is more than just keeping an eye on the competition. You never know when you may get an idea from someone on the other side. That is, you don’t need to follow your competition in order to do something better; rather you might follow them for the inspiration to do something differently. Not to mention that “following” your competition generally leads to a few extra fans from the other side. It may seem strange at first, but today – let’s be the bigger business!
Hours of Operation
Statistics tell us that Twitter fans generally check their accounts in the mornings just before work, lunch break, and after work. So, what are those hours exactly? Although most people swear by 9AM, 12PM, and 3PM. Let’s reanalyze these times, shall we?
Let’s consider that your brand has a unique group of followers that may very well be on at 9AM, 12PM, and 3PM. However, this may not be the case in every scenario and let’s be honest…if something gets Tweeted and no one is around to read it, was it ever really Tweeted?
Realistically, most of your customers do not all have the same work schedule, nor does the majority of your customers also happen to live in the same time zone. Similarly, keep in mind that everyone is different, every company is different, and your customers are no exception!
So, how do we find out when the best time is to share that amazing new content of yours? We certainly want each and every post to reach the most possible Twitter viewers, so it’s no secret that this job calls for an analytics report! Once you create an analytics report, be sure to keep all reports updated since you are always adding new fans and brands in this ever changing social media universe.
The #Hashtags Universe
Part of getting your name out there in social media on Twitter is utilizing the #hashtag code. This is a live keyword that instantly draws attention to your latest and sometimes less recent posts. Using a hashtag is always recommended, but the trick to using a hashtag is to be sure that it’s a hot topic before you drop that code into place. For example, why would you want to hashtag #office when you know that the hashtag #marketing has been more popular in the past 24 hours and that more people are currently searching for it? Obviously #marketing would be the better choice. The most important thing to remember is to make your hashtags count by ensuring that they are not only relevant to your posts but will get you noticed the most.
Now that you have the answers to these important questions, you are ready to jump on that Twitter bandwagon and see what it is all about! Don’t forget to Tweet us @Giant_Marketing about your travels through the Twitter universe!
Got more questions that you need answers to? Leave us a comment below, we love to hear from you!
