• by Tiffany Monhollon , April 9, 2012

Pinterest has been getting a lot of buzz as one of the hottest new sites of the year. The site is so well loved by fans and marketers alike that the recent redesign -- which did not affect the overall functionality of the site -- was a major topic of debate.

Why is Pinterest useful for local online marketing?

The site is driving a lot of traffic to business Web sites. A Shareaholic study showed that Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic in January, driving more traffic than Google Plus, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. In fact, if your business features images on your blog, Web site, or Web store, you may already be getting traffic via Pinterest if your customers or fans have “pinned” your images using the site.

When an image is pinned using the Pinterest shortcut, it links back to the referring source, creating links to your original content. If a Pinterest user finds something they are interested in, they can like it, pin it to their own board, and visit the site directly.

Start by building your business presence

You’ll need to request an invite directly from the site, or ask someone you know who is using Pinterest to invite you. Once you get your invite, put your business name in the “first name” field in the sign up form so that it is displayed properly on your account. Select your preferred social media user name for the “user name” field, because this will be the short link to your account.

Discover Pinterest as a consumer

If you’re not already using Pinterest personally, send an invite to yourself at another email account so you can create a personal profile too. This will allow you to experience Pinterest as a user so you can understand the site’s addictive appeal to consumers. This can also inspire you with ideas you can apply to your business account.

Create interesting boards and share great content

When you’re ready to start actively using Pinterest for your business, start by creating 10-15 interesting boards for your brand. Don’t just rely on the standard board names. Think of your customers when building your Pinterest approach. What types of content, topics, and interests do they enjoy? What would you as a user find interesting?

Don’t limit what you post to just information about your products and services. It’s important to share content that other users will love sharing -- including content from other brands and users. For example, a local bakery could create boards for cupcake recipes, frosting tips, taste combinations, decorating ideas, party ideas, personal favorites, cake disasters, and wedding planning. To find interesting content for your boards when you start, explore hashtags or use the search function to find content already on Pinterest, and install the “Pin It” browser button to easily add new content to Pinterest from other Web sites and blogs.

Build your network of customers, fans, employees, and like-minded businesses

Once you have created and built your boards, start following other users. The users you follow will be notified of your account, and following users will fill your stream with content that you can share. Search the site for topics you’d like to share and follow individuals and businesses with common interests. Tell fans and followers on other social sites that your business is on Pinterest, too! 

Make your content "pinnable”

In your content strategy, think about how to harness the Pinterest interest graph. Sharing photography, images, and infographics related your business can help you build awareness and traffic. Create content that users will pin and re-pin. You can pin your own images to appropriate categories to let followers know what new content you have posted so they can share it. If you’re creating content with Pinterest in mind, you should also put a “Pin It” site button on your blog or Website, so your readers can easily pin your content directly from your site. 

These are just a few tips for getting started on Pinterest as a local business.

Are you using the site personally or for business? What are your thoughts? Feel free to share you tips, tricks and ideas in a comment!