In the first part of our beginners guide to Pinterest we introduced you to the platform, why you should be using it, and explained what a pin and a board were. This time we are talking you through signing up for a business account and starting to get you pinning.
So what is the first thing you should do?
If you already have a personal Pinterest account it is very easy to convert it to a business, otherwise you can create a business page from scratch. Either way, visit business.pinterest.com and click ‘join as a business’ – it also gives you the option below this button to ‘convert now’ for those who already have a personal account. Don’t worry, you won’t lose any of your pins or boards – everything will stay the same but with a few added extras.
Select your business type and name, plus a username - this can be between 3-15 characters. Think about consistency throughout all your social media channels and use your twitter, Instagram or facebook business name. Write a comprehensive bio, which can be up to 160 characters long. Think about how you want to promote yourself in the best way. Using the same description as well as branding throughout your social media will keep your business concise and consistent. You can also add a link to your website here, as well as a location.
Once you have chosen your username, this becomes your url, eg www.pinterest.com/cosmic_UK so this is a good chance to brand your url the way you want it!
After completing your account details, you will have to verify your website to allow you to access your Pinterest analytics. This involves a few steps:
- Go to the main page of your account & choose “Edit Profile”
- Scroll to the bottom, add your website address & click “Verify”
- You’ll see a pop-up with verification instructions -- select “download the html verification file”
- Upload the file into the root directory of your website via FTP or CPanel then return to your Pinterest profile & click the button that says “click here to complete the process” (speak to your web builder or you can follow these steps: https://help.pinterest.com/en/articles/confirm-your-website)
- You should receive a message that says your verification was successful & you’re good to go.
So now you are all signed up – what happens next?
Well firstly, you need to create some boards to allow you to start pinning. We recommend a minimum of ten boards to get you going. Think about who you are and what you do, and who you would like to attract. What will you call your boards? Try to use descriptions that will get people following, and include key words within those descriptions – what will people be searching for? How will they find you?
Then work on filling those boards with quality images and pins, again, well described with key words and good descriptions of what is in the article that the pin links to. Try to tell a story with your pins, and keep the pins consistent to the boards they are included in. Also, before pinning make sure that the links take you to the correct place.
Start following accounts that you already know of. Your friends, colleagues, influencers and industry peers. Anyone you are following on Facebook or Twitter, see if they have a pinterest account. Any blogs that you subscribe to, check to see if they have an account and follow them too. You have the opportunity to not only pin these images, but also comment and like on pins to engage with the users. Like all social networks, it is important to keep engaging with others to raise your online profile.
It is very easy to pin something. Once you have your board created you can search throughout pinterest or the wider web and find a blog post you would like to save.
Once on the page, hover over one of the images until a ‘p’ icon or ‘pin it’ icon appears in the top left hand corner. When you click on this a new box will pop up with your collection of pinterest boards within it and here you can select which one you want to pin to.
So while browsing through the internet, if there is anything you read or see that you don’t want to forget about, or would like to keep for future reference you can pin it! Research, ideas, suggestions, facts and figures – it can all be saved.
A few tips…
- If you start well you can maintain your boards easily
- Aim to pin daily
- You can never have too many pins or too many boards!
- Never delete a board, you may lose followers as some only follow the boards rather than the user
- Pin from your blog
- Make sure your pins direct people to the right place
- … and have fun!
Next time: Finding content and making the most of your account.
All three parts of the Pinterest guide are available here and as a complete downloadable PDF document.
Download Full Guide to Pinterest PDF.