create business boards pinterestPinterest is still a massively popular social media marketing platform for businesses.

My clients in the gifting/product area are seeing great traffic from the site, particularly if their target market is women – who are Pinterest heavy users. But how do you make the most of this very visual platform in an authentic way that makes you stand out from the crowd? Is it even worth the bother?

Some businesses are making the Rookie mistake of using Pinterest just to display endless pics of their widgets. IMHO they’re missing a real opportunity to promote their brand – not to mention sailing close to the wind with the Pinterest terms and conditions.

So how can a “widget business” improve their Pinterest participation?

Let me give you a few examples…

A] Your bizz sells hiking boots: instead of photos of the boots let’s see those beauts in action – being worn by real peeps doing adventurous things? Perhaps your customers wearing their boots on holiday?

B] You sell wooden toys online: You’ll know that many of your customers choose your enviro-friendly wooden toys because they are interested in sustainability or green issues. Create a board which reflects your commitment to these issues too and build a rapport.

If you are a service based bizz then try focusing on the parts of your brand that give your clients a little bit extra. Do you give great customer service? Then, create a board of testimonials or videos where your customers talk about their experiences.

Some simple steps to create a Pinterest board for your business:

1. Set up a Pinterest account – use your real name not a brand or business name. Or log in to your current Pinterest account if you are already active.

2. Create a board that reflects something about your business you want to share with the online world. So if you’re selling products, you could show those products in action, people using/wearing them or the products being created [think video]

3. Create a board showing off an aspect of your brand – customer service, innovative design, environmental commitment – have some fun thinking laterally!

4. Drop a link to your new Pinterest board over at my Facebook page so we can get the word out to each other: – I’ve set up a thread there so you can post your link. The link will be something like http://pinterest.com/yourusername/name-of-your-board/

That’s it!
Don’t forget to connect with me on Pinterest I’d love to see what you’re up to