There has been a lot of chatter around the new social platform, Pinterest. As an emerging platform there is a lot of excitement and speculation as to how this social channel will benefit businesses. At the same time there are also lots of mistakes, confusion and fear surrounding. I’ve written several post about Pinterest but thought it important to take a step back and give my readers some basic instructions for actually creating the right Pinterest account:
STEP #1: Request an Invitation
Pinterest is not open to the general public so don’t expect to sign up for an account without some work. There are two ways to start a Pinterest account for your business: 1) Request an invitation directly from Pinterest OR 2) Get invited by a friend who already has an account.
If you request an invitation directly from Pinterest it can take as little as one day or as long as several weeks before your request is approved. This can be a bit annoying if you’re excited to get started but rest assure you will be approved eventually.
For those lucky folks who know someone who already has an account on Pinterest you can get started much faster. Simply ask your friend for an invitation and you will receive an invite to join Pinterest immediately. Because I appreciate all my readers I will be more than happy to send each of you an invitation. Simply email me at meaghan[dot]edelstein[@]gsmiweb[dot]com and I will send you a Pinterest invite.
STEP #2: Receive Invitation and Create Account
Once you’ve received your invitation, either from Pinterest or another Pinterest user, simply click on the link provided in your email invitation.
When you click on the link you’ll be brought to a welcome page on Pinterest. From here you will need to sign up with either Facebook or Twitter.
IMPORTANT: keep in mind Pinterest is designed for individuals and not businesses. If you sign up for Pinterest through your Facebook account your Pinterest account will be directly linked to your personal Facebook profile and not your businesses Facebook Page. Because of this I highly recommend you sign up for Pinterest using your business Twitter account.
STEP #3: Click 10 Pins that Fit your Businesses Personality
The next step is where the fun begins! Pinterest wants to know a bit more about you so they can suggest Pinners you might want to follow and figure out what Pinners might share interests with you. Take time to select 10 images that fit well with your brand.
STEP #4: Create First Boards
Now you get to create boards. Pinterest boards are where you will pin images so take time to figure out what types of boards would make the most sense and appeal to your audience. New boards can be added any time so don’t rush the process. Example of some good business boards:
STEP #5: Build About Section
This is a very important step! Again, keep in mind Pinterest was designed with the individual in mind. Don’t go through the process to quickly and accidentally enter your actual name or personal information instead of the business. If your business is Global Strategic Management Institute enter the first name as “Global Strategic” and last name as “Management Institute”. Whatever you enter as first and last name will be what appears at the top of your organizations Pinterest account. In addition, this is how people will find you when they enter your organizations name in the search box:
You also want to be sure to provide a complete and accurate about section and always include your website. This is how Pinterest users will know who you are, what you do and how to find you.
STEP #6: Start Pinning
Now you can finally start Pinning images. But before you get going make sure you know the best types of images to pin, times, frequency and how to optimize all of your pins!
I hope this has been helpful. If you’re looking for more guidance on how to best utilize Pinterest and other social platforms for your organization check out one of our Social Media Strategies Summits!
