Last Updated on Sep 17, 2012 by Jenna Scaglione
It’s no surprise that Pinterest has become one of the top social networks. Its image-based interface has caught fire and made many users addicted to the platform—and this popularity has rewarded many webmasters with increased traffic.
How does Pinterest’s popularity help Ecommerce marketers? As I have stated in previous articles, Pinterest is a great network for Ecommerce stores because of its focus on products and images. It is the perfect platform to generate more traffic and buzz for your store.
We have talked about some Pinterest strategies in previous articles, but today I want to discuss some advanced techniques. They are not for everyone; but for those who want to make some moves on Pinterest, they are worth a second look.
1. Finding Followers
The simple way to find followers on Pinterest is to blast your account on your social profiles and encourage people to join you on Pinterest.
However, an advanced method to finding and recruiting followers is to first create boards on your profile that will appeal to your customers. Half of your boards should be self-promoted (images from your site) and half should be pinned from other related content on the web. Categorize your boards similar to your website navigation and add the associated images to each board. Make the displayed board image one of your top selling products from each category.
Use the search box to find members’ boards that match or closely relate to your products. Follow these pinners, up to about 50 to start. Search through their boards and re-pin some of their images and like their posts. It may take at least 3-5 actions on someone’s profile before they notice you and follow you back. Re-pin their images to a separate board on your profile. These images will make up your non self-promoted boards.
2. Who is pinning your images?
This is another trick to find more followers. Once you start gaining some momentum, members will start pinning your images directly from your website. You can find out who is pinning your images by using the below url.
http://pinterest.com/source/yoursite
Replace “yoursite” with your website (just the domain). You will discover who is pinning your images. Follow them, but more importantly find more people to follow by following their followers. The people who like their images will enjoy yours as well.
Note: This only works if you have people actively pinning images from your site. You need a “Pin It” button on your products for this to work correctly. If you do not yet have one set up for your store, Numinix offers the Pinterest.com Pin It Button.
3. Contests
Contests generate buzz around brands and represent quick ways to spark viral activity. Create a contest image that details instructions for entrants. Engage users by making them pin a product image or series of images to a specific pinboard while mentioning your website and using appropriate tags. Once they are finished entering, they can comment on the contest image where you can choose the winner. This action will generate many new followers and increase traffic to your store. Make sure to read Pinterest’s terms before starting a contest.
If you are just starting out with Pinterest, check out this article. Once you have a profile in motion, try some of the above tactics and get a fresh boost of traffic to your website.
Fantastic ideas, thanks for the tips. Pinterest is great!!