How to Use Pinterest as a List Builder - by Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant

HOW TO USE PINTEREST AS A LIST BUILDER

BY ANDREA KALLI

Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant

Your Message. Your Product. Your Business.

YOUR PINTEREST MAKEOVER

1. Convert your account to a Business Account

• Log in & select the About tab

• From dropdown menu, select For Businesses

• Hit Convert button when business page opens up

SHOULD YOU CONVERT?

Disadvantages

• Can’t be undone • Can’t verify a WordPress

blog • Only 1 admin can

manage the account • Only 1 email can be

linked • No custom URL – yet • Can’t move business

boards from another account

Advantages

• Can verify website & add “Pin It” buttons

• Verifying website adds social validity

• Can change business name

• Target specific areas of business

• Can add a widget to your site for followers

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT AWAY

• Some people say a Business Account helps; others

aren’t so sure

NEXT STEPS

2. Install the ‘Pin It’ bookmarklet

• Install on YOUR browser so you can pin other people’s

pictures easily

• www.pinterest.com/about/goodies

3. Install apps for iPhone, iPad or Android

• Found in same Goodies section

• Snap original photos & pin them immediately

NEXT STEPS

4. Install a ‘Follow’ button on your site

• Found in the Goodies section

• Encourages other people to follow you on Pinterest

NEXT STEPS

5. Install a ‘Pin It’ button on your site

• Found in Goodies section

• Grants permission for other people to pin & share your

images

• Helps build traffic, loyalty & trust

SET YOUR GOALS

• Having an objective & staying focused will increase

your satisfaction with Pinterest

• Etsy.com

• They wanted to provide visual inspiration to increase sales

• They featured Guest Pinners

• Overall, Etsy.com is happy with results

• You won’t waste time pinning haphazardly

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS

1. How will photo sharing & pinning help me?

2. What will photo sharing do for my audience?

3. How will this increase my visibility as a resource?

4. What do I want to achieve & how?

5. Will allowing others to Pin my photos detract from

my business?

6. Are there any hidden pitfalls I haven’t thought

about?

7. Is photo sharing relevant to my business? Is this the

strategy I should be focusing on right now?

WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU

1. Provide permanent posting power

• Pins & pinboards are kept forever

• Twitter & Facebook posts disappear very quickly

• Pinterest makes it easy to search through your past pins

allowing for others to repin your images

WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU

2. Provide information

• Target your visual learners

with images

• Create powerful & easy

to understand

infographics

• You can also share videos

on Pinterest

WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU

3. Connect with other pinners

• Create optimized pinboards

• Pinterest attracts visual learners who may not like text or

audio content

• Reach out to people who are hugely popular in your niche

• Repin, like & comment on your audience’s & peers’

pinboards

WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU

4. Make Pinterest your own

• Be original; don’t follow the crowd

• Create your own categories (with keywords)

• Make your own formats, themes & interpretations

• Give entire Pinterest collection a strong identity

WHICH STRATEGIES WORK BEST FOR YOU

5. Consider Pinterest advertising

• Create brand awareness & visibility

• Connect with more pinners

• www.repinly.com/advertise

• You can appear on:

• A sponsored pinner’s list

• Category sponsorship

• Sponsored pins

• Rectangle banner or sponsored newsletter

MAKE FULL USE OF RESOURCES

1. Tracking & Tweaking

• Which pins go viral? Which have the most shares?

• Type http://pinterest.com/source/[yourURL].com into your

browser

• Find your URL in your Pinterest Settings

• See all your pins & their activity

• Use Repinly for stats

MAKE FULL USE OF RESOURCES

Using Repinly for stats

• www.repinly.com

• You’ll get a Pinterest

score & popularity rank

• Number of followers

• Activity information on

Boards, Likes & Pins

• Free to join!

MAKE FULL USE OF RESOURCES

2. Protect Your Images

• Take credit when credit is due

• Watermark original images

• Use an App to create a digital watermark

• Use PicMonkey or iWatermark

Note: never pin an image that doesn’t have the ‘Pin It’

button…this means the creator has not given

permission to share

MAKE FULL USE OF RESOURCES

3. Enhance your photo pins

• Edit your photos or create infographics

• Use online infographic creators such as Visual.ly, Easel.ly,

Piktochart, or Picmonkey

• Be creative!

MAKE FULL USE OF RESOURCES

4. Use word clouds

• www.wordle.net

5. AGBeat’s article about

37 Resources to Jumpstart

Social Media Efforts

www.agbeat.com/lists/37-

pinterest-resources

TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS

1. Invite a guest pinner to your site

2. Use images on your site your audience would love

to share

3. Create a separate ‘Photos You Can Pin’ gallery on

your site; schedule a new post daily to draw traffic

4. Use keywords, categories & hashtags to reach

your targeted audience

TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS

5. Pin consistently – you will become a habit, a part

of their lives & someone they know

6. Don’t clutter your boards – give each one a

theme & stick to it

7. Use calls to action

8. Watch what your competitors are doing

9. Strive for quality

10. Engage the emotions

EACH PINNED PHOTO SHOULD BE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING

• A visual feast

• Hilariously funny

• Moving

• Inspiring

• Bizarre

• Astonishing

• Beautiful

• Interesting

• Useful

• Helpful

• Easy to absorb

Sign up to get your free

downloadable

companion workbook

and checklist for

“How to Use

Pinterest as a

Listbuilder”

COMPANION WORKBOOK AND CHECKLIST

http://www.virtualassist.net/free-companion-workbook-and-checklist-for-

how-to-use-pinterest-as-a-listbuilder/

H T T P : / / WW W. V I R T U AL A S S I S T . N E T

ANDREA KALLI

Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant

Your Message. Your Product. Your Business.

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