Like most social media sites, Pinterest allows you to follow people and lets them follow you as well. That is, if you like someone’s Pin, you can click a button to folow that person and once accepted, you will receive notifications of their future Pinterest activity. What makes Pinterest unique is that you can follow Pinboards based on subject, rather than person. You can also, of course, set up your own boards for others to share Pins. Following and followers can be useful for promoting your goods or services, as well.
For example: if you are trying to drum up interest in, say, your paintings, you can search Pinterest for paintings, art, artwork, painters, et cetera. You will find various different Pins that will relate in some way. By looking through these, you can follow those boards which have the most bearing on your specific painting style or subject or medium. This way, you can share Pins of your artwork with people who will have the most interest in what you are doing specifically. Because people can follow you based on your Pins, you should make it a point to Pin on any boards that relate to your subject, guaranteeing that as many members see your Pins as possible. In addition, following the most popular Pins and boards will allow you to reach the largest possible number of potential customers.
You can also set up your own Pinboards based on any subject you choose. Continuing with the painting example, you can create boards that share the paintings of others while also providing a forum to showcase Pins of your own paintings, with perhaps a brief description of what people can do should they be interested in purchasing one. When creating your own Pinboard, you should be as specific as possible – the whole point of Pinterest is easy navigation, so avoid making your board too broad. If you are trying to generate interest in landscape paintings but also want to markey, say, portraits, you should create a different board for each.
Through the use of hashtags and keywords, you can make your Pins easy to find when people are searching Pinterest. Every time you post a photo or video, you can put in keywords and hashtags. A hashtag is simply a keyword preceded by the number or pound sign, such as ‘#keyword’. By using specific hashtags and keywords such as ‘landscape painting’, ‘art’ and the like, you can ensure that your Pins get noticed.
A simple way to generate goodwill among your fellow Pinterest members is by Repinning, or sharing the Pins of others. In doing so, you help more people see their Pins, as well as motivating them to share Pins of yours, which will bring you more views and more followers.
The important thing to remember is that people do not join Pinterest for shopping purposes. If you are aggressively advertising, you may turn off the people you wish to reach. Don’t actively try to market; simply share Pins of your wares and allow people to look. If someone expresses an interest, then you can talk with them about how they might go about purchasing your goods or services.
There are Pins and Pinboards on the Pinterest site that relate to almost anything you can imagine. If you do not see a Pin or board that relates specifically to what you are trying to share, you can always create your own. Because of these things, it is very easy to find business on Pinterest. Through the simple use of Repinning, following and getting followed by others, you can bring your product to a wide audience, generate word of mouth and connect with interested buyers.