Make Pinterest Rock for Your B2B

 

People who know me – both online and off – know how much I adore Pinterest. In case you haven’t made the leap into “pinning” yet, I will fill you in on what you may be missing, starting with a little history. Pinterest is a “Virtual Pinboard.” The site’s concept began in 2009 and launched as a closed beta in March, 2010. Pinterest began gaining popularity in late 2011 after being listed among the top 50 websites of 2011 by Time magazine. Tfode, (The Free Online Dictionary and Encyclopedia) states: Pinterest entered the top 10 social networks according to Hitwise data with 11 million total visits per week in December 2011. In January 2012 it drove more referral traffic to retailers than Linked In, You Tube and Google+. The same month, the company was named the best New Start Up of 2011 by TechCrunch.

Okay, enough of the history…you’re reading to find out why Pinterest finally rocks for B2B. Increasing proof of higher traffic and referrals from pins to websites appeals to many companies. Pinterest is a very hot spot for businesses providing visual and tangible content and many B2C industries such as retail and restaurants learned how to use the platform effectively.

Turning the intangible into…the “tangible”…

B2B marketing is mostly about the intangible - solutions and services, for example. As a result, Pinterest users in the B2B world perceived the platform as challenging for quite awhile. Many still do. Pinterest involves categorizing attractive and appealing images from all over the Internet. When your business offers intangible services and solutions, it may seem daunting to find pictures to match the concepts in ways that make sense.  In successful B2B marketing campaigns, companies present their solutions in such ways as to attach the decision-maker emotionally. Pinterest provides accounts for businesses who are interested in utilizing the power of images to connect with their prospects emotionally. Visual imagery for businesses does exist - and it turns out to be in more  forms than just infographics.

Finding the pins to make your B2B rock…

The first steps to making Pinterest rock for your B2B includes setting up a Pinterest account for your business, then creating 5-10 boards for categories which correlate with your service offerings. It’s also a good idea to have a “fun” board and a local community board, too. Doing so helps show viewers how you’re human, as well as a business - plus, they help break up some of the pinning hypnosis for you, too! Finding great B2B images to turn into pins isn’t difficult either. When your business or a similar one in your industry publishes blog posts with images, these are now perfect for pinning on your business Pinterest boards. Start following sites, not only on Pinterest, but also on Facebook and Twitter, who post articles and videos related to your business. You will find a wealth of pinnable content to pin on your boards. These pins are then shared with those who follow your boards, which provides even greater opportunities for content sharing.

Rocking the B2B pins…

Social media and online marketing have certainly helped us in the B2B marketing world by providing tools which allow us to come across as “human,” and to more easily engage with our target markets and potential clients. Pinterest takes these concepts to another level by allowing us to share our brand and message in a very basic and fundamental manner. Pinterest now rocks for B2B as people see the platform as a fun and non-intrusive way to both share and receive a company’s messages.

 

Are you a Pinhead? Does Pinterest have a place in your marketing mix yet? I’d like to hear your thoughts!

 

 

 

Image courtesy of ponsuwan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net