Some people think Pinterest is just a web site where bored women collect recipes. But it’s so much more than that! Pinterest is now firmly among the top social media sites and has a much larger e-commerce value than any other. There are many sources for marketing information on WHY to use Pinterest, but HOW can you take advantage of this?

Businesses can capitalize on this service to promote, sell, and contact customers, potential clients, and vendors. Here are a few ways to do that:

• Build relationships—Help viewers relate to your brand (whether or not that brand is YOU).
• Sell your product or service—Many millions of people are inspired to purchase by perusing the boards on Pinterest.
• Move traffic to your web site—Link to your main source of information and revenue—grab that traffic!
• Show your expertise—Pin sources for your facts; add extra information for using and/or enjoying your product.
• Prove your effectiveness—Include quotes and testimonials from others.
• Check out the competition—See who else is using Pinterest in your niche and how they are leveraging their exposure.
• Collaborate with customers—Pin coupons, host contests, collect comments, and offer quizzes and polls.
• Include multimedia—You can also pin podcasts, videos, audio clips, and links to presentations on your boards.

Take advantage of rich pins – Rich Pins include extra data like pricing and availability of products, maps and contact information, and blog post titles and descriptions. I’m sure you can see how these would help customers and YOU. Business accounts on Pinterest are the only ones that can add this information to pins.

How do you start? Join Pinterest as a business and start pinning. I will set up and manage your Pinterest account and get you started using Boards and Pins. I can train you to find sources for pins, how to name your boards, how to create customized graphics, and much more. See my business Pinterest boards and my personal boards.

Do you use Pinterest? Please tell me how, and let me know what you think of this article. Thanks!