Pinterest isn't just about recipes and nail polish

In the past, when I have approached clients about using Pinterest for their business, I usually heard the same question: “Isn’t Pinterest for people looking for a new recipe, children’s craft ideas or cute animal pictures?”

Well, after using Pinterest for one of my law firm clients, I am here to tell you Pinterest can be a powerful marketing tool even for a business that you would not think was particularly visual. It’s simply up to the “pinner” to make the message they want to get across visually interesting.

In the case of my law firm client, we use free (meaning no royalty or financial cost) art that is tied to the firm’s blog. The response has been phenomenal. In fact, the posts are getting hundreds of eyeballs a month and many re-pins. Best of all, often you can simply repurpose content – in my client’s case we pin blogs.

After a quick search of Pinterest, I found some companies that you might not think were good fits. For example, I found a personal injury law firm with boards on medical malpractice, car accidents and birth-related injuries. I found an accounting firm with boards on refunds and filing tax returns. And, I found a nonprofit organization that posts information on the services they offer, the fundraisers they host and even simple tips on healthy living.

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Because Pinterest is visual, the key to getting people to stop and read is to have good graphics. Much like an ad in a magazine, newspaper or other venue, you need to grab a reader’s attention. Think of these pins like little ads. Each one has a place where you can write up a blurb that you can link back to your own website or blog. Because SEO is important keep keywords in mind when creating your boards and when writing your captions.

It’s important that you remain proactive by adding pins regularly and sharing others’ pins by liking or repining.  Far too many organizations get started with a few pins and then let their boards languish – they are not going to populate themselves. This doesn’t have to take a lot of time, maybe 15 minutes a day or an hour a week. Not bad for free advertisement.

Last August, Pinterest launched analytics – a way to see how your boards are trending. It shows what pins are being viewed, which ones are being repined and how they rank. This can help you to decide what kinds of pins people are interested in and what kinds of pins you should be adding or not adding. The analytics page also tells you where your audience is from, their gender, interests and even from what country they are viewing your pins. An interesting aside, a recent report from Pew Research Center on social media use found that Pinterest is more popular among white Internet users than among other groups. About one-third (32 percent) of whites use Pinterest, compared with 21 percent of Hispanics and just 12 percent of blacks.

One final thing: Don’t forget to put a link to Pinterest on your website. It can bring existing eyeballs to your board for them to share with others.

Susan R. Miller is founder of Garton-Miller Media, a full-service, South Florida-based public relations firm. Susan is a former journalist with more than 30 years of experience. She has written for local, state and national publications. Her clients include attorneys, non-profit organizations and healthcare professionals.