Four Pinterest Practices

Four Pinterest Practices that help grow my boards.

How is Pinterest working for Hung Out To Buy, a kids bedroom fashion boutique?  

Splendidly! Amazing!! Wowsers!!

Please go and check out my boards here: http://pinterest.com/hungouttobuy/

I stumbled onto Pinterest by way of an invite. I am a little embarrassed to say that my success happened over a family movie night, laptop on my lap, wine glass filled, and now move my curser around and figure this thing out.  Within four hours my boards were filled and I had what others have said “a very professional” Pinterest page.  My family thinking, mom is becoming a computer geek.

Two weeks later I received an email from a stranger.  Tim Lorang who has a company called Image Media Partners-A Social Media & Online Marketing & Consulting Agency | Expert Video Producers | QR Code Marketing Solutions | Blogging & Content Creators | Professional Tweeters  Seattle, WA · http://www.imagemediapartners.com

Tim emailed me asking what tips I might offer on Pinterest. He had looked at my pages and realized that he too would need to up his knowledge when consulting for those clients becoming obsessed, like me, with Pinterest.   I was flattered that a dude, a man, a pioneer in social media was asking me, based on the look of my boards.  I was not just excited to be noticed and then contacted, I had many people asking me how I was able to get my boards up so fast and so functional.  It helps that marketing and design run in my blood.  However I am still behind the eight ball with Social Media.  Much further ahead today than I was four months ago when I set up my boards.

Is Pinterest driving people to my website?  Yes!  Each time I “plan” my “pinning” I first look at the traffic stats on my website.  As a newbie with social media, and website traffic I do not even know what merits “good” traffic.  All I know is that the jump from a few views will jump by 10’s rapidly.  Hung Out To Buy is brand new and I am learning that traffic is a first in getting people to know me, know my products and then as business awareness grows, sales begin.  So what is so special about me?  How is what I am doing different than the next super cool Pinterest-er?  As an Interior Designer I believe that it comes more natural to set up function, finder friendly boards.   Here are some tips, from a home grown Interior Designer.

1.  Plan Your Pinning Quantities

If you find one great picture, don’t just pin that one picture.  The feed with Pinterest, and it’s growing popularity, moves rapidly. One single picture will get lost.  I save up pictures to total about ten pictures to be pinning at one time.  If you only have a few pictures. Learn the art of cropping. You can take one picture and expand on it’s elements.  Pin that one picture, and then focus on the specific elements of the picture, crop in close ups and then pin those close up elements, giving more views of your picture through the feed.

If you have tens and hundreds of pictures. Space your pinning out.  It seems that I see MASSIVE pinning from an individual or company and then never again to be seen pinning for  weeks.  I try to set 2 days a week, all the time I have right now, for pinning my own pictures for Hung Out To Buy. This is also consistent with the adding of new products  to our website.  This consistency keeps the flow of traffic being driven to our website.

2.  Highlight Your Own Work

I am surprised at how many professional boards have boards that are not their own stuff on the first two row of boards. Create your own boards, with your own work on that first few row of boards.  Take a moment and check out the first row on Hung Out To Buy’s boards http://pinterest.com/hungouttobuy/  Our second and 3rd rows also highlight our own boards.  Breaking down what our boards will show gives us more boards that are our very own.

For example we highlight each room by name. Here is a sample of our “Margaret” collection:

http://pinterest.com/hungouttobuy/margaret/ 

We take a picture that we like to refer to in the office as a “Sweeping” view of a collection and “Pin” it.  We also, highlight that same picture on the page of our website. In the same way we break down the products in the picture we sell on our website. We also break it down the picture on that one board specific to our collection.   This is going to also create a sense of consistency to those looking either on Pinterest or our Hung Out To Buy’s website.

Now that you have your pictures pinned on that one board, what next? I then expand those pictures, filtering them through the Pinterest feed, several more times,  by creating additional boards such as “For Sale” board  “Lighting” board “Walls”  board etc.  I easily have the same pictures, categorized on separate boards through out my Pinterest sight.

3. Take Authentic Interest in Others

I spend about 30 minutes a day forgetting about myself, my agenda, and my “interior motive”.  I love design, visuals, ideas of others, arrangements and rooms.  I take the time to highlight and notice others.  Authentic interest is important to understanding what fuels the passions of others. I comment on things that truly inspired me. I comment on other designers who have done a fine job with a room, or an accent. I comment on lovely foods and travel. Those things that interest me.  I pin the designs and ideas of other all over my boards. Once you get past the first few rows of Hung Out To Buy’s personal boards you will see hundreds of others I love.  And I follow those boards who consistently inspire and provoke me to be a better designer.

4. Enlist Additional Pinners for your Boards

Do you have family and friends who love your work, love you and are excited for what you are doing?  Ask them for help.  Send out a regular email when new pictures have been pinned. Ask that they pin to their boards.  This allows your pictures, to once again, go through the feed and get noticed.  Offer incentives to some of the more popular boards to be pinning your pictures or better yet, those in your industry, customers etc.

If you are in the process of developing your pages. I would be happy to take a look and offer some tips to improve your boards.

This picture defines how I felt when I first started.

I would also love to follow and make new friends.  Comment below some ways in which you have seen success with your boards and add your Pinterest link that I may follow and others may too.  Please click and follow in my sidebar too. Thx