How to use Pinterest to Establish Authority in Your Niche

How to use Pinterest to establish authority in your niche

Pinterest is one of the strongest social media channels available to brands, creators, and marketers looking to drive traffic (and hopefully conversions!). The visual-bookmarking behemoth even has business tools for verified accounts including analytics and promoted pins.

If you currently use Pinterest and have access to the analytics, take a few screenshots of your current stats so you can compare the data with your results in a few months after

1. Create 8 - 10 boards that showcase your expertise and knowledge of your niche. If you are a travel agent, you'll want boards that will attract potential clients and attract resorts and attractions. Your boards may include: U.S. Travel Guides, International Travel Guides, Packing Tips, Travel-related Products, Recipes for Exotic Cuisines, International Weddings, Traveling with Kids, and Travel Books. If you are an app developer, you may want to focus on board such as: programming for beginners, advanced programming, marketing for creatives, workspace inspiration, productivity tips, and a design-related boards. If you write articles and blog posts of your own, be sure to include those throughout the boards. You will want to have at least 10 pins per board to get started.
2. Make the description of each of your boards SEO-friendly. Your Pinterest boards will be more likely to show up in search engine results when they are complete and have a human-sounding description. For example, the Traveling with Kids board that the Travel Agent created would have a description that reads something like, "Don't let the idea of traveling with children hold you back from adventure! Here are some tips, tricks, and hacks for traveling with kids both domestically and internationally." The Workspace Inspiration board for the app developer may read something like, "Workspace inspiration for developers, designers, freelancers, and other creatives."
3. Create a landing page on your website specifically for Pinterest traffic and link it to your Pinterest profile. A landing page (or sometimes called a squeeze page) dedicated to the traffic coming from Pinterest is a great way to keep fans interested in your work. When you create this page, be sure to include important information about your brand, what visitors can expect on your site, a call to action (subscribe to newsletter, like on Facebook, buy something, etc.) and include thumbnails to other “pinnable” content on your site to encourage more clicks and pins from new fans. A dedicated landing page can be updated throughout the year to reflect the goals of your marketing calendar.
4. Create a community board and invite others to participate in it. This is especially helpful for small businesses looking to connect with other businesses or larger brands looking to reach out to brand ambassadors. A local Chamber of Commerce may create a "best of" board and invite member businesses to pin applicable content to the board. Local restaurants could pin photos of their food with links to their menu or reservation page, a caterer could pin the latest recipe shared on their blog, and the local sporting good store could share images promoting an upcoming sale. Inviting others to be a part of your board will get more content with less work for you!
5. Share your boards across social media platforms as excellent resources for fans. I know that the fans of one of my clients are interested in travel, organization, and being active. I created Pinterest boards to reflect those interests and share those boards on Facebook and Twitter to attract different fans. I'll preface those posts with a short statement like, "The weekend is coming and we're looking to hit the trail! If you need some inspiration to get outdoors, check out our Hiking Pinterest board" along with a screenshot of the board and a link.

If you are just starting out with Pinterest or decided that your account needs an overhaul, these 5 tips will help you develop an account with a better brand story. Pinterest isn't just about cute craft tutorials and recipes for delicious food, it's about creating a central location for the answers to your fans' questions and needs. Figure out what your fans need, create the boards that help them, and make sure to continue to grow those resources.

Need help overhauling your Pinterest account for a more cohesive message? Let's chat! Contact me through LinkedIn and we'll discuss what your brand needs and how I can help.