Pinterest

You have 2 choices here:

1. Create a Brand New Business Account (in Addition to Your Profile)

1. If you already have a personal Pinterest profile & you’re logged in, log out now
2. Go to Pinterest for Business & choose “Join as a Business”
3. Complete the details about your business & manager of the account
4. Read & accept if you agree to the Pinterest Business Terms of Service & click “Create Account"

2. Convert Your Profile to a Business Account

1. Log in to your current Pinterest account
2. Go to Pinterest for Business
3. Click “Convert now”
4. Complete the information & click “Convert”

• Upload your most current headshot or logo
• Choose your username (this might autofill when you set up the account) - this is your chance to brand your URL the way you’d like to see it!
• Add your bio - including keywords that are optimized for search
• Add details that'll connect people to you: what do you do/like & what will you be pinning?
• Add your location
• Add your website (see next steps for verifying your website)

Remember, Pinterest is a visual network - so think visual!!

Without verification, you won’t have access to Pinterest analytics.

Here's how to get it done:

1. Go to the main page of your account & choose “Edit Profile”
2. Scroll to the bottom, add your website address & click “Verify”
3. You’ll see a pop-up with verification instructions - select “Download the HTML verification file”
4. Upload the file into the root directory of your website via FTP or CPanel then return to your Pinterest profile & click the button that says “click here to complete the process”
5. You should receive a message that says your verification was successful & you’re good to go!

At this point, you can request access to Rich Pins.

Rich Pins are Pins that include extra information/call to action right on the Pin itself. 

Before you can get started with Rich Pins, you need to request access & add specific markup code to your website.

You have 2 different options when adding the necessary code:

1. oEmbed
2. Semantic Markup

But if you use an SEO plugin like Yoast, the oEmbed data might already be there (like the article title, description & author).

If this is the case, then move on to the next steps.

Verify Your Rich Pins

First, you need to determine which type of Pin you want to be approved (see the complete list). Once you do that, follow these steps:

• Go to the Rich Pin Validation Page
• Copy the URL of your content & paste it into the Rich Pin Validator
• Click “Validate”

Once you receive the message that your pin was validated, click “Apply Now”

Pinterest will then notify you of approval. This could take 2-3 weeks -- so be prepared to check back.

With the technical stuff is out of the way, you’re ready to set up boards & start pinning, commenting, liking & repinning.

If you’re familiar with Pinterest, nothing changes. But if you’re new to Pinterest, the terminology can be confusing.

As you can imagine, Pinterest has a language all its own. Familiarizing yourself with the lingo before you get started will help you adjust that much faster.

1. Boards

Pinterest boards are buckets of categorized content. Each one contains content with similar interests.

For example, one board might be “Facebook Marketing” while another captures content surrounding “Pinterest Tips for Newbies”.

2. Secret Boards

Secret boards are the same as above, except they’re secret. No one but you or anyone you’ve invited to pin with you is able to see your pins until you make the board public.

3. Group Boards

Group boards work the same as normal boards but have multiple pinners sharing content within the board.

4. Pin

A pin is an image that you add to a board that links to an external webpage (an article, product page, blog post, etc.).

5. RePin

When you repin someone’s content, you’re sharing it with all of your followers.

It’s similar to a Facebook share or Twitter retweet. It’s a way to say, “Hey, I really like this and I’m choosing to share it with my community.”

6. Comments & Likes

Comments & Likes on Pinterest are no different than they are on Facebook.

Find a pin you really like? Leave a comment or click “Like” to show your support.

7. Pin It Button

The Pin It Button is a widget or plugin that can be added to your website or blog.

When someone visits your site and wants to pin your article, they simply click on the button & share it to their account.

Now it’s time to set up your initial Pinterest Boards. 

To surface your boards on Pinterest’s board search, use meaningful names that Pinners are likely to search for. Have a mix of both boards with specific names (e.g. “Salvador Dali Prints”) and more broad ones (e.g. “Fine Art Prints”). Don’t forget to write compelling and targeted descriptions of your boards, too, and add to them frequently to keep your followers engaged and to make your boards easier to discover.

Naming your boards will be based on your keywords, terms or phrases. Again, think optimization. Boards are searchable - so don’t miss an opportunity to get found through Pinterest's Guided Search.

Think about keywords that you’re currently using within your website - the ones consumers type into search to find you.

Each one should be used in an organic way to describe the content found on your boards.

Now that you’ve set up your boards, it’s important to start sharing consistently.

To set up your boards properly, I suggest initially pinning 5 pins to each board. This will fill the thumbnails displayed on each of your boards.

As you begin to think about pins, remember this: you want to share your own pin, but you ALSO want to make it a point to share other people’s ones!

Promoted Pins are just like regular Pins, only you pay to have them seen by more people. They’re ads that perform just as well, if not better, than organic Pins, helping people discover and save ideas.

This video covers everything you need to know to get started with cost-per-click Promoted Pins, from setting up your account to choosing keywords and setting a budget.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtCzQsNUDiY

A Few Ideas:

• Add the link to your email signature
• Add the Pin It Button or Pin widget to your website
• Add a Pinterest share button to your website

• Pin great images!
• Share quality content
• Know your target market
• Follow pinners who have similar interests & share, like, or comment on their pins
• Check your analytics frequently to see what pins are resonating with your followers & who's sharing your content
• Promote your Pinterest account on your website or blog with Pinterest widgets & share the fact that you’re on Pinterest across your social networks, via email & newsletter