Facebook may get all the attention, but Pinterest is fast becoming one of the most popular sites in the social media space. This unique and very useful site allows users to create their own pinboards, basically the online equivalent of the old fashioned bulletin board. Users are free to add all kinds of interesting items to their virtual pinboards, from vacation photos and recipes to interesting websites they stumble across in the course of their daily browsing.
It is not difficult to see the commercial potential in a site like Pinterest, and smart marketers are already taking notice. Companies can use Pinterest to build their brands through the use of images and links. They can also use Pinterest to get their product lines in front of willing consumers while tracking the popularity of each item. Pinterest allows users to track the number of re-pins each item receives, making it easier than ever to determine the effectiveness of a marketing campaign.
As with any tool, what you get out of Pinterest will depend largely on what you put into it. If you simply choose a boring photo of a hot selling product, you might not see the results you were expecting. If, on the other hand, you are able to think outside the box and choose a creative image, you could see the number of re-pins and referrals skyrocket. When choosing an image, keep in mind that you want users to pin that image to their virtual pinboards – so make sure you give them something worth sharing.
Look for images that are unique, rather than ones that are already all over the internet. The more unique and creative you can be, the more success you should have. Avoid stock photos at all costs – those photos are already so widely distributed most users will simply ignore them. It may take a bit more work to find a unique image, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Showing your product in a new setting is one of the best ways to use Pinterest to your advantage. Show your product in action, rather than just sending users a boring still photo or publicity shot. If users can picture your product in their lives, solving their problems, they will be much more receptive – and much more likely to make a purchase.
Once you have chosen the perfect image for your email marketing campaign, you can incorporate that image into your newsletters, emails and other electronic marketing materials. Pinterest makes it easy to incorporate a special “pin it” button into your images. Simply follow these steps to incorporate Pinterest into your emails to send out with SendBlaster:
1) Go to http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/
2) Scroll down to the ‘Pin It button for websites’
3) Insert the URL of the page where the image is posted and
the URL of the image to pin.
4) Add a (optional) description of the page to be pinned
5) Copy the code shown on the screen
6) Open SendBlaster and go to the Compose panel
7) Import or compose your email
8) Insert the image you want to get pinned into your email
7) Paste the code you got from the Pinterest website.
8) A small link will appear with the words ‘pin it’
9) Additionally you can insert the pin it logo and replace it with some text
10) Click on Preview email to check that it is appearing correctly.
When users see that button or link, they can quickly and easily add your chosen image to their virtual pinboards. If you choose your images well, you can get instant exposure as users share your products and your messages with their friends, colleagues and others in their circle of online acquaintances.
Pinterest has great promise for email marketers – the key is to use this powerful new tool to its best advantage.
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