3 Lessons from Pinterest

Pinterest is a social media platform with an undeniable widespread appeal. It currently boasts a total of 53 million users in the United States, and that number continues to increase. It has become one of the best places to post ideas and find new ones. There are a few lessons that any businesses can learn from Pinterest.

1. Visuals sell. Text does not work as well as images, and Pinterest understood this. Images are more quickly able to relay an image than a chunk of text can. Visuals are also sometimes more easily committed to memory. The fact that the platform is primarily visual is what makes it so appealing. Its popularity would not be as great if its boards were full of words and text descriptions of ideas, trends, and projects as opposed to the images it uses instead. Descriptive writing is great, but it does not work for everything. When possible, it is always a good idea to use visuals to tell a story. Visuals are transmitted 60,000 times faster than text to the brain, and they are more pleasing to look at, so use them!

2. Shareable content is valuable. Your audience wants quality information, but the key is to make it so interesting and valuable that they feel they have to share it with their contacts. If the information is relevant, informative and the viewer feels like they gained something from it they see value in sharing that information with their network of friends of business connections. Pinterest has made this ability to share content very easy for its users by allowing them to simply re-pin anything they see. This allows their followers to see what they viewed on other boards and liked. Find ways to implement the same concept to allow your content to be shared. Include social sharing buttons to make it easy for people to share your content. Most of your content may be very niche as a differentiating factor, but it is also a good idea to post broader content from time to time. This will allow you to reach a wider audience and introduce new visitors to your brand and expertise. Sharing of content that you create also acts as a small recommendation of you and your brand because it is similar to having that person tell their network that they value the information that you have to share.

3. Strategy matters. Pinterest did not give every user one board to post everything they like, regardless of categories. Rather, it gives users the opportunity to organize ideas in ways that make it easy to locate them at any given time. You should follow suit when you present your content. Deliver your message in a clear, concise way, and use the appropriate channels to reach your audience. This requires a clear communication plan and focused method. To avoid overwhelming or confusing your audience, spend some developing this plan, then stick with it. That will ensure your message and delivery are both effective. Make sure that your strategy takes into account who you are trying to reach, what your audience is trying to accomplish and gives them meaningful information to help them in accomplishing their goal. By making sure the content is relevant to your audience you are creating a meaningful interaction between your brand and your potential customer.

With millions upon millions of users, Pinterest clearly knows a thing or two about posting and sharing content. Incorporate these tips from Pinterest to ensure that your business is on its way to become as effective and productive as it can.