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Why Pinterest is Key to Your Online Branding Strategy By Theodore “The Wisdom Man” Henderson Best Selling Author, Certified Career & Business Adviser, Entrepreneur PIN IT! (Theo's Pinterest Boards) Pinterest by most measurements is currently the fastest growing social media site as of 2012 and 2013. According to Alaska Litho e-news www.aklitho.com report, 2012 saw Pinterest rise sharply to become the fastest social media service to hit 10 million users. Nielsen's 2012 review shows Pinterest had the highest growth rate of unique visitors (over 1000% on computers and over 4000% on the mobile web!), followed by Google+ in second place and Tumblr in third place. Pinterest isn't just about the United States it is a global site and the growth rate is phenomenal in other countries across five continents as well. So what? Here’s why it is important. If you are a business owner or entrepreneur who counts Pinterest among your social networking tools, or are at least thinking about adding it, here are some key facts. The demographic is largely under 50 years old Approximately 70% of the users are women The average user is working or is a business owner The average user has “disposable” income The Average user has some amount of college education You can create “boards” (mini sites) for any purpose. Encourage “pins” (re posting of data) You can have both business and personal accounts A more thorough user breakdown is on the chart from Marketing Profs' article "Social Network Demographics: Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook" by Lenna Garibian below which uses as its source Pew Center Research. Graphic from www.marketingprofs.com If you are asking yourself “Why is Pinterest relevant?” the answer is simple we are visual beings. Pinterest thrives on visual beauty, and the largest demographic participating are “power purchasers” who respond to this visual format. For an entrepreneur or small business owner this gives you a commanding weapon to market and advertise with. Before revisiting the facts mentioned above first let me remind you how Pinterest is used. Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually share, manage, and discover new interests by posting, also known as ‘pinning,’ images or videos to their own or others’ pinboards (i.e. mini sites or a collection of ‘pins,’ usually with a common theme). Users can either upload images from their computer or pin things they find on the web using the Pinterest bookmarklet, Pin It button, or just a URL. The demographic is predominantly made up of women who are 50 years old and younger, and generally interested in topics such as food & cooking, pets, travel, fashion, arts & crafts, and other general lifestyle topics. However they are also business people and workingwomen with business and career interests as well. Your Pinterest boards when designed properly with visual information such as infographics and with an appropriate SEO strategy should reach this group and create followers. Providing quality, targeted content will create customers from followers and visitors. If you instead have a business that consults to businesses you can implement straight forward strategies, such as, if you have a blog or publication you can pin useful and timely infographics and statistics to your “boards” geared toward your audience(s) that have a specific call to action leading back to your business solution. Create integrated Facebook posts, tweets, and other relevant mentions that drive traffic to your Pinterest page. Encourage fans and followers to follow you and your company on Pinterest. To track the effectiveness of your business, or campaign’s Pinterest account, use Google Analytics to identify the exact demographic and traffic flow to the newspaper’s articles. Knowing your audience is essential to succeeding on Pinterest, and a tool like Google Analytics will be invaluable. Everything sounds perfect? You’re wondering why you haven’t done it already? The truth is this is still a new platform for business. Even though as marketers we want organic growth it will not happen quickly or without effort. You will need to share and re-pin images related to your brand. A number of the interior designer and fashion boards that have implemented this business strategy now have thousands of users. A small number have a million plus users but that number is growing. Pinterest is habit forming. Time will fly by as you search for content, post content; communicate with other users, etc. Don’t forget because it is a visual medium the stimulation factor is very high. Part of what you are doing is demonstrating your commitment and passion to your product or service and that takes time. Part of your strategy should be obvious, for example, do seasonal or special occasion pinning (you will easily tap into the feeling of the seasons), contest, lists, and tutorials are all examples of strategies which work well for sophisticated users just as they do on other social media platforms. Even though the field is a bit thin now you will soon see dramatically more in the plugin API department as Pinterest continues its phenomenal growth Lastly do not forget as an entrepreneur and small business owner you are in the marketing business and your primary purpose is to provide service and value not to just “sell ‘em something”. Approach your Pinterest campaign in this way and you greatly increase your chances of success. Periodically I do lectures and workshops on this and other Social Media, career, and business topics. Access my complimentary Career and Business Strategies Series and for information on my speaking and webinar schedule use the “Contact” tab at my website. In the meantime connect with me at www.pinterest.com/theohenderson and www.twitter.com/theohenderson. ©2013 Theodore Henderson – THJ & Associates All rights reserved. www.TheodoreHenderson.com

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