A Pinterest marketing strategist is an expert in social media marketing with a focus on the platform, Pinterest. A Pinterest marketing strategist will help you streamline the marketing process and take the guesswork out of your social media marketing strategy as it relates to Pinterest.
Now here are some things that you want to look for when you are hiring or even learning from a person who claims to be a Pinterest marketing strategist:
Curating content is a big piece of my Pinterest marketing strategy for a number of reasons.
As you all know, I average over 4 million monthly viewers on Pinterest (stats below). I’d be lying if I said it all came from publishing my own content. Remember in this blog where I discussed creating the user experience? By sharing others’ content, I’m able to better serve my target audience.
Confession: when I first started my Pinterest account, I didn’t have a Pinterest marketing strategy. I also wasn’t one of the early adopters so I didn’t have a bunch of followers just because I placed my stake in the sand early on. I had to start from scratch. Probably the same thing you’re doing right now. I was on the platform, had no sense of direction much less any knowledge of how to actually use Pinterest for business. Another moment of truth: I didn’t even know you could use Pinterest for business.
I stumbled upon its capabilities by mistake. I pinned a blog years before. Had forgotten all about it! As I was looking at my blog stats, I realized the pin was still driving traffic to my blog years later — despite the facts: I wasn’t on the platform much, didn’t even know how to really use the platform and didn’t have a bunch of followers to do the work for me. It caused me to take a second look at Pinterest.
Every time I talk to someone about Pinterest marketing strategy, I usually get mixed reactions. After they realize Pinterest isn’t just for recipes and DIYs, it’s followed by “I don’t even know how to use it.”
I tell every entrepreneur, small business owner, coach and consultant that they need to be on Pinterest.
Pinterest is great for reaching people while they decide what to buy or even what to do next. Most people go to Pinterest to research, plan, find inspiration or a solution to a specific problem. About 97% of searches on Pinterest are unbranded meaning they’re not looking for a specific brand or product, they’re looking for a solution. Let your solution be the one they find.
Before we talk about a Pinterest marketing strategy, let’s talk about what is Pinterest first? Pinterest is a search engine. It’s meant for discovery. This is where people go to find solutions, ideas and inspiration.
The internet is swarming with new content each and everyday.
Think of Pinterest as “the best of the best on the internet.” It’s a way for users to bookmark what they’ve found to be helpful.
What does this mean for you as an entrepreneur or marketer?
If they pin your content, you are gaining credibility and authority which will strengthen your marketing strategy. Word-of-mouth advertising will always be
Pinterest Marketing Strategies That Work
effective! If someone is pinning your content, they’re endorsing you so their friends, family and followers can discover you as well. You are increasing your total exposure. Pinterest is the perfect way to drive traffic to your site in order to generate more leads and business.
One way to get the ball rolling is to make sure that YOU are pinning your content.
Currently, I average over 4 million monthly viewers per month on Pinterest with close to a 9% engagement rate! I’ve used Pinterest to drive traffic to my blog, e-commerce site, appointment booking sites, lead capture pages and even Youtube videos. The possibilities really are endless. If you’re thinking you don’t have time to learn about another social media site, trust me, I was just like you but this is where Pinterest has proven to be worth it many times over!
Facebook groups can be a great way to build a sense of community. When you have community, people are more likely to share goals as well as issues they may be facing because they TRUST you in this private place.
Do you have a Facebook group? If not, seriously consider it 🤔
Here’s what you see:
👁 A pinned post so all new members see it as soon as they join 👁 Educational video – most people value knowledge especially when you’re solving issue 👁 Call-to-action (this is how you convert friends, followers and group members — turn those likes/views into paying customers)
You’ll also see the URL to one of my digital business cards 👀. This card is set-up so that they have to give contact info which helps me build relationships later (especially if they don’t purchase at first).
The incentive for giving contact info is a discount on their order. I don’t give the discount freely so this is an added bonus. 👸🏽
Remember, most people want to know the answer to this question: what’s in it for me🤔?
Before you (the entrepreneur) ask for something, you have to give something.
I gave value first by educating (one of the 3Es).
Remember, don’t be afraid to actually reach out to group members to introduce yourself and let them know you’re available to address specific concerns 💡
Expert tip: using Facebook tool, I have questionnaire for anyone requesting to join group. I like to include spot for email or contact information. I’ve had several Facebook folks lose their accounts but they’re customers. Good thing I don’t need to search for them again.
Part of building your personal brand is showing you — your person 🙀
People buy from people who they feel connected to in some way so showing you and NOT hiding behind a logo or company photo is crucial.
Consistency is key. You MUST show up constantly for your audience 🗝
It’s actually non-negotiable which is why I wanted to share this little hack with you 👩🏽💻
My Personal Branding Challenge:
Working from home, I don’t get dressed up as often as I should 😔 (I’m on a personal mission to dress up more often even if I don’t need to leave the house).
Naturally, I don’t have a “good” or different picture of me to post each day.
Being in the beauty/health industry 💄, it’s important that I showcase our products or at least the quality of our products.
Today: I created a month’s worth of photos and have stored them for future use.📆
Meal-Prep Hack 🍓:
✔️ On your “good” photo day, take multiple good photos — don’t stop when you get that one GOOD photo (ladies, you know what I mean)
✔️ Using your content calendar, plan to share one of those good photos at least once per week (your audience should see you enough to at least be able to identify you — have a strategy and aim for one photo per week)
✔️ Use a social media post scheduler (shared these tools in Facebook group; Facebook has its own scheduler)
You can use this for any product-based industry:
💍 jewelry and accessories industry: take photos wearing each piece. Got 10 pieces? Get 10 good pictures and schedule them out. You don’t have to upload them all at once.
🏋️🏽 health and wellness: take photos of you exercising, pre- and post-workout photos, show your before and after, a picture of you drinking shake/supplements, etc. Got dramatic results? Take photos in clothing that shows the difference or at least make it evident that you’ve lost weight or toned up.
👗 fashion: take pictures with multiple poses and wearing multiple clothing pieces. Only post one piece at a time. Unless you have a LARGE inventory, you do not need to upload an entire gallery of photos. One picture or two or three pictures showcasing the same item from different angles is fine.
👩🏽🎓 Personal branding: if you’re not showcasing a certain product, you can use the different photos to make a different statement (think about the 3 Es: empower, educate and entertain)
The picture included in this blog will be posted later. Yes, you just got the sneak peek😂 I have an “empowering” statement to make with it. With the other three photos, I have one for education (giving tip), entertaining (telling a beauty-related story) and then I’ll have my one BUSINESS post (hard-selling, curiosity, etc).
Don’t be afraid to recycle, reuse or repurpose your old photos. Even a simple “throwback” picture from a month ago will help.
You took those pictures. Make them work FOR YOU!
Hey 👋🏽
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Disclosure: this article may include affiliate links which are at no additional charge to you; however, I may receive commission if you click through and make a purchase.
If you are a sales professional, realtor, small business owner or aspiring entrepreneur, you know the importance of networking. Networking can help build a constant stream of business as well as develop a network of referrals for future endeavors.
Every professional should be networking. When I set out on my professional journey, I did just that — I headed over to EventBrite, MeetUp and Facebook to learn about the different networking events to attend.
I’d go to the networking events with the goal of handing out as many business cards as possible. After a few years, I learned about digital business cards and it intrigued me. Cards could be ready within minutes, you could update info within minutes and you’d never run out of cards.
I’ve been using digital business cards for a while now but I recently discovered a new service called Shuffle by Elify.
A little history about me and my challenges with networking:
Prior to using digital business cards, I was networking all wrong. Forget the fact that almost 90% of business cards are tossed within one week of receiving them.
No, that wasn’t my struggle.
I became too reliant on the paper business card.
At networking events, I’d hand over a card and try my hardest to get away as soon as I could.
What was the result? Nothing. None of my previous networking events proved to be successful. Why? I wasn’t leaving a memorable or lasting impression. People couldn’t get to know me; therefore, my card became one of the many tossed in the trash. No real relationships ever formed. Haven’t learned from my mistake, I’d attend another networking event and do the exact same thing. No connections. Wasted time and business cards.
Then there would be the awkward times where I met someone in passing. We talked, felt like there was rapport and I’d hand my business card. Suddenly the mood darkened. It wasn’t a natural progression. Maybe I looked awkward handing it to them but regardless, I never got a call back.
About a year ago, I attended lunch with a realtor, event planner and mortgage officer. Everything was going well. We hit it off. Shared learning experiences. Laughed and even talked about meeting in the future. As soon as we ended lunch, we all exchanged business cards and it just felt so impersonal and cold. Needless to say, we never followed up on our future plans.
I tried all kinds of “creative” ways to get someone to keep my card such as first time customer discount, changing colors to be more bold and even putting my face on the card.
After THOUSANDS of cards stuck in boxes, many were useless as contact information had changed, I decided to try digital business cards.
What happened after switching over to the digital business card?
At first, it pushed me so far outside of my comfort zone, I wanted to crawl in a dark hole and never return. My business wasn’t where I needed it to be so I knew that I had to network. This was an all or nothing decision. I personally challenged myself because that’s just how bad I wanted it.
I actually had to speak to people! No more relying on the physical card as a crutch.
Not only did my conversations become better but they became more effective. Speaking to people allowed me to see if we could truly benefit from connecting. When I was networking before, I handed my business card to anyone willing to accept — without knowing if there was a mutual benefit or if we were even in the same industry!
Over time, I became better at impromptu conversations and developing rapport — learning and listening for cues about potential networking opportunities that could be mutually beneficial. It didn’t matter where I was — grocery store, airport, or networking event.
What’s the difference between the previous digital card app and Shuffle by Elify?
With this new application, it’s customizable but it’s more than just a mobile landing page. Not only can I include pictures and videos to showcase my work but I can send a card, see when they’ve opened, which of my sites they visited and even schedule follow ups! You can include a lead capture form so visitors can leave their contact info and also the option for them to share your digital business card with others.
It’s like the perfect CRM created for your cell phone.
I’ve become a networking on-the-go pro!
Even when I’m not attending networking events, I meet pretty amazing people in my daily routines. Naturally, some situations are so spontaneous that carrying business cards wouldn’t be possible anyway.
For example, last week, I went to the gym. As soon as I walked in and while she was heading off, I bumped into an entrepreneur. I knew that I wanted to connect with her later. She tried to hand me her business card but I was at the gym. I only had my cell phone, keys and headphones. Guess what I did? Yep! I sent her my digital business card.
Current results: everyone that I personally connect with receives my digital business card. The conversations flow more naturally. Because I’ve learned to become more personable, the conversations feel more personal. Therefore, they usually don’t hesitate when I ask for their phone number. Then, I send my digital business card directly to their phone. We now have each other’s number and I can send a quick text.
Potential clients are able to go directly to my online booking site and because everything is in one location, I don’t have to send link to website, link to private Facebook community and links to my social media accounts. Everything is in one place.
I’ve gained a steady source of paying clients and referrals.
Other perks:
There’s the Discover feature which allows you to connect with other users in the app. You can send private message, exchange business cards, schedule follow ups and even send attachments such as documents, audio files and more.
The QRDex allows you to store cards from other users and send to your connections. Perfect for providing referrals.
With Campaigns, you can track traffic to see source of views/leads.
Are you looking to network more effectively and create lasting impressions?
Check out Shuffly by Elify. They allow you to create 10 digital business cards with your subscription which is perfect if you have different networking purposes. I created a card just for this article. Click here to see my personal digital business cards.
3 Types of Posts to Generate Interest and Lead to Sales These posts will help you build relationships with people and converse via private message so you can close the sale.
AVOID POSTING “BUY FROM ME”, “SHOP MY ONLINE STORE”, OR “JOIN MY TEAM” with your website link added. Here are two reasons why you should not but trust me, I can go on about this:
No one wants to do that. They’re biggest concern is what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for you. Relate to them and show them you aren’t just trying to make a sale off them. If they buy, GREAT! But if not, it’s ok — still treat them as humans and allow them an out. If you are only posting about making money off them, they’re more likely to ignore you. Remember to post using the 3 E’s (Entertain, Educate, Empower) and then add in the business post.
You will lose control. You will not know who is interested and therefore, you will have no way to follow up with them. They’ll go to your website and leave or worse, join someone else. Think: if you are in direct sales, it’s easier to remember the company’s website than your replicated URL which is longer OR they may find someone more popular/successful than you.
Below, I list examples of business posts:
1. Curiosity post – pique their interest with a desired result — think, what would make them say “how” or “what is it”or “tell me more” or my favorite response is “send me the deets”
“I can’t believe this stuff really works. I have so much energy!”
“OMG, this new highlighter is the bomb!”
“Wow! My skin feels so soft!”
2. Story post
Testimonial outlining either your story, customer’s story or team member’s story and how our business or product helped — usually somewhat lengthy as you want them to identify and “feel” the emotion behind the post (think about my post talking about my sister’s acne)
b. Before/after picture — could be showing how the skincare products cleared up your skin, power of makeup, slimmer figure, how necklace transforms outfit, etc
3. Helpful tip – establishes you as an authority which builds trust; feel free to mix it up between posting helpful tip and posting helpful tip with hint to your recommendation
“Seriously, the best way to make your eyeshadow lasts all day is to use an eyeshadow primer. It makes your eyeshadow last longer and the colors POP! If you have oily skin, make sure to use an oil-free primer. I’ve been using this primer for years and my eyeshadow has never looked better!”
Ideas:
Makeup tip
Skincare tip
Fragrance tip
Traveling Tips
Healthy eating tips
Any tip that will be helpful to your audience *bonus if it’s related to your brand*
*Engagement post —- ask for your audience’s feedback: Use this sparingly and make sure it’s related to your business! None of the “help me solve an argument in my house, do you prefer Ketchup or BBQ sauce?” — don’t you dare post that or anything similar! It’s completely irrelevant and will not do anything for your business. *
Tip 1: Make sure it’s relevant to your business or brand
Tip 2: Don’t overdo it —- don’t ask this question everyday.
Tip 3: Try using personal photos. It’s ok if you don’t have them but if you do, post them!
Examples of engagement posts:
“What issues are you struggling with in terms of makeup or skincare?”
“We’re heading out for dinner. Help me decide: should I wear this dress or the other?” — helps show off fashion
Check out my latest post from the What’s New 12 available online. It’s a great way to show off what we have or will be introducing soon AND they’re feedback may actually help you! I’m really stumped on which eyeliner I should choose lol
Now that you have your business post, you want to actually generate leads. This is why we remove company branding and only brand ourselves. If people are interested, you will know. Whereas if you leave company name or website, you’ve lost all control.
