Pinterest for BusinessA National Builder Supply Case Study

Rachael Nichol

@RachaelNichol wwww.pinterest.com/RachaelNichol@NBSupply www.pinterest.com/NatBSupply

#PinforBiz

Rachael Nichol• Social Media Manager and Content Strategist for National

Builder Supply

• @RachaelNichol

• www.pinterest.com/rachaelnichol

Pinterest: Quick Stats

• 40 million monthly active users

• 23% of users log on at least once per day

• Users stay on the site for an average of 15.8 minutes at a time

• Has grown from 440,000 users in 2011 to 73+ million in 2014

• 26% of Pinterest users follow at least 2 brands (about 19 million users)

National Builder Supply• Online wholesaler of plumbing and lighting for homeowners

and housing professionals

• @NBSupply

• www.pinterest.com/NatBSupply

Why are You Pinning?

To Sell

Awareness

Educate and Inform

• CDC Boards Here

Resource

Promote

Promote

Is You Target Audience on Pinterest?

The Average American Pinterest User is…

• Female (75%)

• Aged 25 – 45

• Has children

HOWEVER…

• Even if your audience not among the average, that does not mean they are not on Pinterest.

Should You Even Be on Pinterest?

Creating Your Profile

Establishing Your Profile

• Begin as/Convert to a Pinterest Business Account

• Write a 1-2 sentence, keyword-filled company description

• Add on-brand profile picture (logo)

• Link to other social media channels

• Include website URL

• Add location if relevant

Profile Descriptions

Small/Lesser Known Company

Nationally Recognized Brand

Creating Boards

• Start every board as a secret board

• This gives you time to add 5+ pins to establish the board

• Also allows for writing and re-writing board description to include keywords

• Stop the SPAM!

Full vs. Empty Boards

Board Description Examples

Board Description Examples

Board Description Examples

Keep Your Board Names Short!

Keep Board Titles Short!

Don’t Forget!

• Add the Pinterest icon and link profile on your website

• Add “Pin It” button where relevant – blog, product pages, etc.

• Add the “Pin It” bookmark to your browser

• Manage your notifications

• Sign up for PinAlerts weekly digest emails

How to Pin

You Think You Know, But You Have No Idea…

Follow the Correct People

• Be sure you are following on-brand content

• You do not need to see recipes in your feed if you will not be pinning recipes

• Constantly edit and skim the boards you do follow

• Don’t be afraid to unfollow boards and pinners that are no-longer relevant to your brand

Follow the Leader

• Select 1 – 2 brands that are fabulous at Pinterest and follow them

• These 1-2 brands do not have to be similar to your business

• This will give you inspiration and ideas on how to name boards, what to pin, pin descriptions, etc.

• Great brands to follow – ModCloth, Target, L.L.Bean, BH&G, Martha Stewart, Whole Foods

Don’t Be Lazy!

• Pinterest asks you not to repin too much

• Pinterest urges you to pin from the original source

• But 80% of all pins are repins

• You are better than that!

• That’s why you “like” pins first

Like It Before You Pin It

Pin from the Original Source!

• When you’re ready to pin, start with your likes

• Click through a liked pin to its source

• Is it actually the original source?

• If it is, use the “Pin It” Bookmark tool to pin to your correct board

• If you are not on the original source, find the original source and pin from there! Don’t be lazy, Google Image Search is your friend.

Examples of Original Sources

• Blog posts (www.exampleurl.com/projectname, NOT www.exampleurl.com)

• News articles

• Recipes from Food Network, etc.

• Product pages on retail websites

• Pages within your own website

• Magazines online (Real Simple, BH&G)

These are NOT Sources

• Tumblr

• Google Image Search

• Conglomerate sites with no image sources

• Pinterest

Pin Descriptions

• ALWAYS change the pre-loaded pin description

• Limit yourself to 1 hashtag, if using any

• Add link at the end of description if pin is linked to your website/blog

• As pins are evergreen, add specific end dates if a pin is advertising a promotion or special

Rich Pins

• Pinterest gives you the ability to create a better experience with your pins

• Blog and product titles are automatically added to the pin

• Product pricing is added

• Recipes are summarized

• Team up with your developers to make this happen!

Timing and Scheduling Pins

• First, you need to know when your audience is on Pinterest

• Busiest times are nights and weekend afternoons

• Not necessarily when your audience will be on

• An easy way to test is to pin at various times during the day/week, and compare responses

Scheduling Pins

• Scheduling pins can truly transform your life!

• Scheduling also allows you to focus on other things (perhaps other social channels)

• Great way to pin at night and on weekends without having to log on after work

• Scheduling tools don’t have to be expensive!

• Viral Tag (Free/$)

• Piqora ($$$)

• Pinterest is testing promoted pins

• Currently invite-only

• Runs similarly to Google Adwords or Facebook Ads

• Strict Guidelines

• Work with Pinterest account rep.

Promoted Pins

The Dos and Don’ts of Pinterest

DO use the 80/20 Rule

DO use proper image sizes

Guide to Pinterest Image Sizes

• 736 px wide by 1128 px tall is considered the “perfect” pin image size by many

• Tall pins cut off around 2500px tall• Pins with a 2:3 ratio get more repins• Minimum size is 100px x 200px (don’t do this)• Vertical images are your friend!• Horizontal images can be a buzz kill• Create your own images with PicMonkey or

Canva

DON’T over do it with memes

DON’T pin what is not relevant to your brand

DON’T be afraid to specialize!

DO infuse company culture into your profile

DO take advantage of place pins

Think Outside the Box!

• Plot hometowns of employees

• Corporate headquarters of brands

• Where your products or ingredients are sourced from

• Where your business travels

• It is always smart to start place pins on a secret board

DON’T mention politics or religion!

DON’T overdo it with hashtags#dontoverdoitwithhashtags

#nobutseriously#thisisreallyannoying

#noonelikesthis#noonewillrespectyouifyoudothis

DO keep your pins updated

Update pin urls when your website urls, product offerings change

DO know your audience

Analytics – Use Them!

DO incorporate Pinterest with your website, blog and other social

accounts

The following stores highlight their most popular merchandise from Pinterest.

-Target-Nordstrom-Ashley Furniture-Michaels-The Container Store

In Stores Too!

DO empower fellow employees

DON’T be afraid to have fun!

Any Questions?