Pinterest Tools & Tips

Part of the Sane Social Media Kickstart Package

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

ALL LOGOS AND TRADEMARKED IMAGES REPRESENTED HERE ARE COPYRIGHTED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

This work is released under this Creative Commons License. Basically, that means

it’s free for you to use and share; however, please don’t sell it or change it.

Thanks.

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Be brand consistent.Use the same logo or profile picture you use on other social media platforms, and the same basic intro or tagline. Don’t forget to put in the link to your website when you set up your profile.

Set up boards that make sense for your business. Don’t hesitate to change the default boards Pinterest gives you and set up your own. These can be topical, seasonal, divided according to your product or service divisions, created to align with your blog categories... It’s up to you.

Be friendly, not self-focused.Yes, you’re using Pinterest to build up your business, but you can’t forget that social media requires interacting and sharing, not just tooting your own horn. So don’t forget to follow people back, repin stuff from other pinners, leave comments and likes, and generally be a nice, sociable, friendly person.

PINTEREST IS VISUAL. You can use it even if your business isn’t visually oriented, but you’ll need to think

and share visually in order to promote your business on Pinterest.

Fortunately, there are a lot of great tools to help you do that. You can use Pinterest to showcase your products and services, share useful

information, highlight your experience and expertise, gain followers who are

interested in your primary topics, get to know influential people in your area or

topic, compare and contrast your business with others, provide inspiration and

ideas, and more.

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

Pinterest Basics

OPTIMIZE YOUR IMAGE SIZE.See a great infographic guide to Pinterest image sizes at LLSocial.com. Basically, just remember: not too big, not too small. 600 pixels on one side is a good limit, and Pinterest won’t accept tiny images.

DON’T FORGET THE DESCRIPTION.An accurate little description - including a couple of keywords - will help people find your pin. Forego cute or cryptic in favor of simple and understandable.

PINREACH.COM If you want to obsess over your Pinterest influence and general coolness, here’s a great tool for it. Sign in and see your analytics, including pins, likes, followers, repins, and so on.

GOOGLE CHROME BROWSER. Chrome has quite a few extensions that can make your Pinterest use more efficient. If you’re an avid Pinterest user, it’s worth switching to Chrome.

BUILD TOPICAL, SPECIFIC BOARDS. Forget the Pinterest-assigned “My Style” and “Wishlist” boards; instead, create very specific topical boards that will draw interest from people wanting more.

PINWORDS.COM Add text to your images. Several different styles. Useful for adding prices and comments to product images.

SHAREASIMAGE.COM Grab some text and share as graphic quote. Basically the same things as Quozio’s bookmarklet. Free version is very basic; pro version gives you lots more editing options.

GET THE PIN IT BUTTON ON YOUR SITE.Go to Pinterest --> About --> Goodies to get instructions on how to add a Pin It or Follow button to your website or blog.

Pinterest Tools & Tips

QUOZIO.COMCREATE GRAPHIC QUOTES Quozio is a free service. Use it online at their website or use the bookmarklet, which makes it incredibly easy to quote from any webpage or

blog. A variety of backgrounds, each with its own distinct font. Put in your quote and who said

it, hit the GO button, and then choose the background you want. You can pin or share it on Facebook from there, or right click to save for

use elsewhere.

FREE

BEGINNER FRIENDLY

PICMARK.COMARK & CAPTION IMAGESPicmark is a free service that allows you to “brand” or mark your pictures by adding a frame and a line of text. Choose from their

(small) selection of frames or upload your own. You have to create an account (or sign in with

Facebook), but then you can save all your images and share them to Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter from within the service.

FREE

ACCOUNT REQUIRED

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

Pinterest Tools & Tips

SHOTPIN.COMSHARE A SCREENSHOTShotpin is a browser extension that does one thing only (but does it well): allows you to quickly grab a screenshot and share it on

Pinterest. Install the extension, then click the icon to take a screenshot. Drag the + to size the

screenshot as you desire, then click the pushpin image; a Pinterest box will open. Select the board you want to pin to, and you’re good to

go.

FREE

SIMPLIFIED SCREENSHOTS

REPINLY.COMSEARCH & FIND ON PINTEREST A better way to search on Pinterest. You don’t have to create an account to search for popular pins and boards or top pinners. Join (you can

connect with your Facebook or Twitter account, if desired) to see stats on your own Pinterest

account, including a “Pinterest Score” and your most popular pins.

FREE

GREAT SEARCHABILITY

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

Pinterest Tools & Tips

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

PINSTAMATIC.COMPIN ANYTHING WITH STYLEPinstamatic is free, and this is probably the most useful tool for Pinterest out there. You can use Pinstamatic to create graphic quotes, to pin

music, to pin maps and locations, to add captions to your photos or images, to pin a

Twitter profile, a date, a sticky note, or a screenshot.

FREE

PINTEREST POWERHOUSE

CREATE A VIRTUAL STICKY NOTE. Remind your followers & friends of anything relevant. You can’t choose a link for these, but they’re great for quick, attention-grabbing reminders.

PIN & LINK TO ANY LOCATION ON A MAP. Enter the address you want to find, select the right one on the map, and your pin will link to the Google Maps location.

SHARE A TWITTER PROFILE.Enter the name of any Twitter user and Pinstamatic will create a pinnable graphic of their Twitter profile and latest tweet, which automatically links to the corresponding Twitter page.

Pinterest Tools & Tips

I’ve set up my Pinterest account with my business email, link to my business website, and links to my other business social media profiles.

I’ve used my business logo or the same professional profile headshot I use in my other profiles in my Pinterest profile.

I’ve added the Pinterest ‘Pin it’ and/or the ‘Follow me on Pinterest’ button(s) to my website, blog, or portfolio site.

I’ve come up with a topics for focused, specific Pinterest boards which will help me share valuable content and get people interested in what I’m doing.

I’ve gotten comfortable with a couple of those Pinterest tools and I can quickly use them to share quotes, images, or other content that I find or create.

I’ve used Repinly to find and follow influential, creative, and interesting people in my area/topic.

I’ve added at least 10 pins each to 5 of my boards.

I’ve blocked out a regular time each week to add new pins to my boards and to be friendly with other Pinners.

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com

Pinterest Checklist

www.anniemueller.com

Sane Social Media is a concept and a set of products. The concept: Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business owner, or a creative-turned-creative-pro, you can learn to use social media effectively to build your business... and it doesn’t have to take over your life.

The products: Sane Social Media Kickstart Package (info + assistance)Sane Social Media DIY Kit (the DIY version of Kickstart)Sane Social Media Builder (ongoing monthly service)

For more information on these products, or to check out the other freebies available, visit

Annie Muellerwww.AnnieMueller.comam@anniemueller.com

Sane Social Media am@anniemueller.com www.anniemueller.com