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The SITS Girls

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#1 Mistake A Business on Pinterest is Making

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How much business on Pinterest are you managing? Many brands are reporting that Pinterest drives more traffic to their websites than LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube, combined! That means huge exposure to new customers, clients and sales.

But, in order to succeed, you need to make sure you are steering clear of the biggest mistake a business on Pinterest is making.

business on pinterest

#1 Mistake a Business on Pinterest is Making

Pinterest is all about sharing your interests and what you love! It’s about discovering new products, new services and new brands.

It only makes sense to think that if you are using Pinterest, you should create boards that are all about your interests and what you like.

But that’s where most entrepreneurs get Pinterest wrong.

If you are conducting business on Pinterest, either to promote your books, your services, your website or your programs, you should be creating boards around what your TARGET MARKET & AUDIENCE is or might be interested in, not what YOU are interested in!

It might seem counter intuitive, but if you are trying to promote your fashion brand on Pinterest, it doesn’t make sense for you to create boards around your favorite recipes. There is one exception and that is unless, for example, those recipes are relevant to your target market’s lifestyle.

Read Full Post Here: The #1 Mistake Entrepreneurs Make When Using Pinterest

About Francesca

Francesca has an extensive background in content marketing, public relations, and social outreach. She oversees all Operations at Sway Group, including our robust metrics capabilities. Prior to joining the online world, Francesca oversaw viticulture and oenology at various wineries in both California and Italy, and managed regulatory affairs and facility approvals at the biotech company, Genentech. Francesca has been featured on CBS Sacramento and Food Blogger Pro’s podcast. She has also hosted an AMA webinar and spoken at Social Media World.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Lauren Hesterman says

    I’m trying to get a handle on this whole social media thing… is it not a TAD bit overwhelming? Many thanks for all of your tips; hopefully they’ll help me get a handle on it all soon!

  4. Charlotte says

    I just started handling Pinterest accounts for the SM company I recently started working with, so this post couldn’t have come at a better time. Thanks!

  5. Shana says

    This is so true, but have you guys seen the new pinterest? I LOVE IT it has analytics now to track views and clicks and more. If they had it before i never noticed it, but i love it

  7. Carli says

    Okay, you got me! I have to go check this out. Pinterest isn’t my number 1 source yet but it is in the top 3.

  10. Lisa Marcia says

    Hey all! While I agree you should be market sensitive and aware of what you’re pinning, I think the market on Pinterest is pretty clear right now.

    If you’re a woman and you have a blog and are branding who you are with that blog (business), then I don’t see a clear cut issue on including recipes as one of your boards. For instance, your business might be blogging and design, but you’re also a work at home mom. I think that’s why Pinterest created the individual board follow.

    I do this with a bunch of folks because I don’t necessarily want recipes, but their design tips or something to that effect.

    Maybe I missed the point…but just trying to start a conversation. Would love to hear thoughts. I get if you are branded on Pinterest as “Bar Exam Tips . Com” and are pinning dog treats and people are following your company for Bar Exam Tools, that’s not smart.

    However, I’m clinging to the ideal of what social media was created for which is connectivity based on who we really are. I have a business account, but pin things regularly for my toddler and recipes for my kitchen? I feel it gives my followers a true sense of who I am. Maybe that doesn’t work for all industries, but thinking the line is a little gray 🙂

    • KC White says

      I completely agree with you on this. I think it depends on who/what the brand is, in fact.

      If you’re a large conglomerate, like Starbucks, then yeah, I’d find it odd to see boards dedicated to baby clothes, cosmetics, or something way off target. Lol

      But as a blogger, I’m a person and a brand unto myself. The boards I pin to are what reflect my tastes and preferences.

      I’m looking to connect with other people like me, so I find it senseless to have to second-guess my pins because they don’t fit my “target market.” Call me lazy.

      And the nice thing about Pinterest is that we can have private boards if we want to separate out a few things + we don’t have follow ALL of a pinner’s boards. There’s always the option to hand-select which boards are followed.

      Now, if you want to talk about Twitter, well… ;0)

  12. Kristen says

    This is good advice! I have a question though, do you think every blog would benefit from posting on Pinterest? The reason I ask is because I have more of a lifestyle blog. I’ve done a few recipes that I’ve put on Pinterest, but I can’t see a point in pinning posts that I make about my cat or little everyday stories. Am I incorrect in this thinking?

  13. Emelie says

    I’m the social media person for my job and I see this all the time!! Whenever we start following a new author or business on Pinterest, I have to go through and unfollow all of their ridiculously irrelevant boards. My favorite case was the time that I started following an author and went on to her page to find out that she had 116 boards… The task of unfollowing those boards gave me carpal tunnel in and of itself.

  17. Chris Carter says

    It’s funny because every time I follow a blogger on Pinterest, I look on their boards and see all kinds of things I wasn’t really interested in! I wanted more of their blog and relative boards! Thank you for this tip. It is always disappointing to find many bloggers don’t do this.

  19. John says

    Very solid points here. Pinterest is much more effective for your blog when you know your target market.