As if your social media marketing plate is not yet full with the day-to-day management of your Facebook page, your Twitter profile and your Google+ account, here comes another rising social network that you need to pay attention to - Pinterest.
Since its humble beginnings when it was launched in 2010, Pinterest now enjoys the position of being one of the biggest social networking sites along with Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and is probably holding the position as the leading photo-sharing social site (of course, the people behind Instagram may thin otherwise). According to Nielsen, 21% of Pinterest users bought an item after they saw it on Pinterest. And with over 20 million users, this social media is hard to ignore.
But how do you squeeze in Pinterest with your hands full with all the other social media marketing you're doing? Simple. Automate and we'll show you a few techniques how.
Use Auto Follow ONLY
Notice how we placed emphasis on the word only. This is because tools that allow you to automatically search for boards or people to follow based on your set criteria also include auto-pin and auto-comment functionalities.
What's the difference? Searching for boards and people to follow does not require any engagement, so there's nothing wrong with this. However, commenting and pinning entails that you interact with other Pinterest users and they will know if you are using an automation software. This can be equated to those software-generated blog comments or forum posts in SEO that are considered "black hat" tactics. Again, use auto follow to quickly expand your Pinterest community, but when it comes to engagement, make it real.
Take Advantage of Automated Pin Schedulers
This is similar to the tools you use to schedule your Facebook posts and Twitter updates. Instead of manually pinning photos every day, you can use tools that will allow you to schedule your pins.
When choosing a tool, choose those that will enable you to put a description for the images. This way, you can include your target keywords making your pins SEO-friendly. Also, select one that has a space where you can put the URL where you got the image. In terms of posting frequency, it depends on your industry or niche. There are niches such as fashion wherein new images are generated profusely while there are niches wherein image choices are a bit limited.
Connect Your WordPress Blog to Pinterest
You can also automate by encouraging your blog readers to share the images you post on your WordPress blog or site by installing a Pinterest plugin. Find the best one that best suits your need. The idea is, every time you post an image on your WP site, it automatically goes to one of your boards on Pinterest. This will also encourage sharing through a Pinterest button.
Additionally, you can install the Pinterest RSS WordPress Plugin so every time you pin a new image on your Pinterest account, it will automatically be displayed on your site. Similar to how Facebook and Twitter RSS work wherein your latest updates and posts are displayed on your site's sidebar.
Make Your Brand More Pinterest-ing
Busyness is not an excuse for you to not have a strong Pinterest presence, especially with all the potential value it can deliver to your business. Your competitors are busy too, but for sure, they are milking Pinterest for what it's worth. Social media marketing is expanding and with the emergence of this photo-sharing site, it's either you start pinning interesting images or get pinned down on the ground by your competitors.