Pinterest is the dark horse of social media. With more than 100 million monthly active users, it is a giant online network. While it does not boast as many users as Facebook and Twitter, a Pinterest user”™s purchasing power and tendency to buy products exceed the rest of the competition. The average Pinterest user makes more than $100,000 each year (as per a Mashable infographic) and they”™re not afraid to spend it.
The potential to ignite incredible brand loyalty exists and you don”™t need a large audience to get started. Most of your pins will be seen by far more people than the number of individuals who are following you. One of the pins I posted when I had 500 followers ended up getting over 1,000 repins a few days later. My audience didn”™t grow overnight. That shows you can do great things with Pinterest regardless of your audience size.Â
In a month, my friend Nick Loper went from getting less than 50 blog visitors per month to 5,000-plus visitors in the same time from Pinterest alone. Regardless of whether you own a blog or a local business, that type of power can dramatically impact your business. Here”™re some ways you can create similar results:
#1: POST ON OTHER PEOPLE”™S GROUP BOARDS
Posting on other people”™s group boards is perhaps the only way you can get thousands upon thousands of followers overnight.
Individuals who create group boards are looking for contributors to keep their boards fresh with new content. You can contribute to these group boards and have some of the pins lead back to your blog. Overpromoting yourself on these boards can create trouble, but if you share other people”™s content and occasionally share your blog posts, you”™ll do well. Just like that, your blog gets in front of thousands of people because of someone else”™s audience.
#2: CREATE SOME GROUP BOARDS
Creating group boards and inviting contributors will ensure fresh content and make your profile perform better in Pinterest”™s search engine. Your audience will grow as a result of Pinterest search engine exposure and when your contributors get new followers.
Furthermore, there is an option for people to follow all of your boards, including those of your contributors/partners. That means if someone clicks “Follow All” on one of your partner”™s profiles, your group board has an extra follower. If you have 10 contributors who can get five different followers each day, your group board gets an additional 50 unique followers.
#3: ANALYZE YOUR PINS
Every one to two weeks, I review my social media content and see which posts got traffic and which posts didn”™t perform as well. By analyzing your pins every one to two weeks, you can discover what your audience wants more of and what your most successful pins have in common.
Learning these secrets within your own business will shed some light on how you should pin to achieve maximum exposure and engagement. Discover what your audience wants and keep on giving them what they want.
While Facebook ads, live streaming and the various new social networks seem to be stealing the show, Pinterest remains a secret weapon worthy of any business owner”™s attention. People spend a massive amount of time on the site and aren”™t afraid to spend their money on products they see on Pinterest.
Pinterest surpassed 10 million U.S. monthly unique visitors faster than any other website in existence. The surge hasn”™t stopped, and now is the perfect time for you to get in on the action. In the sentiment of growing your business online, simply put, happy pinning!
Marc Guberti is an incoming freshman at Fordham University and a social media and business blogger and author. He”™s on Twitter @MarcGuberti and can be reached by phone at 914-722-6005 or email at  Marc@MarcGuberti.com.
