One of the newest social media superstars on the scene is Pinterest – a site that allows you to post your “favorite things” like photos and videos and invite your friends and colleagues to take a look.  Now we all know it is great for posting your favorite recipes, television shows, books – not to mention weird and wonderful images from the Web, of which there is no shortage.  But how about Pinterest for business?

Businesses can also take advantage of Pinterest –  it might seem like a no-brainer for retail, as these businesses can easily post photos of their products – but posting photos in a vacuum is no fun. You need followers!  So how can you get more followers? And what if you have a services business?  

Here are five tips for using Pinterest for business:

1. Tap into the visual – Since Pinterest is all about the visual – decide what is visual in your line of business and think about how you can convey your business with graphics versus words.  For example, if you are an IT consultant perhaps you post info-graphics on various technology features and products.  Likewise, you can post photos of your favorite tech blogs or products.  If you are a dermatologist – you might post “before and after” photos of various techniques such as chemical peels, etc.  A retail establishment such as a clothing store will want to showcase fashion and accessories and the like.  You get the picture…
2. Blog, tweet and Facebook – Pinterest allows you to tweet, Facebook and blog about your posts.  This is important for an integrated online marketing strategy.  In order to gain more followers on Pinterest you do need to highlight your business and get your stuff out there.  By retweeting and posting to Facebook – you expose your “pins” to many other active Pinterest users and potential Pinterest users.
3. Be Active – this might be obvious, but like Twitter and Facebook, the more you use the social network and interact with other users (whether its following people or commenting on their “pins”) the more “out there” you will be and your following should increase.  Pinterest is a darling of leading search engines like Google and Bing.  Companies frequently see their active Pinterest pages rank among the top 20 results for their company.  Pinterest should be an important element of your company’s online reputation management strategy.
4. Be Creative not Commercial – Like Twitter and Facebook, if you only post items relating to your business, it looks like an advertisement.  Better to mix it up with interesting photos related to your industry, minus the obvious promotions. That way when you have a major sale or promotion it will really stand out.
5. Launch Contests/Daily Themes – Did you know you can launch a contest or have a daily theme?  Yup.  Pinterest is a community and by engaging your followers you can increase your following exponentially.