Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with Pinterest

Use Pinterest as Part of Your Sales Cycle

You can use Pinterest as a way to attract leads and reach out directly to potential customers. Think about ways to integrate these pinning suggestions into what your sales and marketing teams are already doing.

Create Boards of People with Whom You Would Like to Connect

Business coach Tommi Wolfe (www.thestartupexpert.com) recommends that you keep a list of current professional contacts, as well as potential clients with whom you would like to connect. So why not keep this list on Pinterest? You could call it “People I’d Love to Know” and have those pins link to either that person’s Pinterest account or to their main website.

Therapist and coach Tamara Suttle, whom I first introduced in Chapter 6, also maintains a “Favorite Pinners” board, which features her favorite users to follow on Pinterest. There’s no reason that your favorite pinners board couldn’t include potential clients you would love to land.

Run Contests

Businesses are starting to run all kinds of contests on Pinterest. You can invite your readers to pin links and images from your site that inspire, motivate, move, or entertain them. Or, you can ask them to create specially themed boards around your contest topic. Always make sure to promote the winners’ boards on your website or contest board as part of the contest.

Keep in mind that it’s a smart idea to craft a short, clear blog post that lays out the contest’s rules and expectations. This will allow you to both advertise ...