Pinterest for Puppets
Can You Use Pinterest to Get Your Name Out There?
In short, HECK YEAH! Pinterest is a great way to get your ministry, non-profit, for profit, club, team, business promoted; and, like your puppet endeavors, it's mostly visual, so it appeals to those looking for your talents.
Yeah, Facebook and Twitter are still big dogs in the area of social media marketing, but Pinterest can reach your audience in a way that Twitter can’t and Facebook is just now starting to catch on to.
Pinterest pins are almost a 100 times more spreadable(is that a word?) than a tweet. The average re-tweet will hit only 1.4% of the audience, while Facebook has gotten to where it’s even less. What people don’t understand is that Facebook is now a market center, that is how they make their money, so they have algorithms now that will actually take posts that they see as marketing and hide it from view. Most people think that if they post something and they see it on their feed, that everyone who is on their friends list sees it also; not the case. The half-life of a pin has the potential of having a 1,6000x longer lifespan and reach than a Facebook post. These are proven stats, not just me pulling numbers out of the air.
Since the recent Instagram purchase by Facebook, instagram has started taking on many of the Facebook algorithm change so Pinterest has become the new hot ticket item for organic marketing.
Organic Marketing?
Organic marketing is basically getting your name out there without having to purchase ad space. It naturally gets seen by people and passed on.
Aside from vacation pics and gourmet food recipes, the real strength of Pinterest is the integrated features of their business accounts. Join the 500,000 (and growing) businesses clubs and ministries with Pinterest for Business accounts, because you get added marketing features to promote your brand along with the regular functions that come with the base account.
The Added Perks
You’re going to need to sign up for an official Pinterest for Business account in order to tap into the full potential of Pinterest’s marketing awesomeness. With your business account, you get:
New Terms of Service
The terms of service are a little bit different for a business, so be sure to read through them. The difference comes from the fact that you are using the account commercially.
In short, it doesn’t want you spamming people, so, along with the other terms and conditions for use, you also get the basic:
Don’t promote spam, “such as asking participants to comment repeatedly.”
Don’t “run a sweepstakes where each pin, repin, or like represents an entry. [or] ask pinners to vote with a repin or like.”
Don’t run contests, sweepstakes or promotions “too often.”
Don’t falsely give the impression or direct statements that Pinterest supports, sponsors or endorses your business.
Educational Marketing Materials
Pinterest doesn’t just give you the platform, they are creating educational marketing materials to teach you how to maximize its effectiveness for marketing your business. This post is just to give you an overview, use the teaching tools that they give you to become a master of pinterest. I am just barely scratching the surface here.
Analytics
These are one of the newest and most awesome features of a Pinterest for Business account. When you verify your account, you get access to important tracking information. You’ll be able to see which strategies and content work so you can constantly improve your marketing.
Different Settings
You get to use your business name instead of the typical First + Last Name formula. This also means your Pinterest account won’t have an automatic link to your Facebook account, so you should add a Facebook tab to your Pinterest home page.
Pinterest has been described by Social Media Examiner as a visual search engine. This means that if you do it right, people will find your pinterest posts just by searching for set keywords.
If it’s not searchable, then it won’t be found or seen. Don’t depend on it just showing up in front of your audience. Now before you grab that mouse and start pinning away, you have to understand the Pinterest culture and how people search on pinterest.
Optimizing Your Pins
It’s one thing to create the perfect pin, but it’s a whole other ballgame to get it seen and, more importantly, shared (re-pinned). No one is going to find your pin if you don’t optimize it for engagement.
Timing is everything (Well, kind of)
The best times to pin depend on the habits of your target audience, so you should always test for your specific optimal posting times. This is where the analytics come into play.
For a general information guideline though, at least according to SocialFresh, on average, the best times to post are between 2PM and 4PM EST and 8PM to 1AM EST; and, Hubspot says Saturday morning is usually the best day to post.
Optimize your sites
There are a few apps out there that will allow you to add a “pin it now” hover over button on all of your images that you post in a website, blog, etc.
This makes it so easy for people to repin your pics and it automatically adds a redirect link for pinterests viewers to take them back to the original location.
This will help you get more followers by tapping into the ones you already have on other platforms. It also will help spread your content across platforms so more eyeballs see it. And, it will add Twitter and Facebook buttons to your Pinterest account.
Connect your social media accounts
It’s really easy to connect your other accounts in the business profile.
Go to your account settings
Go to the social networks section
Connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts
SEO for Pinterest
OK, I realize with this post, that I am getting away from puppets, but it really will help you to get your name out there, trust me. SEO stands for search engine optimization. You have to use some SEO strategy to get your pins discovered by the eyes of your target audience. But, don’t worry, it doesn’t take much to optimize your pins in regard to Pinterest searches. Just follow these steps:
Step 1: keywords. A keyword is a word that you want your brand to be associated with, such as a hashtag, catchphrase, your team name, etc.
Step 2: Make sure that these keywords are in the title of your post.
Step 3: Add your keywords to your pin descriptions.
Step 4: Add your keyword/keywords to your pin image file names.
Now with the new algorithms they have out, you don’t want to just use the keywords, it will be read as spam. Example: instead of Elmer, Puppet, street performance. You can write “Watch Elmer in his first live street performance. The key is to make it sound like a complete title or sentence and not just a bunch of words thrown together.
The Call-to-Pin
In the same way you use a call-to-action in a youtube video, for example (“Remember to click subscribe”), a call-to-pin will significantly increase engagement on your pins. In fact, you’ll get up to 80% more engagement with a CTP. Add somewhere in your pin’s description, something along the lines of:
“If you enjoyed this pin, please feel free to repin on your boards to give me a heads up to post more like this.”
Comment on Your Followers’ Pins
Communication is a two-way street, so is engagement. You need to reach out to your followers’ boards as well. Leave comments on their pins so they’ll feel some love. Remember, by doing this, their followers will see your brand, too!
Follow and Engage with Other Boards About Puppets
The best way to see successful Pinterest strategy in action is to follow and engage with popular boards along the same vein as yours. You can learn a lot from the big dogs. See what kinds of pins they are pinning, what kinds of boards they have, and how much engaging they do. Your goal is to be at that level.
If you are commenting on their pins, your brand name will be seen by the huge number of people who follow those boards.
Invite Others to Pin on Your Boards
Another cool board feature for marketing is the Open Board, which allows users to contribute their own pins. All you have to do is give them pinning access by adding their name or email. You, as the creator, of course, have full veto power, and your contributors aren’t able to change the board name or description.
This feature is great for marketing because you get your community involved in a more personal way.
Invite your followers and get big authority brownie points if you can get industry experts and leaders to contribute to your boards!
Reach out to Influencers
Reach a wider audience by reaching out and connecting to other puppet professionals.
Start by following their boards, repinning their pins, and leaving engaging comments on their pins. Once you’ve dropped your name that way, you can initiate a bigger collaboration.
Ask if they will post on a board of yours, or offer to contribute to one of their boards. Offer ideas for their boards and show that you are familiar with their content when initiating collaboration, and you’ll be closer to that “yes” you’re looking for.
Find Friends from Other Social Media Platforms
Most other apps like LinkedIn, etc ask if you want to “Find Friends” using your phone’s contacts or Facebook friends.
Well, to save time and get a solid starting foundation of followers, there’s the same function option on Pinterest. Don’t waste all the Twitter and Facebook contacts you’ve made. Follow them, and they will find you.
The Find Friends button is in the upper-left corner of your Pinterest home page.
Mix Up Your Content
Another ti I would suggest is to change up things. This is where having 10 or more different boards with different areas will help. The rule for all social media is to mix up your content. You will lose the interest of your followers and lose your chances of gaining any new ones if your content is static and not diverse enough. If all you do is post pics of your performances and that is it, it will get old. Post pics of the behind the scenes, the performances, create stories for instagram and repost them on pinterest, highlight specific puppets, the list goes on and on.
Include a Direct Link
Obviously, this can’t be done on repins and you want to repin other’s pins to create that two sided engagement that I spoke about earlier, but on all of your posts, you want to make sure and have a link to your website, facebook page, somewhere that allows them to connect with you elsewhere. I always suggest having a contact page that allows you to gather people’s email info so that you can then start sending them newsletters or announcements of upcoming events, etc.
Track Your Success
Again, I mention the analytics. You can track the amount of pins, likes, comments, etc that each posted pic gets. Keep an eye on:
Which pins and boards from your profile people love most
What people like to save from your website
Who your Pinterest audience is, including their gender, location, and other interests
Which devices people use when they’re pinning your stuff
How adding the Pin It button to your website leads to referral traffic from Pinterest
Why are these statistics important to you?
Because they show you how to best reach your audience and the other reason for verifying your account is a good idea is that it will help you gain authority and build trust. It shows that you re a professional in your niche and if you are this professional online with your brand, then your performance must be just as professional.
Don’t miss out on the crucial information Pinterest Analytics will give you. Verify your account! Get access to all that Pinterest business account has to offer.
How to Start Using Pinterest for Branding
I Know, some of this just sounded techy and nothing to do with puppets, but trust me, don’t feel overwhelmed. Pinterest is easy to learn, fun to use and will help you grow your brand professionally.
Tap the Source
To tap into that power, you need to:
1. Create popular images that are:
bright
crisp
high quality
Around 736×1102 pixels (templates on Canva.com)
Infographics are sometimes good
in popular categories with a puppet spin to them
2. Get your pins seen by:
pinning from 2PM-4PM EST and 8PM-1AM EST
using keywords in pin titles, descriptions, and image file names
linking to your other social media platforms
adding the Pin It Hover button and Pinterest widget to your sites
sending your pins in newsletters and emails
adding a call-to-pin in your pin descriptions
3. Engage with followers and influencers to grow your reach by:
pinning up to 30 times per day
responding to follower comments
commenting on follower pins
following popular boards and commenting
inviting followers and influencers to pin on your boards
building influencer relationships
using “find friends” from Twitter and Facebook
4. Promote your brand successfully with:
Rich Pins
direct site links in descriptions
a variety of content – seasonal and relevant
your most popular boards at the top
a board dedicated just to your blog posts
5. Use the information from Pinterest Analytics to create a more successful future strategy
If you follow even just some of these strategies (30 posts a day is a little extreme, I know) and learn from the engagement you get, your Pinterest for Business account will continue to develop for the better, attract more of your target audience, and direct people to your site. And will eventually get to a point where it almost runs itself.
Don’t overlook Pinterest as a good tool for marketing your puppet team.
If you want more marketing advice, the guy I really listen to, and most of his advice is in this article (Give credit where credit is due) find Neil Patel online. He is amazing to learn from.
