1. September 10 & 11, 2012
Shannon Scanlan
Business Services Librarian
Arlington Heights Memorial Library

2. What is Pinterest?
 A visual social sharing website
 Began in 2010
 Named 1 of the 50 Best Websites by Time Magazine in 2011
 60% of users are females between 25-34 years old
 Users “pin” photos from websites which link the viewer
back to the website where the photo was posted
 Users can also upload images
 One of the fastest growing social media sites on the
Internet
 Users create an account and “boards” where they can
organize the pictures they pin

3. Some Facts
 “In January 2012, Pinterest drove more traffic to
websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+, and
LinkedIn combined.”
 “In February 2012, Pinterest bypassed Twitter in terms
of referral traffic.”
 “A survey from PriceGrabber stated that 21% of
Pinterest users purchased something they saw on a
pinboard.”
 From the book Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to
Marketing Your Business with Pinterest

4. Why Pinterest for Business?
 Drive referral traffic to your website or blog
 Sharing content helps attract new customers
 “Purchasers are 71% more likely to buy a product or
service if it was recommended by a friend on social
media”-reported by marketing software company
HubSpot in January 2012
 http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30239/71-more-Likely-to-Purcahse-based-on-
social-media-referrals-infographic-aspx
 Grow your audience online
 Inspiration

5. Setting Up an Account
 You can sign up for Pinterest with an existing
Facebook or Twitter account
 Choose a user name that is relevant to what you will be
sharing on Pinterest such as your business name or
services
 Signing in with Twitter, Pinterest uses your Twitter
handle
 Complete your profile and include your webpage or
blog url
 Include a profile image

6. Content Ideas
 Showcase your company
 Building, store, employees, services, products, ideas
 Have an event or attend a conference?
 Create a board and pin photos
 Pin client or customer photos and comments
 Introduce your clients or other businesses on Pinterest
 Spotlight customer testimonials
 Create a referral board for local businesses, affiliates,
partners or organizations

7. Increase Your Followers
 Follower others on Pinterest
 Pin regularly
 Link your Pinterest account with your other social media
accounts for cross-posting
 Twitter, Facebook
 Embed the “Pin it” or “Follow Me on Pinterest” button on
your website or blog
 Engage users
 Contests
 Guest pinners
 Create interesting board topics
 Curate great content

8. Businesses on Pinterest
 Chobani
 Nordstrom
 Lands End
 Wall Street Journal
 GE
 Chicago History Museum
 Chicago Tribune
 Southwest Airlines
 Travel Channel
 Accenture

9. Further Resources
 Book: Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your
Business with Pinterest by Beth Hayden
 Best Practices for Brands Using Pinterest
 http://bryannagy.com/2012/05/13/best-practices-for-brands-
using-pinterest/
 Pinterest Users Spend More Money Than Facebook Users
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/pinte
rest-vs-facebook-whose-users-spend-
more/2012/05/09/gIQATXkoCU_story.html
 Six Tips for Using Pinterest for Business
 http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/using-pinterest-for-
business/

10. More Resources
 10 Useful Rules for Using Pinterest for Business
 http://unbounce.com/social-media/pinterest-for-business/
 Macy’s Pinterest Contest
 http://www.macys.com/m/campaign/splash/pin-it-to-win-
it/sweepstakes?cm_mmc=VanityUrl-_-PINANDWIN-_-n-_-n
 http://pinterest.com/macysofficial/
 Help on Pinterest
 http://pinterest.com/about/help/
 Tools for Pinterest
 http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/03/04/20-
awesome-tools-which-will-have-you-pinteresting-like-a-pro/