How architects and designers can best use Pinterest. Includes six Pinterest objectives for your firm, as well as many Pinterest resources. Presented by Lucas Equine Equipment and Authentically Social.
3. I’m an expert in social media, with 10 years of experience in brand management,
product management, and social media strategies.
Social media consultant, marketer, blogger, writer, and online community manager.
4. I’m a marketer for horse stall design and manufacturing firm Lucas Equine
Equipment.
Lucas Equine social marketing focus:
Engaging our specific demographic and being an aspirational brand.
5. Why should I care
about Pinterest?
Pinterest uses for
Architects & Designers
Best practices and
unwritten rules
Analytics & what you
have to gain
6.
7. Pinners follow other Pinterest users to see the
images their friends are pinning. Pinned photos
can spread virally this way.
8.
9. New Barn, New Home, Remodeling Ideas, Wedding, Recipes, etc.
17. Best Uses of Pinterest
SHOWCASE
YOUR WORK
MARKET
YOUR BRAND
GATHER
INSPIRATION
SHARE IDEAS
WITH CLIENTS
SEE CLIENTS’ BOARDS
ORGANIZE
YOUR THOUGHTS
18. Showcasing your work.
Pin Photos:
Link to your
web site
Add a
description:
Firm name +
searchable key
words
Include other
pertinent
comments
Watch for
re-pins:
They create a
permanent
reference to
your site
19. SIDEBAR…
HOW TO PIN:
On Pinterest,
Click the “+”
or “Add”
button in the
toolbar
Get the Pin It
button by
going to
“About”, then
“Goodies”
drag the
button to your
toolbar.
Get the
Pinterest
mobile app for
your iPhone
or iPad.
20. Market your brand.
Create boards that
are in line with your
firm’s brand &
expertise
Examples:
Green
Design
Barn
Ideas
Carriage
Houses
Equestrian
Lifestyle
21. Gather inspiration.
Our stall designers
visit Pinterest every
day for inspiration.
Follow designers you
admire.
Look for pinners who
post creative ideas or
innovative products
you may want to use.
Inspiration!
Competitors
& Vendors
Publications
Fellow
Designers
22. Share ideas with
clients.
Note: Boards are viewable by
everyone, unless you make
them a “Secret” board. You can
currently only have 3 secret
boards.
You can pin or upload photos for
boards to share with clients.
23. More About Secret Boards
When adding a new board,
you can switch the secret
setting to YES. But, you can’t
make an existing public board
secret.
You can make a secret board
public…but you can’t change it
BACK to secret.
You can invite people to a
secret board. Just enter their
name under “Who Can Pin?”
in the board settings.
You must be following one of
the person’s boards in order to
invite him/her.
SIDEBAR…
24. See clients’ boards.
You can follow clients boards to see their ideas.
It’s the modern version of the binder of torn-out magazine pages.
Your clients are likely
already creating
PINTEREST
BOARDS
of their design ideas
even before they meet
with you the first time.
MAGAZINE TEAR SHEETS
25. Organize your
thoughts.
COLLECT
Keep your ideas (and
resources) together on boards
for each project.
PIN ANYTIME
Pin your thoughts on latches,
hinges, or design styles from
your iPhone, desktop, or iPad
anytime.
ORGANIZE YOUR SOURCES
Having the link back to the
original source keeps you from
thinking, “now where did I see
that finial I liked?”
28. How Lucas Equine uses
Pinterest.
About 9% of our web
site traffic comes from
Pinterest.
We showcase our work.
Our stall designers visit
Pinterest for design
inspiration and to pin
product options/sources.
29. How your pins spread.
More than 75% of
images on Pinterest
are re-pins.
Re-pins not only stay
in your follower’s
board, it spreads to
HIS or HER
followers, too.
Re-Pins = Success
30. Best practices.
MAKE IT HABIT
Set a regular time to check
Pinterest and to post to
Pinterest
FREQUENCY
Post on a regular basis. Your
frequency depends on your
firm’s needs and capacity.
LEARN FROM ANALYTICS
Watch your analytics reports to
see what followers like based
on their re-pins.
COMPLETE YOUR PROFILE
Make sure your company or
personal profile is complete,
with a main image, company
description, board descriptions,
contact information, and web
site link.
33. Finding Followers
Integrate Pinterest:
Share on Facebook (Woobox)
Email signature
Pin It button on website
Include on ads or direct mail
34. Pinterest Considerations
Remember your overall goal
(MDA)
Consider the source of pins
Pinterest is a conversation as
much as a promotion tool:
keyword searches, repins,
comments
Timing and scheduling of pins is
important – don’t flood the feeds
Develop an analytics system
and monitor regularly for
effectiveness
35. Put Your Ears On
PinAlerts.com
Free tool
Alerts you via email
when someone pins
something from your
website.
36. Tools: Repinly
• Repinly.com
• Popular pins overall
• Popular pins from
specific categories
(home décor,
products, design)
• Top pinners
42. Beyond Basic Pinning
Pinterest contests:
“Pin it to Win it”
Promoted pins via
publisher platforms
like Reachli and
Pinbooster
Enterprise tools for
large volume pins and
followers (Piqora,
Curalate)
43. The OTHER online community
you need to know about…
if you don’t already.
44. Houzz: Industry-specific
Like Pinterest…but
exclusively used for
design and remodel
industry
Create Ideabooks
instead of Boards
Includes
Business
Directory
46. Resources
CHECK YOUR E-MAIL
You’ll receive a follow-up e-mail
from Lucas Equine with tips on
how to get started.
REVIEW THESE SLIDES
These presentation slides are
available online.
HTTP://BUSINESS.PINTEREST.COM
Get info on Analytics, the Pin It
button, widgets, the Pinterest
principles, and case studies of
successful business Pinterest
strategies.
CALL MANDY AT LUCAS EQUINE
As partners in the equine and
design industries, we’re happy
to share our knowledge. Call
me to get help setting up your
account.
Welcome to today’s webinar about on how to best use Pinterest for Architects and Designers!
Throughout the webinar, please feel free to take notes. In the interest of everyone’s sanity and concentration, your audio is muted…in other words, we can’t hear you if you’re talking. BUT…You’ll notice a QUESTIONS box on your GoToWebinar Control panel. At any time during the presentation, whenever you have a question or comment…even if it seems like a silly one, simply type your question in the box, and I’ll either address them at that time, or when we get to a pertinent portion of the presentation. After the presentation, you’ll each receive a follow-up e-mail from me. It will contain some good resources on using Pinterest for Businesses, as well as a link to all the slides from this webinar.
First, I’d like to introduce Emily Sandford, our social media marketing expert and principal at Authentically Social a social marketing consulting firm and nationally known blogger. And here’s a drumroll for Emily!
I’m Mandy Gossett, the Marketing Director at Lucas Equine. I’ve been with Lucas Equine for over three years, during which time, I’ve spearheaded our social media strategies, creating a strong presence on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and more. At Lucas Equine, the two primary focuses of our social marketing are engaging our very specific (and very small) demographic (which is comprised of the very top percentage of the equine market). We place focus on being an aspirational brand…the brand of stalls everyone wishes they have…even if they don’t have a barn on their property just yet.
We’ll keep today’s webinar to less than an hour, and we’ll cover:- As an architect or designer…why should I care about Pinterest?Six primary uses of Pinterest for Architects & Designers.Best practices and unwritten rules.And, available analytics for your Pinterest account and what you have to gain.
Since we have a pretty diverse mix…some of you have personal pinterest accounts, some have business pinterest accounts…some are completely new to Pinterest…We’ll start with the basics. What – actually - is Pinterest?It’s an online visual “pinboard” where users can pin ideas and products they find on websites or from other pinners. Infact, one of the original creators of Pinterest was – by trade – an architect. He saw this as a great way to visually organize his thoughts for projects.
Pinterest doesn’t just help people organize their own thoughts. Through a Pin Feed page, it allows users to see the images their friends (or followers) are pinning. Pinned photos spread virally this way. I like an idea that my neighbor pinned, so I pin it to one of my “boards.” My friends see that same image when I pin it, and they – in turn – pin to their boards. You can see how it can grow exponentially.
A vast majority of pinners are using Pinterest to plan projects. And the vast majority of pinners are women. These women are planning their new barn, new home, remodeled kitchen, wedding receptions…heck, they’re probably using it to plan their dinner menu, too. (I know I do.)
Yay! A lot of those people are OUR people. People who are planning design projects.
Since it’s inception three years ago, Pinterest usage has been skyrocketing. There are 25 million active members. 12 million of those are in the U.S.
And these members are hooked. They’re captivated by pinterest…by the visual nature of it. They’re spending an average of 98 minutes per month pinning to their boards.
We know that 70% of Pinterest users visit Pinterest to get inspiration for purchasing decisions. And, because Pinterest’s format is an ideal way to showcase stunning visuals, it’s one reason Pinterest works so well for us as designers. The beautiful photos of your projects are great for inspiring projects…and for directing these users to your firm.
According to Google Double-Click Ad Planner, Pinterest users care about Visual Art & Design 530% more than the average Internet user.
And, finally, I think Businessweek best summed up the number one reason designers and architects should care about Pinterest:“Pinterest is worth $2 billion because its 25 million users are rich, female, and like to spend.”
What is a pin:Starts with a High quality visual (either “pinned” from a web site or uploaded from your computer)It has a web site link…so when a user clicks on this photo, it takes them directly to the web site from which it was pinned.It has a caption, which you will write. The caption should include some searchable key words, give credit to the source (if that’s you, it should include your firm’s name)And, moving back to the top…all pins automatically have a Pin It button (for other users to Re-pin this to their own boards.) They can also “like” the pin, share it with friends via e-mail, Facebook, etc.
So, when thinking about your firm’s marketing…just being on Pinterest is not the ultimate goal. You have to make sure that your investment in Pinterest is working toward a goal that supports your overall marketing strategy or your overall business needs. (I’ll note that while using Pinterest doesn’t require a monetary investment…it does require a time investment.)There are six key ways that architect and design firms can use Pinterest in a beneficial and productive way. I’ll break these various objectives down one by one. Which of these objectives are right for you and your firm will vary person to person or firm to firm. BUT, it’s vital that you decide which objectives you’re hoping to achieve, and make sure that your Pins, your interactions, and the way you set up your Pinterest accounts match your objectives.You can use Pinterest to:Showcase your work…like a viral, online portfolioMarket your brand. Gather personal design inspiration.Share ideas with individual clients…like an online preliminary presentation boardSee your Client’s boards, getting an insight into their thoughts.You can also use it personally to organize your thoughts about a specific project. Especially in the beginning phases.
If one of your Pinterest objectives is to showcase your work, this is one of the easiest and most basic ways to use Pinterest. What you’ll do is Pin photos from your web site. You can also upload photos, but ideally, you want to use photos that link back to your web site.Add a description. As I mentioned earlier, it’s vital that you include a description…not just the standard text that automatically fills in. You want to include your firm name, searchable key words. Include other pertinent comments. You can also include other people or firms who were involved in the project. You can include interesting details about the project. But, you want to make sure your text is still very brief.Now, you’ll watch for re-pins. This is where the viral nature of Pinterest comes in. These re-pins are creating a permanent reference to your site within every board on which the photo is re-pinned.
I know we have several people logged on who do not currently have pinterest accounts. So, here’s a quick sidebar on how to pin. There are essentially three ways you can Pin.
Another objective for your firm could be Using Pinterest to Market Your Specific Brand or your Brand PositioningFor example, one way we position our brand is that our stalls are smartly designed with many features actually integrated into the stall design.So…we have a board called “Smart Horse Stall Ideas.”Other ways you may be positioning your brand through your boards is highlighting boards on Green Design, Barn Ideas, Carriage Houses, The Equestrian Lifestyle.Use the way you organize your boards to help the Pinterest user understand what your brand stands for.
Other wonderful objective for your pinterest use can be to gather personal design inspiration.Our stall designers visit Pinterestevery day for inspiration. We all take the first 10 minutes of the day…while we’re having our morning coffee, to check Pinterest. In our pin feeds, we each see the latest pins from people and organizations we followFollow designers you admire. You can follow fellow architects, equine publications, design publication, competitors, vendors who have creative products. And, you don’t have to just follow design-related pinners. We all know that inspiration can come from some pretty interesting and surprising sources. Look for pinners who post creative ideas or innovative products you may want to use. Our stall designers get ideas for hinges, latches, swiveling panels from following a wide a variety of pinners.
Some people use Pinterest to share ideas with clients. This is a tricky one for a few reasons.Here’s how it works. You can create a pinboard for a specific client to help them narrow down their ideas at the beginning of a project. The board you’re seeing now is a landscape designer helping a client find the elements they prefer for a backyard re-design. However – it’s important to note that your boards are viewable to everyone, unless you make them a SECRET board. You can only have 3 secret boards per account. So, this use of pinterest may or may not fit within your Pinterest strategy.
You can use pinterest as a way to see into a client’s mind. Well, sort of. You can see into their boards….which is kind of the same thing.Your clients are already creating pinterest boards of their design ideas even before they meet with you the first time. It can be the modern version of all those torn-out magazine pages and binders your clients bring in. By following your clients’ boards, you can have a sort of visual conversation…seeing designs and features the client pins as they pin them.
From a personal standpoint – you can use Pinterest to organize your own thoughts.We’re all always thinking of design ideas…and inspiration doesn’t always strike when you’re sitting at your desk with a client’s project folder within reach. You can use Pinterest to keep your ideas and resources together (in a visual way) on boards for each project.This allows you to pin thoughts and visuals you see online anytime…even when you’re sitting on the couch with your iPad.You can also use it to organize your own sources. Because your pins will have the original link back to the source web site, you won’t be thinking “now where did I see that finial I liked for the Johnson project?”But again, remember that you can only have three secret boards per account.
Go ahead and write down any of these objectives you think suit your firm or personal needs.
The key objectives you selected in the previous slide are going to dictate how you set up your Pinterest account.There are two types of Pinterest accounts: Business Account and Personal Account.If you set up a Business Account in the name of your firm, you’re going to get some key branding opportunities, it will generate leads as people find your pins for their their projects, and it drives traffic directly to your web site from your pins.If you set up a Personal Account, you’ll find that you can pin inspirations and other items that won’t distract from your overall brand image. It’s a way you can collect your personal thoughts and find inspiration without broadcasting it to all the followers of your brand. You can use your secret boards for your projects.There’s no right way to arrange your accounts, but you’ll see by weighing your objectives here, if the scale tips toward one type of account or another.
Today, 9% of our web site traffic comes from Pinterest. This is pretty significant, considering that it’s a relatively new (and free) web site. At Lucas Equine, we use a combination of account types. We have a Lucas Equine Business Account, where we showcase our work. We pins photos that support our brand image and link back to our web site. We each also have personal accounts, where we follow designers who inspire us individually, we each manage our own public boards and secret boards.
The viral nature of Pins are one of the most exciting things about Pinterest.In fact, More than 75% of images on Pinterest are re-pins.Re-pins not only stay in your follower’s board, it spreads to HIS or HER followers, too.
Welcome to today’s webinar about on how to best use Pinterest for Architects and Designers!