If you haven’t noticed, Pinterest is growing. In popularity, in size, in demand and in their policies. What started out as a really cool idea has rounded out into a niche social platform that for the first time is starting to see wide appeal. Sure, the primary demographic is still women under the age of 40. Yes, most users are still in the United States. But users who are male, in different age brackets and from other countries are increasing as well.
Perhaps the biggest change has been the way it is now embraced by companies. Brands have been looking to make their mark for awhile on Pinterest, and it has become a popular place for image specific social marketing. It is also a great way for direct customer engagement that is more visual than what you would get on, say, Facebook.
With this in mind, it was no surprise when Pinterest finally took the leap and added in business accounts. They have been around since last winter, and they are becoming more popular than ever. But it isn’t always easy as a small business or developing brand how to utilize the tool. Or if it is better to keep a personal account.
Why Get a Business Account?
The first thing you have to ask yourself is whether you want a business or a personal account. This is going to be a no-brainer for more traditional businesses that base their profits on actual, tangible products. For for someone who is branding a name, content or themselves, it isn’t so straight forward.
An example of a more ambiguous situation is a blog. If that blog has been monetized, or if it is used to somehow generate products indirectly (like through freelance promotion), it could be rightfully considered a business.
Pinterest Business accounts give you tips on increasing your repins, creating popular content, offer various tools like Rich Pins, give you access to analytics and critical data, lets you build your own widget and more. Plus, new features are being created all the time that can really help businesses out.
If you aren’t planning on really pushing Pinterest hard as a social marketing platform, you might want to stick with a personal account.
How Business Accounts Work
First, go to the Pinterest For Business site. There you will see a list of features available. Right now, the big news is their update to include Rich Pins. What are Rich Pins? Basically a way to sell and promote your products.
Movie Pins will include reviews, ratings, information on the cast and production and other important details. Product Pins will show the price and details of something you are trying to sell. Recipe Pins will show ingredients, baking instructions and serving tips. As you can see, Pinterest is working to aim more towards the specific needs of businesses.
To sign up click Join As A Business. From there you can select your business type and fill out all necessary information. You will also be able to create a dedicated profile/username, upload a logo and put in details about your company.
If you have an account already and want to convert it to a Business account, you can do so. Just sign in at Pinterest then go to Pinterest For Business. You will be able to follow the steps it provides then click Convert.
Unfortunately, you can only have a single admin on a Business account, but that might change.
Conclusion
See? Pinterest Business accounts are actually pretty simple. You can still curate collections, post content, add pins and interact like you always did. But with better features that are aimed more toward what a business specifically needs.
Any questions? Let us know below!
Pinterest: social media communities, social media marketing.
Friends Read Free