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* This article was originally published here
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Influencers Research: How to Discover the Proper Instagram Influencers for Your Brand
As part of a modern social media marketing strategy, influencers play an integral role.
As well as all your organic efforts at attracting users, investing in an influencer to promote your brand has proven to be an incredibly effective strategy for countless brands.
But at the same time, choosing the wrong influencer could be an expensive mistake.
Today, I’m going to show you what are the most important considerations when choosing an influencer for your brand.
Let’s have a quick look at your possibilities.
The best Instagram influencers for your brand
1. Know your industry
You should know the industry before even starting the business. So, this shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Think of your industry as the environment itself. And in our day-to-day lives, the environment is essential: we have to protect it while still being part of it.
The same thing happens with your industry: you should be aware of what you can do for the benefit of the industry and, at the same time, how an influencer could help you do it.
Keep in mind that your competitors are also part of this environment. By looking at their performance on social media, you’ll also have more access to your customers. After all, you’re targeting the same audience.
You get to learn from their mistakes but also see what they are doing good. You can learn from their strength too.
For example, I added the Instagram profiles of Canon, Sony Alpha, Nikon and Lumix, and then I used the Benchmarks feature to take a better look at their performance: the photo below shows the Instagram overview of all these profiles.
2. Know your audience
I bet you saw this one coming.
Just as important as the industry, your audience is a key element in your business. You have to talk to the audience.
You become a storyteller, and your brand is the book that keeps all the stories in one place. It’s true that we should not judge a book by its cover, but in a business, the packaging is important.
The audience reads the book. And a good Instagram influencer will help you not only write a great story but will also bring more people in front of the book. This is definitely a double win for your brand.
When picking the best influencer to market your brand and products, you must choose the influencer whose appeal most closely resembles your target audience.
3. Do a proper research
It’s all about relevancy.
Is the influencer you choose relevant to your target audience? Influencers usually cost a pretty penny too, so you can’t really afford to get this wrong if you are a small or medium-sized enterprise.
Do your due diligence to ensure that their voice is aligned with your brand voice – you don’t want any nasty surprises once you’ve signed the contract.
For example, if you are looking for influencers in the fashion travel industry, you would, of course, look at some of the most popular fashion and travel blogs as well as Instagram accounts.
All you have to do to find these is to Google it or do an Instagram search.
Before you actually connect with them, you should take a good look at their content and what they do to ensure that they are suitable for your brand.
4. What to look for
After doing the research, the next step is to make sure that you’re looking for the right elements: key metrics and the content itself.
Let’s see what I’m talking about.
Engagement rate
So you have decided upon the correct influencer for you because they have a big following and they appear to be relevant to your audience.
Job done? Not quite. First, you need to delve a little deeper into the analytics data that is now readily available on such things.
For example, I have added here the profile of Helen Anderson, an amazing YouTuber from the UK who’s also creating great content on Instagram.
Engagement rate is the key to understand social media. In other words, this is the way to measure how people interact with the content you publish.
An Instagram analytics tool could be really helpful during this process: it will give you a proper overview of the profile that you want to look at (in this case, the profile of your next Instagram influencer).
Here's another look at even more granular data for the engagement.
Engagement rate is the one and only metric that will always tell you if your content resonates with your audience.
Account evolution
Generally speaking, in the world of social media influencers, there are two distinct types: your super influencers (also sometimes known as mega influencers) and your nano influencers (sometimes also known as micro-influencers).
Distinguishing between these two classes of influencers is easy: it’s all about reach and engagement.
Of course, you can play it safe and go after celebrities.
Burberry chose Adam Driver for the new Burberry Hero campaign. Safe to say, this was a great choice.
But if you're not Burberry, then you should take a better look at your options. The account evolution is one of the keys for that.
And to truly understand this evolution, you need to look at how their accounts have changed over time. How do they treat their own audience? How quickly did they gain their followers?
Posting frequency
Engagement rate does not tell you how often an influencer posts: to find that out you have to expressly look for that information, and it is important too. It really all boils down to simple math.
An influencer who gets an average of 2,000 interactions per post but who only posts once a week is not getting as many interactions (in a week) as one who gets 1,000 interactions per post but posts every single day.
On top of that, you might not want to go with an influencer who posts sporadically and unpredictably. Influencers who provide a steady stream of posts at regular intervals are much more likely to see growth in followers and engagement.
Content
Once again, a posting strategy that you should also apply to your in-house marketing approach is one that encompasses a variety of content.
As well as all the analytics already discussed, you can also gain access to information about the style of content that influencers post.
Indeed, you could even make a manual check just to see with your own eyes if there is any variation in their posts, or use a tool to show you what are the best performing posts.
Going back to Helen Anderson, Socialinsider helped me see which are her the top 3 posts on Instagram for the last 30 days.
This is important for two reasons. First of all, a variation in posts is much more likely to maintain an engaged audience: one type of content will soon become repetitive and lead to a loss of interest (not good if you have chosen that influencer to work with).
Secondly, you will want to consider what kind of content works most effectively with your brand and product.
Pictures, carousels, and videos all lend themselves to slightly different brands and products.
Think carefully about which content fits your brand strategy, and consider this in making your final decision.
Study their content beyond the organic posts.
Only by studying the entirety of their content, you’ll be able to understand the full potential of an influencer.
5. Take action
Now it’s time to go after the Instagram influencer that you want for your brand.
And to go on this adventure, a social media analytics tool could make your life easier.
If you already have a certain influencer in mind, you can track the performance of the Instagram profile with a tool like Socialinsider.
More than that, hashtags could be the key to your goals.
Use hashtag searches related to your brand and product to help you find out which influencers are regularly posting content connected to your nice.
Tip: Avoid high-density keywords that are too general, and make your hashtag searches a little more creative and specific, which will help you burrow down into the real interest in your particular brand niche.
Final thought
Knowledge is power, so the more knowledge you have about your target audience and your industry in general, the easier it will be to look after the right Instagram influencers for your brand.
Don’t forget to take a good look at the social media performance because data never lies.
Use the information available to make the best choice for your brand, and don’t be dazzled by sheer follower numbers.
Pick an influencer that can help you tell a story. Your story.
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* This article was originally published here
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How to Make Money on YouTube: 7 Effective Strategies
Okay, ad revenue is the most obvious way to make money on YouTube. But it’s not the only way—or, to be honest, the best way.
(Spoiler: the best way to make money on YouTube is all the ways.)
YouTube is half the internet: that’s 1.9 billion users logging in every month. But at the same time, 500 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute.
So you already know this article is not going to be about how easy it is to buy a Swiss watch with the ad revenue from your YouTube views. (Though if you have millions of video views, you could probably at least rent one. Wait, don’t.)
Read on, and we’ll lay out 7 ways to earn income from your YouTube channel, complete with step-by-step instructions.
Bonus: Download the free 30-day plan to grow your YouTube following fast, a daily workbook of challenges that will help you kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Get real results after one month.
How to make money on YouTube
1. Join the YouTube Partner Program
The YouTube Partner Program is how regular YouTubers get access to special features on the platform.
You don’t need to be a partner to make money on YouTube (just setting up an AdSense account and getting views is enough to handle that), but being a Partner makes it a lot easier.
YouTube Partners have access to multiple income streams: not just video ads, but YouTube Premium subscription fees, and features that tap your loyal fans’ wallets directly like Super Chat, channel memberships and the merchandise shelf (more on these later.)
Step 1: Start a YouTube channel
Don’t worry, we have a handy guide for this. It’s called ‘How to create a YouTube channel.’
Step 2: Make your channel successful enough that it meets the YouTube Partner Program requirements
To join the program, you need a minimum of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months.
Here are some ideas for how to get more of those precious YouTube views.
Step 3: Set up an AdSense account
This is simple. Just follow YouTube’s official guide to AdSense accounts.
Step 4: Explore your new monetization features
Each monetization channel has different eligibility requirements. For instance:
- Ad revenue: to earn ad revenue, you must be at least 18 years old, and you must create content that is advertiser-friendly. Basically, the less controversial your videos, the more YouTube advertisers will be comfortable running ads on them, and the more money you make.
- YouTube Premium revenue: if a YouTube Premium member watches your video, you get a portion of their subscription fee. (This one is automatic, which is nice.)
- Channel memberships: in order to sell channel memberships to your subscribers (i.e., your fans opt in to pay you an extra amount), you need to be at least 18 and have more than 30,000 subscribers.
- Merchandise shelf: in order to sell merch from YouTube’s merchandise shelf, you must be at least 18 years old, and have at least 10,000 subscribers.
- Super Chat payments: if you want your fans to have the ability to pay to have their messages highlighted in your live chats during your live streams, you must be at least 18 (and live in a country where the feature is offered).
Step 5: Submit to ongoing reviews
As a YouTube Partner, your channel will be held to a higher standard, according to YouTube. You have to follow not just the YouTube Partner Program policies, but the Community Guidelines. Not to mention staying on the right side of copyright law.
2. Sell your own merch
Maybe you identify as a content creator first, and entrepreneur second. (Just remember that even Drake sells t-shirts.)
Alternately, you’re an entrepreneur first and video creator second, which means you probably already have a product, and you’re designing your YouTube marketing strategy to sell it.
Either way, merchandise is a viable way to earn money from YouTube.
Step 1: Imagine and design your product
Merchandise for your channel is meant to both represent and feed your audience’s connection with you. That means your merch should be unique.
Hawaiian YouTube star Ryan Higa launched his milk-based energy drink Ninja Melk to leverage the popularity of his viral comedy, Ninja Melk. While he also sells t-shirts and other merch from his online shop, Ninja Melk’s appeal is broad enough it has its own website.
Pro tip: You might have more ideas for merch than you can possibly stock. So start by dipping your toes in the water with one or two items. But make sure you engage your audience in the decision-making process. Poll them as to what they want. Or build buzz by offering one-off products related to big subscriber-count milestones.
Step 2: Source and/or build your product
In most cases, you’ll need a manufacturer, supplier or wholesaler to make and deliver your product. Some suppliers will deliver it to you, and some will spare you the headaches of inventory, shipping and returns by handling it themselves.
If you’re not sure where to start, check out Shopify’s how-to on the topic of finding a brick-and-mortar company to make your dream a reality.
Step 3: Create your shop and landing page
You’ll need a separate website to handle purchases. If you want to link it directly from your videos (and you do), refer to YouTube’s list of approved merchandise sites.
Step 4: Enable your YouTube Partner merchandise shelf
YouTube Partners can also use the shelf feature to sell their channel’s merchandise. If you’re eligible, follow YouTube’s instructions to enable it.
Bonus: Download the free 30-day plan to grow your YouTube following fast, a daily workbook of challenges that will help you kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Get real results after one month.
Get the free guide right now!Step 5: Promote your product in your videos
This is where your charm comes in. Wear or use your merch in your videos. Feature viewers who have bought and are using it. (If we were on another platform, we might call this ‘user-generated content,’ or possibly ‘solid gold’).
And don’t forget to add your store’s link to your video descriptions, and include end screens and cards with compelling calls to action.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to say thank you. Because it’s polite. But also because it’s an excuse to remind people how great and popular your product is, one more time.
3. Create sponsored content
You don’t have to be on Instagram to be an influencer. The advantage of the #sponcon strategy is that you don’t have to give YouTube a cut of your earnings. You negotiate directly with the brand, and they pay you directly. No wonder it’s a popular way for YouTubers to make money.
If you can offer brands a large and/or engaged audience—and your content is relevant to their target market—they probably want to hear from you.
For instance, YouTuber Aaron Marino, a.k.a. Alpha M, is big in the men’s lifestyle space. How big? So big that even his videos that explain his brand partnerships have brand partners.
Step 1: Find a brand to partner with
Quality is important, when it comes to the names you work with. You probably already have a wish list of dream brands. Whether you’re aiming for the stars or building yourself up grassroots-style, make sure you perfect your brand pitch before you send it.
Also consider signing up with an influencer marketing platform. These are intermediary websites that help marketing teams find appropriate influencers to work with. FameBit was one of the first to focus on YouTubers, for instance.
Step 2: Make a deal
According to this recent study by influencer marketing platform Klear, YouTube videos are, on average, the most expensive type of sponsored content brands can buy from influencers. Basically, YouTube influencers are able to charge more for their videos than they would for Instagram Stories or Facebook posts, because video is just more expensive to produce.
While your rate will vary on your audience’s size, engagement and relevance to your potential partner, know your worth before you sign a contract.
Step 3: Be transparent about your #sponsored #ad
Sponsored content is advertising. That means you need to make sure you’re in step with Google’s Ad policies. The FTC (U.S.) and ASA (U.K.) both have guidelines of which you should be aware, too, if you’re American or British.
Transparency is good for your legal health, but also for your relationship with your audience. YouTube has a visible disclosure feature to help you make sure your audience is aware that you’re advertising to them.
4. Become an affiliate partner
If your YouTube audience is loyal and engaged, but not quite there yet headcount-wise, look for companies investing in affiliate marketing.
YouTubers affiliated with businesses encourage their viewers to visit the brand’s online store or specific product pages. They then get a percentage of sales made through their — you guessed it — affiliate links.
In terms of setup and logistics, affiliate partnerships are similar to sponsored content deals, so follow the steps from tip #3 to get started.
5. Get your fans to pay you directly
This strategy for making money on YouTube includes a few different income streams, but they all have one thing in common: you have to make it easy for your fans to show their appreciation with their credit card.
Step 1: Host live chats where people can use Super Chat
In early 2017, YouTube replaced their previous Fan Funding feature with Super Chat. This is a feature that is only available to YouTube Partners while they live stream.
Essentially, your viewers can make their comments more visible—they’re highlighted and pinned for a set amount of time depending on how much they pay—in the live chat stream.
Step 2: Encourage your fans to become channel members
YouTube offers the ability to let your viewers pay you to become members of your channel. In exchange, they get custom emoji, badges, and access to members-only exclusives like Live Chats with you.
For instance, Wintergatan is a Swedish band that also makes elaborate marble machines and posts videos about it to their YouTube channel. They regularly thank their channel members in their videos. They also make it clear what the money from memberships supports:
You’ll need to build out a promotion strategy to convince people to become members, which may or may not include several tiers of membership. Like Super Chat, this feature is only available to YouTube Partners.
Step 3: Encourage your fans to become YouTube Premium subscribers
This step is the last on our list for this strategy because it benefits your channel only indirectly. That said, when YouTube Premium members watch your channel, you get a cut of their subscription fee. (And so does every other channel they watch.)
6. Use crowdfunding
Soliciting donations online is now commonplace. Whether you’re looking to build ongoing revenue from a pool of small monthly donations, or looking to fund a personal, channel-related project, crowdfunding is how many YouTubers make money.
Step 1: Set up a crowdfunding account
YouTube has a list of approved crowdfunding sites to choose from.
For recurring funding Patreon is a top choice. Meanwhile, sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter are best for one-off campaigns to get a new mic, or new laptop, or new … spleen.
Even household names like Walk Off the Earth or Veronica Mars (ok, she’s a fictional character) have used Patreon to fund their projects, be they music videos or feature-length films.
Step 2: Promote your campaign in your videos
Detail your specific goals so that people know exactly what they can expect when you’ve succeeded.
Also, offer enticing perks that stack as your fans choose how much they want to donate.
For more information and inspiration, check out this detailed guide to crowdfunding strategies.
Step 3: Go beyond YouTube
A successful campaign is a multi-platform affair. We have some advice on how to promote your YouTube channel (and by extension, your crowdfunding campaign) everywhere else.
7. License your content to the media
When a video goes viral, every news outlet wants to get their hands on a copy in order to replay it for their audience. Fortunately, established media companies are well aware that they need to pay for what they use. And voila, you’ve got yourself another way to make money on YouTube.
As a content creator, licensing your most successful work to the media can be as simple as making sure you’re easy to find.
Step 1: Keep your contact details updated on your About page
You never know when lightning will strike. Even if you don’t have a business manager, set up a generic email account that you can point to for business inquiries.
Step 2: Sign up to a video rights marketplace
Jukin Media is a great place to start. Even if you don’t have a viral video like the Chewbacca mask lady (see below), media outlets often need timely footage to round out their reporting.
For instance, Jukin has an entire catalogue of ‘newsworthy’ videos that you can contribute to, if you happen to have exclusive footage of a major natural disaster, plane crash, or plague of locusts.
How much money can you make on YouTube?
Sadly, this age-old question has one infuriating answer: it depends.
The sky is the limit, as 9-year old YouTuber and multi-millionaire Ryan Kaji’s story proves. But getting into 7-digit territory takes a lot of time, consistent work and luck.
YouTube revenue relies heavily on AdSense. In simple terms, YouTubers get paid for each ad view on their channel. But rates vary across geographies, demographics, and even industries (software ads may have a higher CPM than, for example, clothing ads).
On average, YouTubers make between $3 and $5 per 1,000 video views through AdSense. If your channel is reaching a lot of people, this can stack up to a pretty paycheck. It’s not uncommon for big creators to cash out upwards of $200,000 each month from AdSense alone.
But even if your channel is trending and AdSense revenue is filling up your bank account, remember that YouTube fame depends on many factors, some (or most) of which are out of your control — the YouTube algorithm can change, as can your audience’s tastes and needs.
To make sure that the money you make on YouTube turns into a healthy and consistent income, follow our 7 tips and branch out. Merch, branded deals and crowdfunding can make you money even if, for whatever reason, your AdSense paychecks go down.
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* This article was originally published here
How to Use Pinterest for Business: 8 Strategies You Need to Know
Are you currently just using Pinterest to plan your dream vacation or find delicious-looking baked goods to try — or are you using Pinterest for business? If you aren’t doing the latter yet, it might be time to consider getting your brand on this visual platform.
Pinterest offers businesses of all sizes a unique way to market themselves — as a visual search engine, Pinterest is great for exposing new potential customers to your brand.
That’s because Pinners come to the platform for inspiration. They want to try new things, discover new ideas, find great recipes, and often, get inspired to make their next purchase.
This article will cover all the Pinterest marketing basics to get you started including:
- What is Pinterest marketing?
- How to use Pinterest for business
- How to set up a Pinterest business account
- Important lingo you should know that will help your Pinterest marketing strategy
- How to use Pinterest with Hootsuite
Let’s get started.
Bonus: Download your free pack of 5 customizable Pinterest templates now. Save time and easily promote your brand with professional designs.
What is Pinterest marketing?
Pinterest marketing is a set of tactics that incorporate Pinterest into your business’s bigger social media marketing strategy to reach new audiences and grow awareness for your brands and products.
According to Pinterest Business, social media marketers turn to the platform to:
- Reach a new audience and grow an online presence.
- Drive more traffic to the business’s website or online store.
- Encourage conversions like newsletter sign-ups, ticket sales or purchases.
In other words, using Pinterest for business can help your brand reach a lot of people and make money.
As of 2021, Pinterest is the 14th largest social network in the world with 459 million active users each month.
Source: The Global State of Digital 2021
And its advertising reach is impressive:
Source: The Global State of Digital 2021
In fact, 80% of weekly Pinners have discovered a new brand or product on Pinterest. And Pinterest statistics show that both the number of Pinners and boards created, is increasing year over year.
This platform can be particularly beneficial if your business targets the same demographic that loves and uses Pinterest. The platform has historically attracted women and people who want to shop or start a new project. As of 2021, it’s becoming increasingly more popular with men and Gen Z-ers.
Source: Pinterest Business
Pinterest is also popular among people looking for positive inspiration — it’s not the platform for FOMO or controversial back-and-forths.
Now that you know what Pinterest marketing is, time to move on to how you can market your business on Pinterest. Keep reading for 8 actionable tips.
How to use Pinterest for business: 8 tips and tricks
1. Create a Pinterest marketing strategy
Just as you would with any other social media channel, start by drawing out a social media strategy for Pinterest — don’t just jump right in.
Creating a Pinterest marketing strategy means:
- Setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). On top of gaining a following on Pinterest, do you hope the platform will drive traffic to your website, increase sales for a specific product or drive sign-ups for an event?
- Learning about the general Pinterest audience and the demographic that is most likely to use this channel.
- Learning about your brand’s specific Pinterest target audience.
- Considering what your competitors are doing on this social media platform.
- Planning and incorporating on-brand content for Pinterest into your social media content calendar.
Once you’ve set a clear strategy, you can begin working toward your goals.
2. Pin engaging, captivating content
Pinterest is a visual platform, so effectively using it for business means producing high-quality, engaging visual content to share.
So, what makes a captivating Pin?
- Vertical imagery. Data shows 82% of users browse Pinterest on mobile. Shoot for a 2:3 aspect ratio to avoid ending up with awkwardly cropped images.
- Consider your image and video quality. You want to avoid pixelation, so aim for the highest quality image and video that Pinterest recommends.
- Descriptive copy. Good descriptions can help you improve SEO, add context to your images, and encourage users to click on links.
- Text overlay. Consider including a headline that reinforces your visual message.
- Tasteful branding. If it makes sense for your brand and corresponds to your Pinterest marketing strategy, incorporate your logo in your Pins so your brand doesn’t get lost in the Repin shuffle.
- Make sure your links work. Broken links won’t help your brand! Make sure the link with your Pin won’t go to a 404 and that it loads quickly to give Pinners the best user experience.
Finally, be consistent! Consistent, daily Pinning is more effective than creating a board and filling it up at once. And Pinning regularly ensures your content will reach a wider audience.
Using Hootsuite to schedule Pins will help your brand stay on top of your content calendar. (Learn more about how to use Pinterest with Hootsuite below.)
3. Try different Pin formats
Pinterest is an image-sharing platform, but it’s not just about photos.
Mix it up! Pin a video encouraging Pinners to shop at your e-commerce store or try adding multiple photos to a Pin to create a carousel.
For example, Nike uses video to promote its products:
And carousels to show a variety of products in one Pin:
But even though 80% of Pinners discover a new brand or product on Pinterest, think beyond shopping and explicitly promoting your brand.
Pinners also come to the platform for inspiration, with 85% of Pinners saying they come to Pinterest to start a new project. Consider also posting how-to Pins or inspiration boards to provide your audience with fun and valuable content.
For example, Nespresso pins step-by-step content to engage Pinners with its brand:
4. Carefully plan your boards
As 97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, your brand’s boards can help reach new Pinners interested in specific topics or learning specific things.
For example, Oreo’s boards include Pins with inspiration for upcoming seasonal holidays — like its Spooky Sweet Halloween board and Holidays with Oreo board — as well as recipe ideas, like its Oreo Cupcakes and Oreo Cookie Balls board.
In other words, the brand skillfully mixes useful, engaging and inspiring content boards with boards that are more promotional:
And Aveeno has boards for their own products, like Aveeno Body and Sun Care boards:
But the brand also has other boards, like the Earth Day board that includes Pins indirectly showcasing the brand while showing an understanding of what their audience values and supports.
5. Optimize your Pins for SEO
Pinterest is a search engine, so make sure your business’s Pins are easy to find in a search! Include keywords in your Pins’ descriptions, on boards and in hashtags.
Rich Pins, designed to pin new content from your business’s website while avoiding duplicate content will also boost your brand’s Pinterest SEO.
Find more SEO tips — and the top 100 Pinterest keywords— in this article.
6. Try out different Pinterest ads
Another effective way to market your business on Pinterest is with ads. Pinterest allows advertisers to target ads around keywords, interests, location, age and other metrics and categories.
And detailed audience targeting lets advertisers reach specific groups of Pinterest users, including:
- People who have visited your website.
- People who have engaged with your Pins.
- People who have engaged with similar content on the platform.
- A custom list, such as your newsletter subscribers.
From video ads to collections to promoted Pins, there is a range of ad types available on Pinterest. Learn everything you need to know about Pinterest advertising here.
7. Track the metrics
A successful Pinterest marketing strategy is data-driven. In other words, tracking, measuring and analyzing key Pinterest metrics and audience behavior helps social media managers see what content performs best and what content is a little less engaging.
We let you know which metrics you should be tracking and which tools you can use to monitor them here.
8. Promote your Pinterest profile
Finally, make sure your loyal followers from other platforms know you’re also active on Pinterest. Promote your Pinterest profile:
- By linking to your Pinterest profile on your company website.
- Including the link in your email signature.
- Cross-promoting your Pinterest business account on your business’s other social channels.
- Sharing the news of the Pinterest profile in a company newsletter.
How to set up a Pinterest business account
When using Pinterest for business, you want to make sure you’ve created a Pinterest business account and aren’t just using a personal account. That’s because a business account allows your brand to:
- Access analytics to monitor and measure your Pinterest marketing strategy.
- Run a wide variety of Pinterest ads.
- Set up a Shop tab.
Here, we walk you through the steps to setting up your brand’s Pinterest business account.
How to set up an account if you’ve never used Pinterest before
Step 1: Start by creating a new account
Go to pinterest.com and click Sign up.
Step 2: Navigate to the bottom of the pop-up
And click Get started here!
Step 3: Fill in your details
Add your professional email and your age, and create a secure password. Make sure the email you’re adding isn’t connected to any other Pinterest account. Then, click Create account.
Step 4: Fill out the fields to build your business profile
You’ll be asked to add your business’s name, language and location. Then, click Next.
Step 5: Describe your business
Choose the description that best fits what your business does and add a link to your website.
Now you’re ready to start Pinning and running ads!
How to set up an account if you have a private Pinterest profile
Step 1: Log into your personal Pinterest account and navigate to Settings
Get here by clicking on the last button (a simple arrow icon) in the top right hand menu. This opens a drop-down menu. Then, click Settings.
Step 2: Select Account Settings in the left hand menu
Step 3: Scroll down to Account Changes
And click Convert account under the Convert to a business account section.
Step 4: Fill out your business information
You’ll be asked to add your business’s name, language and location. You’ll also choose the description that best fits what your business does and add a link to your website.
Another option is to link a Pinterest business account to your already-existing personal account. To do that, simply click Add an account after navigating to settings while logged into your personal account:
Click Create under Create a free business account:
After creating a linked Pinterest business account, follow the same steps as above: add your business’s name, language, location, business description and a link to your website.
Whichever method is right for your brand, once you’re set up with a Pinterest business account, you’re ready to start marketing on Pinterest!
Important Pinterest for business terms you should know
Like every social media site, Pinterest has its own lingo you should familiarize yourself with to set yourself up for success. To help you out, here’s a glossary.
Pins and Pin formats
Pinner
LinkedIn has members. Snapchat users are Snapchatters. And Pinterest has Pinners. In other words, a Pinner is the branded term for a person who uses Pinterest.
Pins
A Pin is a primary post published on Pinterest. Pins include images or videos and can link back to an original source, much like a website bookmark.
Promoted Pins
Promoted Pins are a kind of Pinterest ad. They are Pins that companies have paid to promote so that more Pinners are likely to see them. These Pins appear in the home feed, category feed and search results, and include a “Promoted” label.
Promoted video Pins, carousels, and app Pins are also available. Learn more about Pinterest ad options here.
Repins
Think of a Repin as a share on Facebook or a Retweet on Twitter. A Repin is when someone Pins a post they like (but that they didn’t create) to one of their boards.
Rich Pins
Rich Pins automatically pull more information from your website to the Pin. The point is to provide more information, such as product availability and up-to-date pricing. Rich Pins are available in three formats: Product Rich Pins, Recipe Rich Pins and Article Rich Pins.
Video Pins
These are much like regular Pins, but instead of a static photo, they feature a video that loops.
Carousel Pins
Instead of just one image, carousel Pins feature multiple images. Up to five images can be added to a carousel Pin.
Collections Pins
This Pin format makes it easier for Pinners to shop for similar products. When a Pinner clicks on the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of a Collections Pin, white dots will appear.
Idea Pins
This is a new Pin format that isn’t widely available yet. Idea Pins can be used to promote your brand in a new way, by customizing the colors and fonts in your Pin, creating step-by-step guides or curating collections.
Try on product Pins
This is another new Pin format that isn’t widely available yet. Try on Pins use augmented reality (AR filters), allowing Pinners to virtually “try on” products they see on Pinterest using the Pinterest Lens.
Boards and Board types
Boards
Think of Pinterest boards as digital mood boards. Use boards to save, collect and organize your Pins. Many use boards to group Pins according to a certain theme or topic. For example, you might create a board around the planning of a product launch event, for seasonal content, or for wedding inspiration.
Group boards
Group boards are the same as regular boards, except more than one person can add content. This format is ideal for marketers looking to share ideas or plans with their team, as anyone can contribute.
Secret boards
A secret board can only be seen by its creator and invited collaborators. When you create one, you’ll see a lock symbol beside the board name. These are useful for planning you don’t want to be public — secret boards won’t appear in the home feed, in search, or anywhere publicly on Pinterest.
Protected boards
Similar to secret boards, protected boards live at the bottom of your Pinterest profile and only you can see them. However, the Pins on these protected boards can be seen across Pinterest if a Pinner has a direct link.
General Pinterest terms
Audience Insights
Pinterest business accounts have access to important metrics and analytics via Audience Insights. Learn more about how to use Pinterest analytics and what platform-specific metrics you should be tracking.
Pinterest Lens
This augmented reality tool is available on mobile devices only. Pinterest Lens is a camera tool that lets users take a picture of something — like a product or a Pincode — and then they can find related content on Pinterest.
Pincodes
Pincodes are essentially QR codes. These codes can be placed on hard copies of marketing material (like a business card or a press release) and scanned using Pinterest Lens — the codes then link back to a Pinterest board or profile.
How to use Pinterest with Hootsuite
Hootsuite allows you to streamline your Pinterest marketing efforts, work on social media marketing as a team and handle all of your social accounts (across platforms) from one dashboard.
Here’s how Hootsuite’s integration with Pinterest can help you save time and effortlessly add Pinterest to your social media strategy.
How Hootsuite can help your Pinterest marketing strategy
Using Pinterest will help you and your business by:
- Saving time. Hootsuite allows you to create and schedule Pins. You can also post the content to multiple accounts at the same time.
- Improving teamwork. With Hootsuite, you can make sure that content is created consistently, regardless of which team member is doing the work. Do this by setting up an approval workflow in Hootsuite and using the dashboard’s collaboration tools.
- Making it easier to manage multiple channels. The scheduling feature ensures your Pinterest marketing strategy aligns seamlessly with all of the other social platforms your brand is using including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter.
How to start using Pinterest with Hootsuite
Step 1: Connect your Pinterest business account to Hootsuite
Make sure you’re logged into your Pinterest business account. Then, click Add social network:
Select Pinterest as the network you want to add to Hootsuite:
And authorize it by clicking Give access.
Step 2: Create your first post
Hover over the Composer icon and select Pin.
Step 3: Select a board for your Pin
You don’t have to pick just one — you publish the Pin to multiple boards.
Step 4: Upload your media files
Upload your image (and edit it, if you’d like), add a link to the website and type any text for additional context about your Pin.
Step 5: Pick a time for the Pin to be published
Click Post now to publish the Pin immediately. Or, click on the arrow for more publishing options:
Step 6: When scheduling for later, select your publishing day and time
Then, click Done.
For more information on how to publish posts to Pinterest using Hootsuite, check out this video:
Save time managing your Pinterest presence using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can compose, schedule and publish Pins, create new boards, Pin to multiple boards at once, and run all your other social media profiles. Try it free today.
Schedule Pins and track their performance alongside your other social networks—all in the same easy-to-use dashboard.
Try HootsuiteThe post How to Use Pinterest for Business: 8 Strategies You Need to Know appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
* This article was originally published here
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