Pinterest Marketing Part-5
The Pinterest Interface
When you first log in to Pinterest, it can be a little overwhelming and daunting. The site looks very different from something like Twitter or Facebook and at first, the navigation might not seem that intuitive. How do you find the boards you like the looks of? How do you find your way around?
When you’re first signed up and logged in, you’ll be greeted by your home feed which will take up the majority of the screen real-estate. This will consist of images and pins from top users, boards, and brands. It will also include content from anyone that you might have already started following.
Underneath the images are tags that work a lot like tags on Twitter or other social media sites. You can also see the comments that were added by whoever initially uploaded the image and you can see the person you know who pinned it (or it might say that it was ‘picked for you’re based on your interests).
From here, you can simply hover your mouse over any images that you want to find out more about and you’ll see an option to ‘like’, to ‘pin’, or to send. If you click the image itself, it will become full screen and you’ll see the board it came from along the right, as well as more pins from the website that it was found on.
Underneath, you also have the option to add your own comment, which may be a response to the comment that’s already there, and to browse other related pins.
That’s already a lot to take on board (no pun intended)! As you can see, Pinterest has a little more of a steep learning curve as compared with other similar social media sites.
If you want to find pins of a particular subject matter, then your best bet is to head to the ‘search bar at the top left of the homepage. In here, you can now search for whatever it is you’re trying to find. There are a lot of pins on here, so don’t be afraid to type something specific.
You can also click the option on the right in order to see a list of popular tags and categories which will help to filter the items you’re seeing.
Likewise, you can also click on the names of boards or users as you’re browsing and this will take you to their collections. This is often how you discover the really great stuff – it’s just a matter of trying to find someone with similar interests and tastes to you, in which case you will land upon all the research and browsing they’ve done which you can then use in your own projects.
Next to the search bar is a button with your name on it and a red pin. If you click this, you’ll be taken to your collection of boards. Your name will be along the top, next to a picture of a pin. Now you can use the tabs along the top to view all your boards, all your pins, all your likes, all your followers, or everyone that you are following.
When you view your boards, you’ll see that one of the options is a ‘plus’ sign with the option to create a new board. Likewise, when looking at your boards, you’ll see the option to ‘Add a Pin’. Creating a board of course allows you to add a new board that will be empty while adding a pin lets you add new pins to your board. You can then enter the URL of an image you like or a web page with lots of images you like, or you can upload something from your computer.
This is one way to populate your boards with relevant pins and will likely be the main method you use if you’re a content creator. It’s hard to build a brand with entirely content that you borrowed and didn’t create.
On the other hand though, if you want to add pins in the quickest way possible, you’ll find that the best way to do that is to just browse the boards of other users and then just click to repin their items to your own boards.
Above your collection of boards and pins, you’ll also see a button that gives you the option to edit your profile. Click here and you’ll be given the option to fill in some details about yourself.
Specifically, the options you’re given are:
- Name
- Picture
- Username
- About
- Location
- Website
Make sure that you use a picture that will grab the eye and look appealing and that your username matches your company’s branding. Note that this will also become your URL, so if your username is ‘NewTech’ then your page will be pinterest.com/newtech.
You can also add your website here. Make sure that you do this and at the same time go ahead and confirm your website by adding a small bit of code to your page.
Spend some time on this page and make sure that you edit your profile to reflect well on your brand. This means that you should have a compelling ‘about’ section that explains what you do and tells people why they should be following you. Likewise, you should have a great profile image that will jump out and grab attention and that will match your branding.
If you click ‘settings’ meanwhile, you’ll be given a few more extra options for personalizing your account and controlling its behavior. This section allows you to set your gender, to choose whether you want your profile to be searchable through Google (you definitely do), how you want to receive notifications and whether you want to connect with your other social accounts.
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