How to share your story on Pinterest

What we’ve learned

If Pinterest’s success has taught us anything, it’s that images have value. Pinterest allows us to dream about the places we want to go, the clothes we want to buy and gives us ideas to make cool memories with our kids.

My son and I created a gratitude board during Thanksgiving last year. Thanks Pinterest – not just for the idea but for the “I’m grateful for” printables I found for us to write out our daily thankful thoughts.

Pinterest continues to rise in popularity. The incredible growth of this social program teaches us that deep down, we’re really just a bunch of collectors. We collect everything from articles teaching us how to use Pinterest to vintage cameras to healthy recipes.

Pinterest is this beautiful place where can see all of our collections on display.

We get it

By now, we all get the appeal of Pinterest. We’ve read the stories about how the big brands like Target are using Pinterest as a main stable of its social marketing mix. And we’ve seen the small companies, just like yours, connecting with pinners and making sales of their products and services.

If we’re no longer questioning Pinterest’s strong force in the social world then the next question to ask is: How did these Pinterest success stories find a way to take their collection of boards to grow their business and add to their bottom line?

They discovered that Pinterest was an opportunity to share their company’s story.

They turned their boards into the characters of their company’s narrative. Their boards became individual destinations giving users an image-filled story about the person behind the business.  And these online insights gave their followers (and potential customers) a reason to connect with them.

How can you share your company’s story on Pinterest?

1. What’s the story behind the story?

We all have an ‘About Us’ section on our website that tells people we’ve been in business for x-number of years, we moved to our location in this year and in that year, we hired our next person on our team.

Blah Blah Blah. There’s more to your company than just the facts.

What is the behind the scenes story you share when you meet someone at a networking meeting? I’m sure its a lot more interesting then when you hired your first employee.

Take a look at these board ideas to tell your story:

• Where is your business located? Even if you work from home, you live in a city that has something about your town that makes it different. Create  a board highlighting the cool things about your city or something that your city is known for.
• When did you first open your door or post up your website? Start a board with things that were popular during that year like movies, TV shows and music. The older your company is, the more fun it’ll be to look back on what was cool that year.
• Did your company start doing one type of product and then changed to a service? Think about how you can create a board called Our Journey and post up pictures with your old products and show how your company progressed to the place you’re in now.

2. Tell the story about your products

You know why your products are different, better and more cost efficient than the competition so share that story with your followers.

Think about how these board ideas can show what makes your products unique:

• Pin images about how your products are made. I met a couple in one of my workshops who sold hand-crafted jewelry boxes from Asia. They created a board showcasing their warehouse’s location and the city surrounding it.
• Are your products made with organic material? Teach us with images and articles about your materials and why you use them.
• What about the craftsmanship that goes into every piece you make? Let’s go back to my jewelry boxes example – this couple used a board to tell the stories of the generations of families who handcraft their boxes.

3. Tell your personal story

Don’t have a product but sell a service like I do? Let your boards tell your story about who you are and why you do what you do.

I would have never guessed that when I worked on the morning show for a top country radio station in my former life that I’d be teaching small business owners about social media. But yet here I am. I developed my confidence when I would broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people every morning.

And that’s just a part of my story. What’s yours?

• What’s your background? Were you always doing this type of work or did you transition into this place? Set up a board to show us where you came from and how you got here.
• Where did you go to school? When you look at my boards, you’ll see a UGA (University of Georgia) Bulldogs board. And yeah, I’m proud to be a UGA Dawg!
• What do you like to do outside of work? When you’re able to show more about the person behind the laptop, it make it easier to connect with your followers.

Remember, people want to do business with PEOPLE that they know and trust. Think about how you can show who you are and you’re not making a false connection to make your next sale.

4. Tell your customers how they can get involved with your story

Go beyond the facts and features of your products and use images that evoke an emotional response. Think about how those holiday commercials connect with us every time we see them. Tell me you don’t want to tear up when you hear that sappy music and see the light on a child’s face.

Try these board ideas to show how your followers can get involved:

• Does your company support a cause? Make a board with articles and images sharing your passion with your followers.
• Is your company involved with a program for the community every year? Tell us about why you participate in this event and why it’s important to you. And if you have permission, post up pictures from the events to show how much fun it is to be there.
• Emotions aren’t always about making us cry. What makes you happy? I have a board called Makes Me Smile and it’s really just that – a board full of crazy, funny and sometimes silly things that just make me smile.

“I realized the importance of having a story today is what really separates companies. People don’t just wear our shoes, they tell our story.”

— Blake Mycoskie, CEO, Tom’s Shoes

 

Photo credit: Old Book

PS Have you signed up  for my Social Media with Strategy online course? It’s FREE and you’ll learn my secret tips about how to make sure your social media messages reach the right people who want to buy your stuff.  What’s stopping you from learning more about how to find your inner social media-ness?