Pinterest Business Accounts Part 2

Previously, I wrote about how you should have a business account if you are using Pinterest commercially.
If you are using Pinterest to promote a product or business that you make money from, such as a blog or an Etsy store, then Pinterest requires you to use a business account instead of a personal account.  Pinterest business accounts look the same as personal accounts, but they give you access to useful features such as rich pins and Pinterest analytics.

You can read that article here:

But, once you have a business account, what should it look like?  What kinds of boards should you have and what types of things should you pin?  It really depends on the product or business that you are promoting.

In general, your boards should relate to your business or product.  It makes no sense to have a fashion board or a board for cupcakes if you are selling or promoting real estate.  Yes, fashion and desserts are popular topics on Pinterest, but because they are not related to your product or business, they will not attract the specific and targeted group of pinners that will ultimately be interested in and buy your product.

Here's an example:  If you have an Etsy shop that sells crocheted items, you'll want your Pinterest boards to be all about crochet, not just the items you're selling.  Promoting only your items can be a real turn off to people.  You want your Pinterest boards to be an excellent resource for crochet enthusiasts.  You'll want to curate boards with every aspect of crochet: crochet patterns, crochet items for babies, crochet projects for kids, crocheted blankets, crocheted Christmas ornaments, crochet for beginners, etc. That way, when people go to Pinterest for crochet ideas, they're more likely to find your boards because you are the ultimate source for crochet on Pinterest!  As a result, people will find your Estsy store because it's linked to your Pinterest business account.

Here's another example: Let's say you have a food blog.  Recipe pins are really popular on Pinterest, so you'll definitely want to have a presence on Pinterest.  But you don't want to pin and promote only your recipes. You'll want your main Pinterest page to be a go-to resource for people who are on Pinterest looking for recipes.  If you have boards for every aspect of cooking like recipes for appetizers, crock pot recipes, main dishes, desserts, kitchen tips, healthy recipes, etc. people are more likely to find and follow your Pinterest account because it is an excellent resource for the topics they are interested in.

Of course, in both of these examples, you can add your crochet items or your recipes to those boards as well as create some boards just for your items, (you'd be silly not to!) but your whole Pinterest presence shouldn't be just about your product.  In short, your business Pinterest page should be an excellent resource of carefully curated content for potential customers who are interested in the topic or interest relating to your product or business.  Ultimately, this content this will lead people to your website with your product. And those people will already be interested in what you are selling!

So I've given some examples of how it's a good idea to create and maintain boards that only pertain to a particular theme or interest related to your product, but sometimes it's ok to have boards that aren't related.  Many people who are using Pinterest are small business owners or bloggers.  In those types of situations, it's important for readers or potential customers to get to the know the person behind the product or the author of the blog.  If you're a lifestyle blogger, for example, and your Pinterest page promotes your blog, then it might be a good idea to include more personal boards that show your interests.  You'll still want to include boards that are highly relevant and related to your product, but having some unrelated, more personal boards allows people to get to know you better as a person and see what kinds of things you're interested in.

So take a good look at your Pinterest boards and their content.  Do they relate to your business or product?  Are they an excellent resource with quality content relating to your product or business?  If not, it might be time to add, delete, or updates boards as needed.

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