As of September 2015, Pinterest, the on-line social media site, has over 100 million users. In it’s short two-year debut, the company’s worth is an estimated 11 billion dollars. Not bad for the newcomer on the block, falling just behind Facebook and Twitter, though maybe not for long. Pinterest is the fastest growing social networking site in history.

In fact, Pinterest drives more traffic to websites than Google+ and You Tube combined. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, you and your business are missing out. This social media site shares content through impressive and stimulating images. It allows users to collect items of interest on a board, to refer to whenever they wish. It functions as a digital bookmark, allowing the pinner time to “pin” things that inspire or catch the eye.

Below are examples of how 5 different companies met incredible Pinterest for Business success through increased website traffic, click through, and increased readership and sales from their Pinterest Company Boards.

1) Buzzfeed

This popular on-line site is known for its news and entertainment articles. Very often the content is funny, and easily shareable between friends. In June 2012, a Buzzfeed staff member wrote a DIY (do-it-yourself) piece that included how to make sharpie mugs, paint ombre nails, make your own spray paint, and a number of other DIY projects. Over 2.3 million users clicked this article alone on. The majority of the traffic came by way of Pinterest.

It started with someone taking an interest in that article and shared it. Soon, other pinners clicked and shared, and so on. Buzzfeed took notice of the power behind Pinterest marketing and getting more traffic to their webpage. Based on gathered data, they could identify what trends and topics of interest attracted people to their site. Vivid descriptions and pleasant pictures get the most attention.

To date, one of the most clicked on and shared Pins from Buzzfeed is an article about strawberry/basil infused water.

Why did it do so well? Click here for the Science of a Quality Pinterest Pin

The picture of the crystal clear refreshing water, paired with the bright red ripe fruit and topped with rich and healthy green basil was food porn on the page. Who could resist the luscious temptation of this recipe? So easy to make, especially on a hot day. Buzzfeed is known for it’s funny posts, and over 30% of its traffic is humor centric.

Humor is a winner, every time. And so, apparently, is infused water.

2) Etsy

Etsy is home to over 800,000 independent on-line shops. Most shops sell one of a kind handcrafted items. Etsy figured out that people are drawn to visual images. They have “guest pinners” pin items onto the business site, to help identify trends and post pertinent content that resonates with the Etsy community.

Every item on an Etsy page has a pin attached to it. This allows for immediate and easy sharing. The Pin includes information about the item and the price. Pinners like the pin, and share it. Repined merchandise has helped drive increased sales for many Etsy shops.

Pinterest for Business Tips from Etsy:

Use analytics insights to inform your content sharing strategy

Add the Pin It button so it’s easy for people to add Pins from your website

Add Pins that authentically showcase your brand

3) Four Seasons

This hotel chain capitalizes on its unique branding of sophistication, style and luxury. Their pins connect users to hotels all over the world through visually appealing photos of pools, oceans, decadent rooms and lush gardens. They also include pictures of delicious gourmet meals. It attracts the pinner to the hotel, saving it for future vacation ideas.

The Four Seasons reports a 1000% increase in daily visitors to its sites and a 1700% increase in clicks from Pinterest. These figures are truly astounding.

Pinterest for Business Tips from Four Seasons

Create multiple Pinterest profiles if you manage a number of distinct brands

Get Rich Pins to display location information like address, phone number and open hours on your Pins

Use analytics to see which of your Pins resonate

4) MVMT

The luxury watchmaker MVMT focused its branding on up close, high quality images of their watches on their Pinterest Company Board. They noticed a doubling of numbers of clicks and numbers of sales. Statistical data demonstrated that women were the ones buying these watches…for the men in their lives.

“Pinners convert at a rate 2X higher than users from other channels.” (Jake Kassan, CEO MVMT)

Now, Pinterest is viewed as a center for gift ideas and giving to others. What a concept! MVMT also noted that because the watches were pinned and repined, the product was out in front of people long after it was marketed. Pinterest serves as a “permanent on-line home” for some of these products, increasing their longevity.

5) Sony

The popular electronics company produces high quality tech products that entertain and educate. Sony items were being pinned long before the company started their board. When they created their Pinterest site, they decided to capitalize on the trends they were seeing. They included popular items intertwined with a few new fun toys and mixed some vintage classics into their site. They added pins to every item on their site for easy access and sharing.

Additionally, the company sent out a mass e-mail to their customers. They experienced a 67% increase in open rate and a 16% increase in click throughs. Very impressive!

“We’re reaching new audiences and helping them realize that tech is part of their lifestyle — tech is what helps you cook, it’s what helps you travel,” said Callan Green, senior social media specialist at Sony. “Pinterest has been a great platform for helping us convey that message.”

Pinterest for Business Tips from Sony:

Send a dedicated Pinterest email to showcase your boards and encourage following

Add the Pin It button next to product shots in emails to get people pinning

Create unique boards that appeal to different groups of people

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If you are a new business, a small business or a large corporation, Pinterest is an avenue to meet and engage with potential clients. You need strong visual high quality images, rich content descriptions, newsworthy articles that interest your audience, and promote things that are relative and trending with people you want to reach.

Businesses should be asking themselves these questions prior to embarking on a Pinterest marketing strategy:

Who is my target audience?

How can I help connect my customers with what they need?

How can I generate relative, inspiring content?

What are my potential followers’ interests and passions?

What topics should I include for my followers?

Are my pictures visually appealing?

Can I provide stimulating and exciting descriptions that match my company’s mission and values and those of my potential clients?

Joanne Bradford, Pinterest’s Head of Partnerships, recently told The New York Times,

“On Facebook, you think about friends, and on Twitter you think about news but on Pinterest, you think about what you want to do, where you want to go, what you want to buy.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Pinterest gold.