How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Wedding Business

Dear Wedding Professionals:

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, you will this year.  Everyone is talking about it.  It's the new social “pinning” site used to share beautiful content and images found across the Internet.  Judging by the amount of people posting on Pinterest, it has a good chance of becoming one of the top social sites for 2012.  Better yet - brides and wedding professionals have begun to embrace the site.

Pinterest is different from Facebook and Twitter because it is far more visual.  It’s not about posting a sentence or paragraph in hopes of starting a conversation. Instead, members post images of things that interest them.  That’s what gets the conversation started.  Pinterest gives us an opportunity to share our interest in weddings and to find other people (i.e. brides!) who enjoy the same things.  Want to see what BridalTweet is up to on Pinterest? Follow us by going to pinterest.com/bridaltweet.

Here's how your wedding business can benefit from Pinterest:

• You'll attract wedding enthusiasts AND drive free traffic to your website or blog.  Pinterest has become a new source of traffic for many businesses.  Images that are posted are automatically linked back to the page of the originating site. 
• You'll modernize your brand.  Pinterest is a great way to say your brand has style or personality.  And having your beautiful work pinned by other Pinterest members says a lot about your brand.

So, what should you do to take advantage of Pinterest?

1. Join.  You can ask another Pinterest member to send you an invite or you can apply for an invite on Pinterest's homepage.
   
2. Search, observe & follow.  Look around and see if any of your work has already been pinned.  Just like any other social network, begin by observing.  By searching relevant topics, you'll meet people who might be interested in what you do. Follow the boards and people who you feel would inspire you and/or be interested in what you are about to post/pin.
3. Start posting (or pinning) things you like. Add the Pinterest bookmark tool to your browser so that you can easily click 'Pin It' when you come across something that you like on the web.  Be strategic about creating boards that make some sense to your business.  And don't just post your work - also include the work of other inspiring wedding professionals.  This will help you to build credibility.  Finally, embed strategic keywords and links in your post's descriptions and comments to help improve your search engine rankings.
4. Invite.  Invite as many people in your address book or from Facebook as you can to follow your Pinterest profile. And feel free to invite your customers too!

5. Add the Pin this button to your website's pages.  This will make it easier for brides to share your work on Pinterest. 

6. Become active. Search and find products you love and make comments. Pin items and comment back when others make comments. Follow people that are active in areas that interest you and make comments on their pins.

Here are more Pinterest tips from wedding SEO and web design expert, Kathy DalPra of BrideAppeal.com:

• Tell everyone on your Facebook and Twitter profiles that you've joined Pinterest and that you want to connect with them there.  Give them your Pinterest address and do this once a week.
• When you pin an image or finish up a new board, announce it on Facebook and Twitter.
• Ask brides and other vendors what type of inspiration they're looking for right now.  Then, create a Pinterest board and share it with them directly.
• Always show a wide mix of sources when pinning.  Too much from one website or resource will appear fishy to Google and to the Pinterest community.
• Be sure to pin items from your top customers.  Let them know about it on Twitter and Facebook.  They will LOVE that you are spreading the word about them.
• Follow anyone you can find on Pinterest that you network with or serve in the wedding industry.

What tips can you share about Pinterest?  Please comment below.

Did this blog post help you? Then be sure to get more free marketing advice by adding your email address to my mailing list. You can do this by joining BridalTweet. By doing so, you'll also get a free listing in our community!

Enjoy!

About This Blog: Christine Dyer is the Creator and Founder of BridalTweet. Christine has an MBA in marketing and shares over twelve years of marketing expertise with the wedding community. In this weekly blog, you'll find advice on an array of wedding business topics such as how to market to brides, social networking, wedding PR, wedding sales, vendor networking, branding, pricing and much more. Please pass this news along to your own professional wedding network. To receive this advice in your email inbox each week, Sign Up for a Free BridalTweet Membership.