Guys, Pinterest has changed my business forever. Not only was I limited to my local area when I first began Branding Addicts, I had to learn the best ways to maximize my reach to get directly in front of my target market. With no prior education in the design industry, I knew that I was going to spend countless nights teaching, learning, and soaking up everything Google had to offer me in order to make my dream a reality.
So where would I spend the majority of my time?
Pinterest!
Image: Monthly snap shot of my Pinterest Analytics. These numbers fluctuate based on how much I engage and interact on the platform, but notice that my highest PIN impression for this month is the template I am selling in my SHOP!!! 24,746 impressions to date, 16 saves, 2 click throughs in only 2 weeks. Your welcome ;)
I guess I fell into the platform more accidentally. It was in this pretty little space where I harnessed creative fuel and inspiration to design. In this digital place I trend forecast, dream bigger, and push my design limits.
I would wake up, brew coffee, Pinterest, and repeat.
How did it all start?
In 2016, I started to incorporate this platform into my on-boarding process to help pull out my client's creative visions. It worked so well for me to clarify my design direction and style, so why not use it to help my clients? Instead of trying to read their minds, I encourage and teach them how to show me by using visuals on Pinterest. This strategy worked with huge success as a result. Not only did it help clarify a solid design direction, but it helped cut way down on revisions and wasted time. Specific shapes, styles, vibes, fonts, color tones, you get the gist.
Come to find out, the majority of my client's actually find me on Pinterest. (Say What?!) After every new design project I would complete, I would upload it to Pinterest and link it back to my website. I noticed that the traffic from my site via google analytics started to steadily increase and what was the direct source responsible for this growth? Pinterest!
So what was driving everyone to engage with my brand and click through my content?
Authenticity and visual appeal. Design. Style. Color. Quality Content.
What started to circulate like wildfire were both my mood boards and brand boards.
Seemingly insignificant at the time, but crucial growth tools to date!
Some of the best marketing tools and tactics were merely stumbled upon as a result of trial and error.
These design styles were randomly discovered in 2015 (back when I grossed a whopping $1,000 for the year LOLZ) by piecing different symbols and shapes together to tell a visual story.
My Signature Mood Boards
Mood Board Design for a new chiropractic agency in 2018.
Mood Board Design created back at the end of 2016 for an emerging Boutique concept.
My Signature Brand Boards
Brand Board Designed back in 2016 for Lovely Tique Boutique. This one caught on like wildfire and rode a re-pin wave and continues to be repined to this day! Note that with each design there is a considerable amount of detail, texture, shapes, colors, fonts, etc that I make sure to include as key words in every pin description.
The Results
Honestly Boss, I had no clue this would ever catch on, but little did I know there was a huge demand back in 2016 for "brand inspiration." More than brand inspiration as a key word, inspiration in general is what Pinterest is all about. Sharing inspo and gaining inspo, is the power behind the platform.
Becoming inspired and inspiring others with what you create is the name of the game.
This is how pins go viral!
The more risk and the more unique the design, the higher potential for your content to catch wind and go viral.
I can attribute about 70-75% of my past and new inquiries that come through my site to Pinterest. They far outweigh any other social sharing platform, including Instagram and Facebook.
Another added bonus is that using key word descriptions on each of your pins, your images can easily be discovered organically on other search platforms like... Google. HUGE PLUS.
When I Google my business name and do an image search my highest ranking pins flood the page. Huge advantage for marketing when someone stumbles on your images organically.
In you are not marketing on Pinterest, you NEED to be.
I hope this blog post inspires you to dream big this year and I hope these tips help to increase your reach, get your content out there, and ultimately provides a great return on your investment. Put these tools in your entrepreneur tool belt and please let me know below what you think!
I hope to see Pinterest flooded with new bosses trying to get their brands out there and I hope you are encouraged to create your own unique designs to share on the platform.
You are so loved Boss. Keep killing it and never loose sight of your dream!
xoxo,
Laine Napoli
The Brand Gal