Yesterday, I posted 10 types of small business Pinterest boards. It also included 30 examples of what those boards could look like to get you inspired to try one on your own. Many of those examples came from members of the Small Business Bonfire in response to feedback on how they are using Pinterest in their businesses. And, let me tell you, our Bonfire members have a lot to say!

Small Business Pinners We Can Learn From

Sabrina Espinal nailed the essence of using Pinterest for business when she said, it’s all about “Pinning with Purpose,” thinking about beautiful and rich graphics placed in the right places on your website and blogs, then using Pinterest to generate interest and traffic. Very sound advice for any entrepreneur just getting started with Pinterest.

But that’s not all. Sabrina had a lot more to say, and provided a number of additional tips in the list below. You can check out her two Pinterest accounts here and here.

And there were other contributors, too. Here is a list of Bonfire members who are already using Pinterest to support their businesses and shared their tips to help you get started, too. The links below go to their Pinterest profiles so you can follow their boards:

Pinterest Tips for Small Business

1. Create goals for using for Pinterest, and work it into your marketing plan (if you want to avoid, chicken-with-head-cut-off syndrome, that is).

2. Consider mixing business and personal in order to create a combination of fun, eye-catching and promotional pins.

3. Or, separate business and personal into two completely separate accounts with different themes.

4. Share boards between separate Pinterest accounts to make it easier to pin in two places at once.

5. Think beyond visual. YES, you can still pin even if you’re not a retail business with physical products. Create your own visual elements that support what you do.

6. Remember copyrights, going both ways. Know where you’re pinning from, and always give credit. And, on the flip side, understand that once you put something out there on the interwebs, you can’t control where it goes or how it’ used.

7. Use video to add some interest and variety to image-heavy boards.

8. Upload your own images directly into Pinterest, and add a link. This is a great way to get around the inability to pin from Facebook. For example, we created this image and added to our Facebook Wall, then uploaded and shared on Pinterest, linking back to Facebook.

9. Fill in all of the information for every pin and board — category, link, description, etc.

10. Avoid the temptation to pin everything you know/want to share in one day (or one hour!). Create a strategy and space it out.

11. Pin a mix of things that link to your own sites, combined with links to others.

12. Use Pinterest as a way to do market research. Look at your followers and repins to see what other websites/topics people are you interested in.

13. Add a price with the dollar sign (i.e., $1) to the description of your products and services so they show a price and go into the Pinterest gifts section.

14. Check your traffic often to see what is generating interest, and then, most importantly, tailor your pins accordingly.

15. Rearrange boards often to help all of your pins get more exposure.

16. Make your boards collaboration spaces by adding contributors for group pinning and discussions.

17. Start thinking about how you can meld your sense of style and creativity with amazing graphics to make a big impact.

18. Use likes, repins and comments as a way to connect with your followers. Don’t be afraid to start a conversation by tagging someone in a comment or description of a pin.

19. Make your content “pin-able” and encourage sharing.

20. Absorb and learn from Pinterest, then share what you’ve leaned with clients and colleagues, in the form of pins, of course!

Again, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to this post. Now, it’s your turn.
What tips would you add to this list?

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