Pinterest is a social media site that has always had to live in the shadow of giants Facebook and Twitter. The image-based network is no doubt the lesser of the three but is still massive in terms of the kind of traffic it generates. Recent studies have shown that a number of online fashion magazines and such owe the lion’s share of their traffic to the Ben Silbermann – founded site. Given the large user base of the site, it is important for content creators to understand how to leverage to medium. So here’s a look at how to make use of Pinterest to drive website traffic.
Step 1: Creating a following
The most basic step in the process of harnessing the power of a new social network (new to your social media strategy) is to create a band of loyal viewers. Nobody wants to produce realms of content and realize that there aren’t too many people that want to see it. In most cases the one that gets the most traffic isn’t the one producing the most quality content but the one capable of building an audience efficiently.
Also Read: Why Should You Use Twitter & Pinterest Analytics Report
Here’s how to drive website traffic using Pinterest
1. Use the search bar to search for terms that fall under your niche. So if you run an automobile blog this would include “Cars”, “Engines”, “Honda” and such.
2. The results the site throws up will include pins, pinners, and boards.
3. Pinners refer to the actual users on the site so click on that option.
4. This gives you a list of people who are interested in the niche you produce content in
In order to drive website traffic, do one of two things. Either follow them, in which case more than half will respond by following back; you could also take things a step further and like and comment on their content, which is sure to elicit an even more positive response.
Step 2: Integrate to Other Social Media Platforms
This part is quite simple and involves connecting followers on your various social media accounts in order to create maximum possible engagement. Pinterest offers native support for liking your account to Facebook and Twitter. By doing this, pins are automatically posted to Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The benefits of linking these sites are twofold when you are looking to drive website traffic. The most obvious one is that the following on each network will be augmented due to users on one site becoming a part of your presence on the other. There’s also the fact that content is more likely to go viral due to the combined contribution of users on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Step 3: Get creating!
As with any other social media network, Pinterest is unique and whimsical and only specific kinds of content do well on it. Pinterest is all about pictorial content so it’s a no-brainer what works here. The challenge is to take other forms of content such as blogs and music and create the kind of content that is related but distinct to the nitty-gritties of the Pinterest environment.
Inforgraphics tend to perform extremely well on Pinterest. They are long pictures which give detailed information about a particular topic generally through the use of data and statistics. Such visually appealing, informative content is exactly what does drive website traffic. Content creators can also take advantage of rich pins, which contain information such as author details, website URL, and title. These are a great way to drive website traffic.
The Tech Cult 