Pinterest has marketing potential for businesses who know how to use it.

When it comes to digital marketing through social media platforms, the main ‘new technology’ you’ll likely be focusing on is Facebook and Twitter, with YouTube and LinkedIn possibly thrown into the mix.

Yet of all the lesser used platforms for marketing, Pinterest has some of the strongest potential for businesses who know how to use it. With over 100 million users worldwide, there are countless opportunities to reach out to new customers and secure long-lasting relationships with them. Here are 3 ways to make the most of it.

1. Add detailed descriptions to Pinterest

You need to ensure that your pins appear in the correct search results. In order to achieve this, make sure you’re always writing 100 to 250-word descriptions for each and every one.

When writing these, focus on adjectives and keywords which specifically describe the image as well as the website it links to. Don’t waste space including hashtags.

Alongside search benefits, your descriptions are an ideal opportunity to interact with customers and convey a tone of writing for your brand. Part of this involves being helpful and providing useful content, which is why you should aim to make such pieces informative: for instance, if it’s a travel business you run, use the space to explain top attractions at that destination.

2. Rich pins add more value to Pinterest

If you’re trying to sell via Pinterest, then sometimes it helps to be able to provide more content than the site usually allows space for. In such situations, make the most of rich pins which allow you to include additional information.

There are 6 options that include extra information on the Pin itself:

1. App = install button
2. Movie = ratings, cast members and reviews
3. Recipe = ingredients, cooking times and serving info
4. Article = headline, author, story description
5. Product = real time pricing, availability, where to buy
6. Place = map, address, phone number

However this needs technical input and you need to apply for Rich Pins

3. Use Video on Pinterest
Most people don’t realise that you can upload video as well as images onto your boards. UK food retailer, Waitrose, includes a range of branded videos showing ‘how to’ in many of their boards. On video pins, you can embed content from YouTube and add tags in the same way as for image pins.

4. Be focused on Pinterest
As all good businesses will know, one of the main aims of marketing is to ensure your audience can identify what you do and what you’re about as quickly as possible. If you want to achieve this on Pinterest, then as far as is possible make sure your board sticks to a single subject, or at least subject area, and make sure your board’s category matches this. This will ensure they get placed in the ideal positions on your follower’s topic and home feeds.

5 best practice tips for Pinterest

Here are further best practice for using Pinterest in marketing – much of this can be achieved on a small budget.

1. Create a range of boards – more boards with fewer pins
2. Add at least 6 pins to each board
3. Invite ambassadors to pin on your boards
4. Always add tags and details to each pin
5. Focus on more than products; give more about the back stories, how the items can be used

Finally, it’s likely that you need a large budget as in the UK, Pinterest are currently only working with major brands such as Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. However you can use Pinterest without promotion, but with excellent tags, strong descriptions and plenty of video pins!