Welcome to our weekly column by Blogger Babes co-founder Ponn Sabra. Check back every Monday for the tips and tricks you need to take your blog to the next level!
Tomorrow starts a new month, so it's time for a new method to make the most out of your blogging business! At Blogger Babes, we recently launched a revitalized plan for our Pinterest marketing strategy, so we've been all about our boards lately.
Did you know that Pinterest is actually the most successful social media platform when it comes to translating users to purchasers? Ever since the implementation of “Buy it” buttons, Pinterest has really taken off. So here are six ways that you can use Pinterest to your advantage, too!
6 Ways Fashion Bloggers Can Make the Most of Pinterest Marketing
1. Create a hashtag for your blog.
Hashtags are an oft-forgotten, but essential, part of marketing in the 21st century. Create and promote a hashtag that is specifically for your blog and brand to give your followers a means to follow your work and posts about you. You may even already do this on Twitter or Instagram, which will make it extra easy to do with Pinterest.
2. Try promoted pins.
Sure, promoted pins cost money… but before you rule them out completely, consider that they're cheaper than other social media ad fees and they live long past their “promoted” period. Promoted pins stay on Pinterest forever—long after you've spent the money, Pinners can still find your stellar #NYFW look through targeted keywords.
Note that if you're going to invest, you'll want to use a branded image that piques curiosity, grabs attention, and is designed specifically for Pinterest. The ideal Pinterest graphic stands vertically at 735 x 1000… shouldn't be a problem if you're posting your #OOTD!
3. Hold a “Pin it to Win it” Contest.
Back in November, I talked about ways that you could effectively connect and interact with your audience. Contests are definitely one of the greatest ways to engage your followers—and Pinterest is another excellent venue.
Encourage your followers to pin items along a certain theme, like their look for a day on the town this winter. Promise them a reward that stays within that theme—maybe a coat and touch-screen friendly gloves to stay warm yet connected through the February chill.
Make sure that your pin sends people to your blog so they can sign up for the contest from there. Then link to the board where they can submit entries on your blog. Of course, don’t forget to look over Pinterest’s guidelines for contests.
4. Showcase your expertise.
Use Pinterest to share your success! Pin or re-pin the work of brands you've worked with as case studies of your expertise and know-how. Don't be afraid to include testimonials or success stories with clients, readers, and followers.
We often have testimonials on our blog from happy and successful Blogger Babes, and we make sure to share them with a Pin. When Pinners click on it, a new tab opens up to the testimonial, singing high praises of our work and thereby promoting what we do.
5. Provide a free resource.
Tying in with showing your expertise, maybe you've created a resource that could be of value to those within your niche, such as an infographic about different scarf styles. Consider providing it for free on Pinterest. It could easily spread through re-pins, and you can link it straight to your blog so new people will find you, like what you do, and subscribe (we've done this with our free Blogging Binder).
If you don't want to give it away that easily, you could restrict it to followers by creating a followers-only Secret Board. Secret Boards are Boards that can only be seen by people whom you've added; if you re-pin to or from them, Pinterest keeps their existence private.
6. Promote special events that you sponsor and/or attend.
Last, but of course not least… Do you hold exclusive events for your followers? Use Pinterest to leverage what you do. Create an events board and use photos that tell Pinners:
- What to expect
- The mood
- The dress code
- Why they'll love it
Don't hold events but like to attend them? Don't forget to show off your travels with recaps, or Pin them to let your followers know where they could meet up with you. Use your blog hashtag too!
There's more where this came from! If you're still not convinced that Pinterest is right for you, next week's post will be able to figure it out for you. If you are convinced that Pinterest is for you, or you're already using it, you can subscribe to our Blogger Building Blocks to receive this month's issue, Pinterest Marketing for Bloggers—including tips, a tutorial, resources, and more—right now!
Real useful. Thanks for the info!