Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 54: Why I am using Pinterest to grow my business

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54: Why I am using Pinterest to grow my business · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 54, and in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about why I am using Pinterest to grow my business.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and get started.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Karen and I'm here to lift the lid on what it actually takes to create a successful business.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: With my award-winning approach to marketing and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to bring those big dreams to life.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know-how, along with actionable step-by-step strategies to help you accelerate your business's growth.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes, which drop every Wednesday.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I am your host Karen and I really appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, I'm going to be talking about the power of Pinterest and why I'm using Pinterest to grow my business.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: But before I jump into today's episode, I just want to tell you about my brand new resource hub.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are a coach or a creative and you are in need of some help or some guidance, then head over to my resource hub because I have lots of goodies in there.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I've got templates, I've got resource resources to help you move forward in your business.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the great thing is, it's completely free.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: So head over to marketplace.pink-lemondigital.com to grab your freebies.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: As I said, they're completely free.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: They've been designed to help and support you.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: So go and grab them.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so back to today's episode, and today I am talking about Pinterest.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the reason why I've decided to talk about Pinterest today is because I've recently made some changes to my own marketing strategy, and I have decided to focus my efforts on using Pinterest.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, previously, I was very much using LinkedIn and Instagram as a way of building up my following and my audience and sharing my content.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I realized that the lifespan on these platforms are a lot less.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we are creating content and we're putting a lot of work into that content, you want that content to live on and you want it to be found and to be searchable.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that isn't always the case on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes our content lives for a moment and then you're vying in all the noise that's going on.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you're having to deal with all of that noise that is equally existing on those platforms.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now Pinterest is a little bit different because Pinterest is a visual search engine.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: So it is considered a social media platform, but it is different because it's a visual discovery platform where people can find all different types of content relating to their interests.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: So they can find images and they can find videos that they can then pin to boards that relate to the topics that they're interested in.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now the great thing about Pinterest is that content that is found on Pinterest can now be found on Google, which means that it's a double whammy because you can post your content on a platform like Pinterest, and then if somebody's searching for it on Google, then it can come up, which means that you have more possibility of your content being found.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now I love social media, I enjoy nothing more than creating content and sharing it online, but it is a time suck, and you can end up losing hours in your day just creating and scheduling content.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then I often think with some of the platforms it can be really challenging to get that content seen because we are at the mercy of the algorithms that these social media giants have in place.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, with Facebook, you could create something for your target audience that is absolutely fantastic.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're not creating video or Facebook lives, then there is a high chance that your content won't even be seen.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a real shame because you've spent time, energy, and focus creating this content that your audience needs to see.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's not being found because the algorithms are not allowing it to be searched because they're prioritizing things like video, then it just means that your effort hasn't been as successful as what it should be.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's one of my frustrations with social media, is that as I said, we're at the mercy of the social media platforms and how they set up their algorithms.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the thing: not everybody wants to be on video, not everybody enjoys creating video content.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you are a copywriter or you're somebody that enjoys writing blog articles and you want to share those blogs on the Facebook platform, then unless you create video, it's it's like pushing a boulder up a hill to get that content seen.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: We need to be a little bit more strategic on where we show up, and we need to be utilising platforms that support our efforts, which is why I have moved over onto Pinterest.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm I'm kind of in the early stages of my my Pinterest um efforts, uh, but the more I'm on the platform, the more powerful it becomes because you start to realize its capabilities.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know having spoken to many of my other friends who run businesses, they're not on Pinterest, and their reasoning for not being on Pinterest is because they don't know how to get started.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, it's not like other social media platforms where you can just create some content, post it, add a caption, and then you're done.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: With Pinterest, you have to be a lot more strategic, and I think that can be a barrier to entry if you're not sure on what is required.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, in this episode, I just wanted to kind of walk through how to use Pinterest in a strategic way to support your marketing efforts and and how you can get your content out there in front of more people.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, for those of you who don't know what Pinterest is, Pinterest is a social media and visual discovery platform where people can sort of save different types of media like images and videos to personal collections in a way of boards.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: So you would create a board and then you would pin content that you're interested in to these boards, and so what then will happen is that you'll have different boards that may be around different topics.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you're an interior designer, you might have a board on colour, or you might have a board on textiles, or a board on home design, or a board on furniture design, for example.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So you can have different boards, but they all have their own specific theme or interest.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And users or people on the platform can follow these boards so that they can discover sort of new ideas and content that is based around their own interest.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Pinterest is often used as a source of inspiration or it's used as a tool for planning projects or events.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I know previously that's exactly how I use Pinterest.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So in my branding studio, at the start of a branding project, I would use Pinterest as a way of collating ideas for clients.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I would build visual mood boards based on the feeling or the style that I would want to create for somebody's business.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: So Pinterest is a great platform for being able to kind of bring ideas to life in a visual format.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Using Pinterest as a business, because Pinterest, using Pinterest in your personal life and using it as a business owner is very different because in your personal life it's going to most likely be for ideas and inspiration.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: But as a business owner, you may use Pinterest because you're looking to achieve higher engagement in your business, because the people that use Pinterest are highly engaged users, and they're used to spending a lot of time on that platform engaging with content, which is great if you're looking to build that engagement around your own content that you're creating in your business.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: The other great thing about using Pinterest as a business is that Pinterest is a traffic driver, and what that means is that it's it helps to drive traffic to an end destination.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that end destination could be your website, it could be your blog site, it could even be where you host your podcast.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want people to go and listen to your podcast on, say, Spotify, you can drive people there through your pins.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really great way of driving targeted traffic to a destination where you're looking to build up an increase of traffic.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's also great for SEO search engine optimization.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because Pinterest is a search engine, you optimize all of your pins with relevant keywords, which is going to help your visibility in the search results.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you're pinning something based on how to do something, you know, like how to be more productive in your business, then you can use those keywords to drive traffic to your blog article if that's what you've created.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the way that is going to be found are through the keywords that you associate with your PIN.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it works a bit like Google.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: When people put keywords in Google, that's how your website is found because the the metadata in your website, so the the the words in your dead your website that sit behind the scenes will be used.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Google will use those to know when somebody's put keywords in.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So if you've put a keyword in relating to a certain topic and somebody puts those keywords into Google, then as long as they're really specific, your website will appear.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's exactly the same with Pinterest.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: So for SEO purposes, Pinterest works really well.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the great thing is that Pinterest now, um, or pins that are pinned on Pinterest can now come up in Google search.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, if you pin something in Pinterest, then if somebody is searching for something that you've created, it will come up in Google as well.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: So again, that's going to expand your reach and your visibility.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: The other great thing about using Pinterest for your business is that you could do targeted advertising.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, like Facebook ads, you can run promoted pins and you can target specific audiences based on their interests, their demographics, and their behaviors.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, you could be really specific with this.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, another reason to be thinking about using Pinterest is that it's a great way to build your brand awareness.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: The more you show up, the more content you create and share, the more brand loyalty you're gonna build because you're building that no, like, and trust.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And Pinterest is a great platform for that because people get to see what you're creating, they get to see what you're talking about and what's important to your business.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, for me, my business is all about online course creation and building digital products and creating a business online that is profitable, so they're the things that I'm going to pin about because that's relevant to my business.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, if somebody is looking to find how they're going to create an online course or even how to get started, or even how to just come up with their topic, they're going to find my content on Pinterest because when I've pinned my pins, I've been very specific with exactly what it is I'm sharing.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: So that's going to show up in my ideal client's feed, and that's how I'm going to be found.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a really great way to build that brand awareness and build that know like and trust as well.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the one thing that is really important with Pinterest is that before you even dive into the platform, you do need to have a strategy in place.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, you need to have a strategy in place for the other platforms.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're doing anything on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook, then that really does need to be backed up by strategy because you need to understand what it is you're trying to achieve.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, you're just going to end up being consumed with social media to the point where you're just wasting time.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you do need to be really strategic in your efforts.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: But what I will say with Pinterest is that because there is more of a barrier to entry in terms of understanding how the platform works, it does require you to be a little bit more strategic with what you're trying to achieve.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to really understand why you're on Pinterest platform, and I think that is really essential for you achieving success.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not about being on Pinterest because everybody's on Pinterest, because not everybody is.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's about being on Pinterest because you know without a shadow of doubt your audience are on Pinterest.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know that the people that you want to connect with and you want to create content for are going to be on that platform.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So first and foremost, you really need to identify who your perfect person is so that you can establish whether or not they're using that platform.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, outside of that, you need to define your goals.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: So, like with any platform, as I mentioned, you need to really understand why you're on there and what you're looking to achieve, but more so I think with Pinterest.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: You need to really nail down what those goals look like.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: What are you looking to achieve?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Are you looking to increase website traffic?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Are you looking to grow your brand awareness?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Are you looking to generate leads?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Or are you looking to promote products and services?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it a mixture of all of them together?
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to be really clear on what that looks like.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: As I said, you need to really understand your target audience as well.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because if your audience are not on Pinterest, then there is no point you being on there.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to have a really good understanding of exactly who you're trying to reach.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: So this may require you to research and identify who your perfect person is, understand what their demographic demographics are, their preferences, their interests, because this is going to help you tailor your content accordingly.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: So rather than jumping on there and just pinning randomly with no real plan in place, the more you know about your clients and who you want to connect with, the better your content's going to be.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that content doesn't just need to be your content, it could be other people's contents as well.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, there's no point me pinning content that is not relatable to my ideal person because they're not going to be interested in that content.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: So when I pin content to boards, I have to keep in mind would my perfect person be interested in this content that I'm pinning.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So you cannot know enough about your ideal client because that's going to influence the decisions that you then make when you're using the Pinterest platform.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: You also need to make sure you're optimizing your profile.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same with all of the platforms, whether you're on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, your profile needs to be optimized.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to need to have keywords in your profile that is going to attract the people that you want to attract, and that it also reflects your brand as well.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: So you with on Pinterest, especially, you need to just make sure that you're using high-quality images for your profile picture, your cover photo, and also writing a really compelling bio that includes those keywords because they're going to be searchable as well.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, again, if somebody's looking for support with online courses and my keywords are online course coach, then I'm obviously going to come up in their search because I've got the relevant keywords.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: You also need to pin valuable content.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: It isn't just about pinning the stuff that you're interested in.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: For business use, we need to be pinning valuable content that our ideal clients are interested in.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to share a mix of original content that we've created and curated content that other people have created to give it that real mix.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: People go on Pinterest because they're looking for stuff, they're looking for things that are going to inspire them.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're developing content from for your business and you're trying to reach other entrepreneurs or business owners or even consumers that are looking for your product, then the content that you share with them needs to be engaging, it needs to be appealing.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this, of course, starts with how your pin looks.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really important that when you are pinning content on Pinterest, the way that you display the visuals of the Pin is paramount because that's ultimately what's going to attract your ideal person to click on the thing that you've created.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I think one of the things to think about if you are wanting to jump onto the Pinterest platform and use it to support your business is making sure that you have your branding in place.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know what your colour scheme is, you know what your fonts are, you know how you want your pins to look, so that when you start creating your pins on Pinterest, you're creating a really strong, uniformed look that really does position your business in the way that you want it to be positioned.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you put messy pins or you put pins that are really badly designed, people are going to bypass them, they're not going to be interested.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to make sure that whatever you do on the Pinterest platform, what you're creating is visually attractive.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's really interesting with this platform is that you can actually build an engaged community, or you can participate in a Pinterest community that's already established.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something that I don't believe is widely known for people who are interested in the Pinterest platform.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is a platform that is probably seen in a certain way, but actually, when you dig into it, there's so much more there.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the community side of it is kind of hidden.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: But you can build an engaged community, you can build followers, you can collaborate with influencers, and you can engage with other people's content as well, which I think puts an extra layer on the platform because community is really essential for building that no like and trust.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay putting content out in the world, but if it's going out into the void and you're not getting any feedback or you're not getting any engagement, how do you know that content is working for you?
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas if you are taking Part in community, and you are connecting with other people, you get to get feedback, you get comments, you get insight, and it just makes that what you're trying to do so much easier.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think on Pinterest, this is where it's kind of like that hidden benefit that you get to engage with other communities as well as just pinning content on your boards.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something that if you're looking to jump onto the platform for your business, is definitely something worth taking into account.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the one thing that I think is really important to take on board with Pinterest is consistency.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of those platforms that does require consistent pinning in order for it to be effective.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: So whatever that might look like for you, you just need to be consistent.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: So whether it's that you pin one pin a day, one pin a week, one pin a month, I think it's all about that consistency.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's going to be important to aim to regularly pin new content and engage with the platform.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: So this might be a daily effort.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really important to make sure that your efforts are supported in one in some way, whether you have a content calendar or you have some system set up to support you with this.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I've been doing this now for a little while, and already I've seen an upturn in traffic, both to my blog, my website, and other sort of destinations that I've sent traffic to.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, although it does require consistency and a strategic approach, you'll benefit by the results that you're able to achieve for yourself and for your business.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: I know in the time I've been using it, initially I was a little bit unsure as to okay, what do I need to be doing?
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: But now I do feel as though I'm getting movement, I can see it in the analytics, I know it's doing the thing that I wanted to do, and that of course then inspires me to keep going.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's like with anything, you just have to give it a go and then experiment and adapt along the way.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I think with that you get to figure out what works and what doesn't work, and and part of it is also not being afraid to experiment as well.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: There is no right or wrong to any of these social media platforms, really.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's just trying to figure out what is working for them, and Pinterest is no different, as I said, there is a bit of a barrier to entry at the beginning because it's not like other social media platforms, but I think once you start playing around with it and you start getting creative and looking at what other people are doing, you start to figure out your own path, and as with any social media platform, you're not going to get results overnight.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: It takes time and patience to get the results that you're looking to achieve.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's really important to keep learning to stay active and to interact with your audience because that's where you can maximize the benefits of the Pinterest platform.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Pinterest is a really valuable marketing tool for our businesses if we are looking to increase our online presence or we're looking to drive traffic to our website or engage with our target audience if they are on that platform.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think, regardless of the platform you choose to be on, whether it's Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook or Twitter, you need to make sure that the platform you choose, you enjoy being on there.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: And don't be afraid to experiment and to figure out what works because it takes time to find out what that golden formula is that's going to work for you.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so you need time, you need patience to be able to work out how you can use your chosen platform to achieve your goals.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's no doubt about it, social media can be a real time suck.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: But I think with the right plan, the right strategy, and the right intention, we can leverage social media so that we can generate the results that we want to generate in our business.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you found this episode of value, and of course, please feel free to share it with others who you may think will also benefit from listening to today's episode.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started with creating an online digital course, then why not download my free ebook, 10 Steps to Digital Course Success, by visiting my website www.pink-lemondigital.com.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the digitally she does it show.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday.
• 27:14
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• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.