Is one of your social media goals to increase your following on your Pinterest account? In my opinion Pinterest is all about being inspired and discovering new ideas and new topics! It is also a great vehicle to connect not only with current contact be it customers or clients, friends, acquaintances etc it is also a great way to connect with new people.

Pinterest has now passed the 250 million active user mark and more than 70% of pinners find new brands on pinterest and 78% are saying they find brand content useful. It is also important to note that the power of pinterest on the sales front is phenomenal and currently stats are saying that it is the number 1 shopping platform for millennials.

Ok so here are a few nuggets of info you may want to consider when thinking about using Pinterest
1. 70% of pinterest users are women, 30% are men but that figure is growing
2. Talking of Millennials Pinterests most active age group
3. Almost half of pinterest users are American
4. Pinterest reaches 83% of women aged 25-54 in the USA which is actually more than Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.

Engage with what is popular! Browse the ‘Popular feed’ on Pinterest to see what is performing well, make some notes and consider how you could apply these ideas to your own content on social. If you find great content then why not re-pin to one of your boards on pinterest? Follow new users on pinterest or even write some comments on useful pins. Any action you take will increase your own brand exposure on pinterest.

Join relevant group boards
Simply search relevant boards within the categories you can contribute to.

Post fresh and innovative content. Remember pinners are looking for original content for inspiration so make sure you are keeping your own content super fresh and cool to be found.

Use visuals that are bold, striking and beautiful. Remember that pinterest is a visual platform so keep this in mind when posting your visuals.
Always use hi-res images and lifestyle images to be more alluring to the eye
Favour vertical over horizontal. 85% of users search pinterest on the mobile which means vertical pins have higher impact than horizontal.

Also consider multiple products in a single pin. Try to keep to 4 product limit to not overwhelm!!
Also consider video, shorter the better and as we know video content is king so make sure you have the power to stand out.

Include detailed descriptions, remember that the most effective pin descriptions are interesting. Adding relevant keywords and hashtags. Make sure descriptions are key word rich and include relevant hashtags. If you are struggling to find the right keywords then use guided search. Simply put in a few keywords and make a note of what Pinterests automatic suggestion is. Look at the trending hashtags in your category.

Put some thought into the names you give your Pinterest boards
Boards can be optimised for search so make sure you accurately describe them. Using appropriate keywords in the board name and description.

Organise your boards with sections. This has been a recent addition from Pinterest and this can add credibility to your board. I.e. If you have a Home Decor board you can create separate sections for each room of your house!

BE HELPFUL to your followers by adding in benefits to your products or services. Use personal language.

Publish at the right time, most pinning happens between noon and midnight with 11pm as the most active time of the day! This is clearly a platform for owls!:-)

Hop on board the holiday season, pinners generate a flurry of activity around holiday times.

Use the follow button on pinterest, install the button on your website if needed, in your email signature or anywhere to attract followers.