Retailer's Guide to Pinterest Business Tools

Pinterest has become one of this year's biggest sources of referral traffic for online retailers. And now Pinterest is making it easier for retailers and businesses to market themselves on Pinterest. 

In this article you will learn about the new features included in Pinterest accounts, how to get started and how to maximize their potential.

New Features for Pinterest Business Accounts

• The first thing to take a look at is Pinterest's new Terms of Service for Business, which govern how you can use Pinterest for your business. Take a look here - http://business.pinterest.com/tos/
• Businesses no longer need to specify a First Name and Last Name, you can now set your business name as is
• Access to Pinterest Business Resources: This is an entirely new section in Pinterest that includes in-depth guides and case studies to help businesses market themselves on the platform. Check out this section here - http://business.pinterest.com/what-works/#learn
• Access to upcoming features: By signing up for a Business Account you will be notified of new features first to stay on top of your marketing

How to Get Started

Once you're ready, the first things to do is convert your current account to a Business account here - https://pinterest.com/business/convert/. Once you start you will go through a short process to get your business setup in the correct category and adding additional details about your business.

Once your account is setup, there are a number of widgets that Pinterest offers to setup on your website to cross-promote your account. These widgets can be accessed here - http://business.pinterest.com/widget-builder/#builder:

1. Pin It Button: This button makes it easy for users to add products and images on your website. This is one of the biggest drivers of referral traffic for online retailers.
   
   
2. Follow Button: Just like Twitter's own Follow button, clicking this will add followers to your Pinterest Account. This is best placed in a visible place on your website, such as the header or footer.
   
   
3. Profile Widget: This widget shows the last 30 pins made on your account, and is a great way to introduce users to you on Pinterest.
   
   
4. Board Widget: This is similar to the Profile Widget, but it allows you to select a single board to show on your website.

Wishpond offers a Free Pinterest Widget that allows you to showcase your entire Pinterest account, including all Boards, Pins and Likes on your website and Facebook Page. Learn more here - http://corp.wishpond.com/pinterest-tab/

How to Maximize your Efforts on Pinterest

• Monitor who is pinning what on your website: By simply entering "pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com" into your browser you can find out which people have been pinning items from your site and which items are most popular.
• Keyword-optimize your Pins and Boards to be found: Just like on Google, you can optimize your profile account for specific keywords to appear higher in search results on Pinterest. If you are already doing SEO (search engine optimization) for your website, you can use some of the same keywords in your Pin and Board names to get found more on Pinterest.
• Run a Pinterest Contest: One of the best ways to engage your users and boost the exposure of your brand on Pinterest is to run a contest that requires users to re-pin your brand's pins. You can easily do this using Wishpond's Pinterest Contest application, which requires users to create a Pinterest Board (with your requirements) to enter. There is even built-in voting for each board to boost engagement! Learn more here - http://corp.wishpond.com/pinterest-contest/