Is Pinterest in my interest or a waste of time?

Dear Aunty B,

I’ve recently started an event planning business and my business partner and I are keen to get the word out about what we are offering. We both have experience in the industry and we know as far as weddings and parties go these days, a social media presence is crucial.

We’re on Facebook and Instagram but I’m interested to hear if you think it’s worth spending time on Pinterest? I don’t personally use the platform so I need a few pointers to get started.

Should I start an account or just focus on the social platforms I’m comfortable with and not waste my time with another?

Louise,

Brisbane

Dear Louise,

I must confess I’m no Pinterest fanatic but I do know what it takes to get a new business off the ground. So let me just say this about marketing: you don’t know until you try.

At its heart, Pinterest is about sharing beautiful photos and that seems like a match made in heaven for a business that is about planning and pulling off great events. I bet you already have some brilliant photos of the weddings and parties you’ve planned that are just begging to be shared.

To get you started, I recommend reading John Wieber’s post “5 Tips to Beef Up Your Pinterest Presence” on the Bluewire Media blog.

As Wieber explains, there are some quick and easy steps you can do today to start getting the word out to Pinterest’s more than 70 million active users, such as adding a Pinterest plug-in to your website that allows website visitors to instantly “pin” one of your images. It also means if someone sees that image on Pinterest they know how to find you.

Wieber also recommends adding a description to anything you pin, which helps Pinterest users find you when they search for terms such as “wedding” or “party decorations”, and pinning other people’s content to your boards. You could try making a board with images pinned from your happy clients or suppliers that you like working with.

“As with everything else, you need a plan and patience as it takes some time, consistency and organisation to become successful using this great photo-sharing social network,” Wieber says.

Good luck and perhaps I’ll see you on Pinterest – I’ll be the one searching for photos of G&Ts and tropical island getaways.

Be Smart,

Aunty B