Is Pinterest part of your business’ marketing strategy? That’s great. But, to get the most out of your efforts, you need to make sure your profile is optimized.
Whether you’re just getting started with Pinterest or you’ve been pinning for some time, use these seven essential tips to make sure your profile is optimized.
Set Up a Business Account
Already have a Pinterest account? That’s great. You can convert it to a business account. Or, you can join as a business. Pinterest makes it really easy. Just click here.
Why is setting up a Pinterest business account so essential? Partly, because it’s the rules. If you are using Pinterest as part of how you make a living, Pinterest considers this business practices. If Pinterest determines you are using a personal account for business reasons, they can terminate your account.
Additionally, a business account gives you access to a ton of analytics that personal profiles don’t get. This includes stats like how many repins you are getting, information about your engaged audience, and what pins are performing the best.
Username
Like Facebook and Instagram, your Pinterest username is used to create your profile’s web address (www.pinterest.com/username). Your username must be between 3-15 characters long. It cannot contain spaces, symbols or punctuation.
Profile Picture
Your profile picture appears at the top of your profile page. It also appears on your pins, boards, comments, and messages.
What should you use for your profile photo – a logo or your face? It depends. Is your business’ identity associated with a single individual? Great! Use their face. Be as personal as possible. However, if your business’ brand represents more than one person, it’s better to use a logo.
No matter which way you go, you want to be consistent across all social media platforms. You should use the same profile picture on Pinterest as you’re using on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Business Name
Your business is displayed below your profile photo on your profile page. Up to 25 characters will be displayed. If your name exceeds 25 characters, an ellipsis (aka three small periods “…”) will show.
By optimizing your username with descriptive words, you will make your profile more search friendly to other Pinterest users. For example, RWL Design might put, “Marketing with RWL Design”.
Does your descriptive name exceed the 25 character limit? Don’t worry. Your full name will be displayed elsewhere on Pinterest.
About
Below your business name, there’s a 160-character space where you can share a description of your business. You’ll want to describe what you do and what kinds of things you plan on pinning.
Location
Your location tells other Pinners where you’re from. However, Pinterest recommends you get no more specific than the city in which you live. You also have the option to leave this field blank.
Social Links
You have the option of connecting your Pinterest profile with your Twitter and Facebook profiles. This can be a great way to connect with others who you already know.
However, it’s worth noting you can currently only connect to your Facebook profile, not your Facebook page. If you are using Pinterest for business, we recommend not connecting to your Facebook profile.
Check back next week as we explore how optimize your Pinterest boards.
