Do you pin?

I’m talking about Pinterest, a new social sharing site that users describe as “addicting.” Essentially, users find things around the web that they love, and then “pin” them to boards on their profile. What’s neat about this as opposed to other bookmarking sites is that the boards are all visual. When you enter a URL, you select a picture from the site to pin to your board. People spend hours pinning their own content, and then finding content on other people’s boards to “re-pin” to their own boards.

Now let’s think about this from a direct selling perspective for a minute:

• Many product lines in our industry are visual. In fact, one of the reasons people choose the party plan sales method is because the product needs to be shown to be fully appreciated.
• The target market that many of us are trying to reach is the one most engaged right now with Pinterest, and this will only grow as time goes on and the site becomes completely public.

Now this is not to say that you should recreate your catalog and try to craft a sales pitch on Pinterest. Rather, it’s an extension of your existing content marketing strategy…providing content people can use right now without spending a dime. But make sure you’re focused on the visuals that go with your content if you’re going to be using Pinterest, because that’s what helps your content spread here. For example:

• If you sell jewelry or clothing, create “looks” boards. Pair your jewelry and other accessories with outfits to give people ideas on how to put together a look.
• If you sell cookware or food, create recipe boards. Post delectable looking recipe photos, together with links to the recipe and the cookware you need to prepare the dish.
• If you sell skin care, create boards that have healthy living or skin care tips. Include articles about caring for your skin, products you love for skin care, etc.
• If you sell makeup, create boards of makeup application tips. Pin content that shows women how to apply makeup, products that work well together, the essentials for every makeup bag, etc.
• If you sell scrapbooking or card making products, create boards of your projects, along with pins of the materials you used to make the projects.
• If you sell vitamins, nutriceuticals, or other health products, create healthy living boards. Have a board for exercise tips, one dedicated to vitamins needed for healthy living, and what they do for the body, etc.
• No matter what you sell, you can use Pinterest for remote personal shopping appointments. If you have a customer with specific needs, create a board just for him or her with items you sell that would meet their needs, along with links to other tips and content. Invite them to check out the board on Pinterest, and let them know you made it just for them.

Are you beginning to see the possibilities here? The more time people spend on Pinterest, the more likely it is they will be exposed to your brand messages. And if you’re interesting enough, people might repin a specific item, board, or all your boards to their own profile, creating viral visibility for your content.

While the site is still invitation-only, some companies in our industry are already jumping in, like Creative Memories. And this is just the beginning. I predict that in the next year, Pinterest is going to become a big deal in our industry. Take some time now to jump in and get acquainted. Request an invitation, and just start playing.

Do you use Pinterest? How? Do you think it holds potential for direct selling? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

And if you’re on Pinterest, feel free to Follow Me. So far I’ve got boards for Recipes, Causes I Love, Fun Stuff, and, of course, Fabulous Shoes.

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