As Facebook has recently changed its rules on allowing people to advertise, more people are looking for other avenues. One great way to advertise your business is through Pinterest! People spend more time each day on Pinterest than Facebook, plus they have the intent to buy and are willing to spend more! Here are a few other fun facts about Pinterest:
 69% of people on Pinterest make purchases vs only 40% from those on Facebook.
 Pinterest is the place to buy, or find inspiration on things you want to buy.
 People spend DOUBLE the amount of money on products they find on Pinterest vs on Facebook
 Food and Drink is the most popular category on Pinterest, followed my Home décor, followed by art and design.
 Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media sites
 Pinterest has users of all ages
 People spend MORE time on Pinterest than Facebook

So how do you utilize this to grow your business? It takes time, but more and more business, especially large brands, are coming to Pinterest! Start small by getting your boards organized, have good descriptions, and make sure your pins are linked back to your website. Here are some tips to make Pinterest successful for your business.

 *Convert your Pinterest to a BUSINESS account. This gives you analytical information such as the number of clicks, the number of repins, etc and with that feature you can see which pins are helping your business.
 *Fill out your ABOUT section and use details as to what you do and what your website is about
 *Make Your Boards Organized. Have board names that are easy for people to recognize and know what it is that category. Have a fun and engaging picture set for each board. Have lots of boards that cover wide topics.
 *Make sure your boards have detailed descriptions and use SEO keywords and relevant hashtags.
 *Have Group Boards. With these, other people can post to the same board which means you reach their friends and followers PLUS your own!
 *Have engaging and enticing pictures. Pinterest is very visual so make sure your pictures can catch someone’s eye
 *KEYWORDS! Have keywords that will help people find your post. When someone goes to google, and types in “work from home jobs for moms”, you want them to be able to find your post right away. To do so, you need to make sure to use keywords that describe exactly what your post is about or what you are promoting/selling/taking about. Take time and think about who you are trying to attract and your audience. Keywords are very important for getting new people to your site. One way to know which keywords are most popular is by typing in what your post is about in the Pinterest search bar. That will bring up the most searched words related to your pin.
 *Make sure your Pins are linked back to YOUR website and not someone else’s.
 *Add a Pinterest “Pin It” Button to your website so people can easily pin your posts/pictures/articles
 *Have boards devoted to your business
 *Make sure your pins are 80/20. 80% need to be non business related, and 20% business. That will keep followers from getting bored and help them to engage with you more.
 *Incorporate hashtags to describe your pin and business
 *Aim to have about 10-20 pins put up a day. Have ALL of them go to your website to boost traffic.
 *Follow other people interested in what you are selling, and often they will follow you back.
 *Quality pins are way more important than having a lot of pins.
 *Follow other boards, especially large boards that have a similar interest to the market you are trying to reach
 *Share your Pins to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. (make sure to shorten the url before posting to Twitter)

Remember it takes time to build a following on any social media account and to start getting sales from it. Be consistent each day and you will get there. One way to get started is set apart a time each day just for Pinterest. That way you won’t forget to do it!