Pinterest is the hot, new social network on the scene. Pinterest has experienced record growth [PDF download] in 2012- increasing its user base faster than any other network to date. Pinterest users reportedly spend 89 minutes on the site on average- second only to Facebook. The site is heavily dominated by women, so much so that one in five American women are on Pinterest, according to a recent Pew Research report.

Pinterest is a “virtual pin board” where users can “pin” images they find across the internet to categorized interest “boards” where they can find and remember them with ease. Much like other social networks, Pinterest allows users to follow other users or specific boards of other users, and presents them in a feed. Users can like, comment and re-pin images that others have posted-whether or not they are following that user. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is a public network, meaning all content users post is public and available for anyone to view.

Due to its rapid rise in popularity, Pinterest is a great place to connect with your clients and potential clients in your community. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Create unique boards for your listings- Creating an entire board for your listing gives you the opportunity to show off the home’s unique features. Use the home’s address as the board title. Create pins for each image of the listing, using specific descriptions with relevant search keywords when possible. For example: Use an image of the home from the outside as the board cover then include pinned images of the Master Suite, Kitchen, Living Room, Dining Room, Backyard etc…

• Create a board introducing yourself or your team- Pinterest is a great way to visually relay information about yourself and your specialties- automatically reinforcing your reputation. Pin your headshot and images that speak to your specialties. Make sure to include specific descriptions and your business contact information!

• Pin from the page you want to lead customers to- Pinterest is great because it will always provide a direct link back to the page you’ve pinned an image from. Pinning images directly from listings on your website will increase traffic and lead potential buyers where you want them to go. If you choose to upload a Pin, be sure to write in a link to lead them to your website.

• Create a board for your Home DIY Ideas- Pinners love simple do-it-yourself ideas for home decoration. Pin advice, tips and tutorials for home staging, decorating your home to sell, or for the season! You want to demonstrate your expertise, and position yourself as a trusted source of reliable, helpful information in your local area.

• Create boards for local happenings and info in your specialty areas- Pin images that link to events, happenings and cool finds in the areas you specialize in. If you’re an expert at helping first-time buyers downtown- pin images of the hot downtown restaurants, the best downtown grocery stores, the area block party, the best downtown brunch spots, etc – you want to demonstrate that you’re an expert in the area, and that buyers can trust you as a reliable source of knowledge.

• Cross-promote your pins on your social networks- You already have established contacts on social networks, so why not share your brand-new Pinterest account with them? When you pin a new image, you have the option of sharing it to Twitter and Facebook automatically. Just remember not to over-share.

With a few easy steps, your Pinterest account will be ready to go. Happy pinning!

Most successful small businesses have a certain niche that allows them to stand out from the crowd. The challenge for passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs is to build a reputation that is centered around your niche so that it’s the first thing that comes to mind when people think of your business. Only then, do passers-by stop to take a peek behind the curtain of your window or website. Only then, do first-time customers become passionate fans that tell all of their friends and colleagues about you. Only then, do you move from “I hope this will actually work” to “I hope I can handle this growth.”

Fortunately, the past 8 years have made the task of communicating your niche MUCH easier.  Why 8 years? That’s when Facebook first launched (yes, only 8 years ago). Along with Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others, community-based sites have changed the world of small business marketing forever.  These sites give you a blank canvas to communicate your niche in whatever way is best for your audience.

Once you have begun to connect with your community using these tools, you’ll have a great library of content that proves your expertise in an interesting, fun, and personal way. Think of the possibilities: how-to videos, weekly video updates on the marketplace, blogs featuring your customers (like this one!), daily tweets with a special deal, daily Facebook posts with a picture of your “Chef’s Special”. The list goes on and on, and only you know what will interest your customers.

So how do you build fans, followers and subscribers in your community so that content is seen?

Promotional magnets are a great way to connect with your community again and again, and at a low cost per impression. Each of those impressions is also a chance to introduce people that you aren’t yet connected with to your social content.  Many of our customers have started to feature their Facebook accounts on their promotional magnets because it’s easy to do, and it’s smart marketing. We’ve now made it easy for you to do so as well.

Here’s how each of the most popular community-based sites allow you to promote your accounts:

Facebook allows you to use this “f” logo to reference your content inside of it. You can have one of our designers add this logo to your magnet order by asking for it in the yellow “Notes for Designer” box inside of Design Studio, our online personalization tool. As you see in the calendar image above, we also recommend referencing it as one of your imprints (Facebook: Amanda Renolds).

Twitter has a variety of logos that you can use to feature your logo, but this one will fit best across all designs. Our designers have all of the usable logos, so just request it along with your Twitter handle to be added to your magnet in the yellow “Notes for Designer” box inside of our Design Studio tool as you order. Twitter recommends using the phrase “Follow me on Twitter @username” next to the logo for easier searching.

LinkedIn allows this square icon to be used on our promotional magnets to reference your LinkedIn account. They recommend displaying the URL for your account next to it (www.linkedin.com/in/customname) to make it easier for people to find you. As with the Facebook and Twitter logos, you can have one of our designers add this logo to your magnet by asking for it in the yellow “Notes for Designer” box inside of our Design Studio tool as you order.

YouTube™ is quite a bit more stringent in the way they allow use of their name and logo. If you want to promote your YouTube™ videos on your promotional magnet, you can say “YouTube Video Community: MyName” or something similar, but are not allowed to use their logo. Since these restrictions are difficult to abide by, we would suggest referencing your website to see these videos and not mention that they are hosted on YouTube. For example, “Find videos on staging at website.com”.

Have you included your social media content on your promotional magnet? We’d love to see what you did and how it worked for you. Include a comment below or email me at greg@magnetstreet.com.