Pinterest users like projects. Creating a board with a how-to theme — that can include DIY projects, life hacks, work hacks, or even recipes — can tap into one of the most common uses of the platform.
A good example of seasonal Pinterest boards comes from Starbucks. They mix in attractive pictures of their seasonal products, along with recipes and other images that would be of particular interest at a specific time of the year. Another example is Michael’s craft store — their St. Patrick’s Day board has craft ideas, recipes, as well as products.
Some brands create group boards and let fans pin to them. Adobe created a board to showcase fan art from a campaign involving remixing the logo.
A Pinterest board can help your brand communicate who it is. IBM, for example, has a board devoted to its own history. Followers will find vintage product shots, advertisements, old photographs, and bits of history like the role it played in the moon landing.
Don’t just push your product. Know your audience. Know what appeals to them. Whole Foods is banking on a certain ethos amongst their shoppers, so they have boards like “We’re Used to Reusing!” which highlights projects using recycled items.
When it comes time to talk about your product, it helps if what you have to show is visually appealing. Also, consider a sideways step and create a board that, perhaps, shows your product in use. For example, GoPro has a board with both cool pictures and the gear that helped get them.
If your brand is looking to create its own content, then infographics might be a good bet. They’re interesting to look at, and usually pretty sharable. Check out Intel’s infographics board.
One way to organize a campaign is to create a board for it like Caribou Coffee’s #Caribouinspires board.
What would Pinterest be without motivational quotes and pictures of sunrises? GE’s “That’s Genius!” board goes by the motto “Sharing the wisdom of GE founder, Thomas Edison, and other revolutionaries.”
Erin Carson is a Staff Reporter for CNET and a former Multimedia Editor for TechRepublic.
