Someone does not buy a hat – they buy a warm head, right?! Likewise, they do not buy a computer – they buy a tool for creativity, for media consumption and for accessing information. People do not buy fitness books, they buy amazing abs and the opportunity to look and feel great about themselves.

Likewise, your images should not just show off your products then, but the lifestyle around them. 

People need to see how your items can change their lives and make them happier, healthier, fitter, more successful or more attractive. They need to feel good simply by looking at your Pinterest account and then they need to associate that feeling with the products you are selling and with your brand.

If you are in the fitness industry, your images should be inspiring and they should display the lifestyle and the mission statement you’re attempting to promote. 

If you are selling books on making money or products for businesses meanwhile, then your imagery might revolve around success and corporations. Thus, your images might be of offices, of people standing at the top of high-rise businesses, of people in smart suits etc.

If you are in the wedding industry on the other hand, your boards should be filled with people looking beautiful and happy in stunning venues. You want to help them picture that perfect, magical day that they have dreamed of and to feel like it is a possibility just by following you.

When you do this, you will inspire your visitors and followers and this will encourage them to actively follow you and to want to learn more about your brand and your items.

​The secret is to remember the basic objective of Pinterest and what users are looking for here. Generally, the answer is that people are looking for inspiration and for ideas. People come to Pinterest to browse images that they can use to get ideas for their own projects, or to feel inspired and moved.

At the crux of any business activity is the need to provide value. If you provide value, then people will have a reason to follow you, to pay for your products and to keep coming back. This is no different when you’re on Pinterest. Here, your objective is to provide value again only this time the way you do that is by providing ideas.

HOMEWORK! Spend a few minutes thinking about what images inspire you? Have you ever had a goal and were inspired by an image? What was it? Capture that... write it down... and TOMORROW we will talk about specifics for bringing together your Pinterest Marketing strategy!

To put it simply, it is a social network that focuses on visual elements such as images or animated gifs, incorporated in small, descriptive posts called “pins” to deliver information, entertain, or share insight relating to various topics and themes. And users can collect their interests (pins) in something called a board! Neat, huh?

So hopefully, you have used Pinterest before on a personal level, and maybe you even tried to use it on a business level but lost momentum for whatever reason... Here's why it's vital for growing your business:  

According to Forbes, as of Oct. 16,  Pinterest had 150 million users worldwide and 70 million users domestically spending about 15 minutes per day on average checking their profiles and updating their boards – a staggering amount.

Can you see how that  can have major influence on your business? I hope so! Which is why Pinterest deserves your attention and it's why I will be delivering some great tips over the next few days. 

I want to hear from you! What do you think of Pinterest? Do you use Pinterest? For personal or business? Both? 

Growing your small business with Pinterest can be hard... It takes knowing what to spend your time on and what to skip! Fortunately,  the Pinterest Kickstart Toolkit by Socially Inclined is here to the rescue! You won't find a more complete, up-to-date guide for building your business on Pinterest anywhere! Check it out! ​