Pinterest is a buzz word these days. Of late, there has been a rage by businesses to include Pinterest in their social media marketing strategies. What started out as a unique way to share and discover pictures has gradually evolved into a powerful social network. If you are a brand and is yet not on Pinterest, then now is the time. The beautiful thing about Pinterest is once users start pinning you, you are exposed to their personal networks and beyond, thus growing your visibility with each repin. Optimizing everything you put on Pinterest is an easy way to expand your reach.

Now the most relevant question is how a brand can effectively leverage Pinterest to increase its online presence and reach a wider audience. With this in mind, here are some recommendations to help marketers expand their Pinterest presence.

Create a Pinterest Business Account:
The very first step is to create an account on Pinterest. Pinterest let its users add an “About Me” to their profile. As a business, you can use this to give people more information about your company as well as a link to your website. It is always advisable to have a description with relevant keywords, as it helps you get noticed by search engines.

Build a community:
It’s a social network after all, so why not build a community with your biggest pinners? Building a community helps you carve a niche and establishes a brand connect with your audience.

Create Targeted Pin Boards:
Your complete Pinterest profile is your “vision board.” So think beyond simply posting pictures. You can create theme based boards, specific to events, trends and latest fads. For example, if you are a bakery store, you can create boards related to Cake Ideas for Halloween, Christmas cookies, etc. This will get people interested in your content.

Pin fabulous pictures:
The most important aspect, pin stunning images. After all, it’s all about pictures. If you want your pins to be noticed by more users, you must have visually appealing images. And yes don’t forget to include descriptions and relevant keywords.

Drive Traffic through Different Sites:

Pinterest can drive a good amount of traffic, but it doesn’t happen on its own. This needs to be done in conjugation with other social media networks. Make sure you integrate your Pinterest account with your website, company blog and Facebook and Twitter page. By making your web presence cohesive, you increase the chances of people sharing your content, thereby growing your reach.

Measure your efforts:
With any marketing you do, you should be tracking your efforts. When it comes to Pinterest, here are simple ways:

• Type in the following URL: pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com (with your actual domain name inserted in place of yourwebsite.com). This will bring you to a page that allows you to track activities including what’s being pinned from your site, who is pinning it, etc.

• Google Analytics is also a popular way to assess your performance. Here you can track your page traffic through referral reports and Custom reports.