On Pinterest, brands use the numerous functionalities on offer to deliver content and communicate visually: photo, video or even gif. Here are the best practices of these engaging brands present on the web, and our tips to becoming one of them.

Pinterest is a “trendy” social network that was launched a few years ago. Successful brands put into place specific strategies: they talk about their products, about themes or values…but in any case it is in their interest to get their community to participate, with the aim of engaging the Pinterest users!

Engagement is an important notion for the brands that are present on social networks. It relates to the audience’s actions after reading the content provided.

On Pinterest, it is represented by three actions: the Repins and Likes, social actions that allow a “word of mouth “ effect, like Clicks in the media.

It is important to note that engagement does not necessarily correspond to the equivalent indicators, depending upon the networks; we explain all in this article: “Reach, Engagement and Clicks: how are these terms used by social networks?”

• Which brands are engaging on Pinterest?

Here are some examples of brands that have different strategies: Sony, Vogue, Etsy, Sephora and Caribou.

1 – Talk about products

Sony publishes images and videos recorded with the brands’ products, with the aim of involving the members of Pinterest. It is directed at geeks, as well as fans of high-tech gadgets but also photographers with dedicated dashboards. For exemple, the board : “Brand New Sony Products“.

2 – Talk about themes

Vogue’s example is significant as this brand talks very simply about the themes of their activities by creating dashboards corresponding to the site’s headings: marriages, holidays, fashion and shoes.

3 – Talk about values

Etsy’s example is the most revealing, as it efficiently succeeds in putting forward its values to generate commitment on the part of its community to achieve a bigger turnover. This brand doesn’t even limit itself to publishing its own items, it strives to find equilibrium by publishing other content inspired by the trends of the moment on Pinterest.

4 – Talk about hints and tips

Sephora offers technical advice on themes that are related to the brand. It also pins up tutorials in order to share beauty knowledge on their Pinterest account. For example, this board.

5 – Talk about an event in a physical space

The brand of American coffee, Caribou, creates an interactive dashboard in one of the biggest shopping centres in America, to launch its new coffee. Fans’ photos, related to the operation, are broadcast live on giant screens and republished on Pinterest.

Other makes are putting interesting things in place on the network. Discover the success stories on Pinterest’s blog for professionals.

• How to be engaging on Pinterest?

Our tips on how to use Pinterest properly to generate commitment:

Add varied quality visuals, photos, graphics, tables, covers, videos, etc., as well as visuals that enhance your image and encourage clients to pin…
Use enriched pins to automatically display extra details on the pin: price, availability, etc.

Promote the Pinterest account in marketing campaigns (email, websites, applications, paper, etc.).

Make the content sharing of institutional sites or e-commerce easy with “Pin it” share buttons.

Exploit the account’s statistics to guide the content publishing strategy.

With regard to this last tip, we suggest you read our next article on Pinterest’s new Analytics tool.