WHAT IS PINTEREST
AND
WHAT IT CAN DO FOR YOUR BEAUTY SALON
Cross-linking between social networks is a powerful – and ridiculously easy – way to cement your social reputation. This in turn helps you grow your business.
Pinterest is the latest hot, new social network. You would think everyone would be oversaturated with social networks, but this graphic-based platform has soared to an astonishingly high Alexa global page rank of 39 (16 in the United States, which produces 45% of its visitors) in just over two years since its Beta-version launch in March 2010.
Pinterest may be new on the scene, but people have hopped aboard with enthusiasm.
Let’s take a look at:
- What it is
- Who Uses Pinterest
- What makes Pinterest “tick”
- What Pinterest can do for your Salon
What It Is…
Pinterest is a graphics-sharing social network that introduces itself as a “virtual Pinboard”. You sign up on your PC and, if you have an iPhone, you can also download the Pinterest App from iTunes for your mobile, so you can continue sharing when out and about.
What sets Pinterest apart is the ability it offers for organizing visual data you share. As the iStore description points out: “People use Pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.”
You are also able to see other peoples’ Pinboards… and they can, in turn, see yours.
They are also able to add to your Pinboards and you to theirs.
Pinterest is organized by categories, which makes it much easier to find graphics displays attuned to your particular interests, as well as organize yours.
If you're interested in more ideas to build your salon business, check out these other blog posts:
- How To Start A Successful Beauty Business Blog
- How to Become a Top Beauty Salon Pinner
- Goody Bag Marketing Tips
- How Do I Get Clients Fast
- How to Follow Up with Clients
Pinterest Security
The one fact you need to know: Anyone can grab your images and use them commercially – and that has happened already.
Pinterest is also about blatantly grabbing other people’s images from other websites and posting them on your own or friends’ Pinboards, which has actually caused some litigation. Pinterest’s response to this is to state in its terms and policies that you post at your own risk.
You are required to log in using Facebook or Twitter. The first time you do so, Pinterest lets you know exactly what it accesses from you; and what you can expect in terms of its access to your account:
Who Uses Pinterest?
According to stats analysis sites such as Alexa and Infographic, the Pinterest user base consists of 70% female users. This group also reveals a higher than average percentage of college-educated users, with most being between 25-34 years of age.
There’s one other factor no stats site seems to take into account: Pinterest users seem to lean towards visual-based learning styles, as opposed to auditory learners, kinesthetic learners or text-based learners – meaning they are most likely right-brained; able to understand and think in imagery; intuitive; imaginative; and creative. (In other words, if your own list is left-brained and leans more towards stats, facts, figures, and read tech manuals with ease they are more likely to ignore Pinterest posts… or prefer text-based graphics such as quotes.)
Thus, if you are looking to attract clients to your Local Salon, using pictures of hairstyles will probably grab thier attention a lot qicker than the written word.
What Makes Pinterest “Tick”
Judging by the sample Pinboards that Pinterest features, it’s about creating snapshots of your life and tastes – what makes you tick – theme by theme. When you are still considering joining and checking them out, they “prompt” you with examples such as this:
What Pinterest is really about, however, is sharing tastes and personal stories. For example, if you love wildflowers and post a Pinboard featuring photos you’ve taken of all the different types near your home, your respondents and those who share your Pinboard photos would likely be other wildflower enthusiasts.
What Pinterest Can Do for Your Salon
Pinterest can:
But most of all, Pinterest can spread your images (and links) virally across the net… to people likely to be interested in your Pinboard photo subjects.
In the example below, you click on the website name in the single photo pinned to the “Knitting” board…
…And a new window opens up in your browser, taking you to the original source of a photo: In this case, a blog.
So what you want to do is create highly-appealing, original graphics that people will want to pin on boards.
And yes. The graphics can be keyword-based.
For example, with the photo, above left, your keyword is “knitting”. So make sure the title of your photo contains that keyword.
Take it one step further, and make sure the description also contains your keyword.
There you have it. The very basics of getting started on Pinterest promoting your Beauty Salon.
Give a try today, and see how it can bring new client's to your Salon.
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