In the past six months, there has been incredible buzz about Pinterest, a wave of popularity that has lasted more than a hot minute. While some wondered if the craze would decline like previous trendy social sites, it appears that Pinterest is here to stay. In fact, Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore recently called Pinterest, “2012’s hottest website” on CNN Tech. Business owners should take heed and embrace the… uh, Pinterest interest.

There is no difference between personal and business accounts on Pinterest, so marketing products is casual and inclusive. You share the information you want to highlight, and you can see what people are pinning about your business. The first step is to join Pinterest (c’mon, you know someone who will invite you). Get comfortable with the format and user etiquette. Then, when you’ve got a feel for the action, add a Pinterest "follow" button to your business website. Customers will be encouraged to pin and share your visual content, as well as follow the content that you share.

Once your business is in the flow, you can personalize your brand with the images you choose and the items you share. Draw attention to certain aspects of your company or your latest product or line by selecting specific content. Include keywords and hashtags in your pin description, as well as links back to your site or to your other social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Besides considerable brand potential, Pinterest presents a prime opportunity to interact with your customers. You can feature images of customers using your product or organize your “favorite” customer pins, involving your consumers in a way that makes them feel special. Contests and comments are two other popular ways to engage customers. The bottom line is that Pinterest is incredibly popular and chock full of marketing opportunities.

If this all sounds like it will take a lot of time, that’s where CMA comes in. We manage social media marketing campaigns for many prominent businesses. CMA social marketing puts your business at the forefront of online marketing with SEO, keyword research, and reputation management, which includes driving your brand socialization and 24/7 monitoring of your brand-specific topics anywhere online. Leave your competition in the dust with CMA social marketing.

Now get in there and try Pinterest out! Don't forget to follow CMA!

Contact CMA, we can help.