Pinterest is not just for personal pinning anymore. Yes, it’s always been business friendly, but now it’s offering business owners the opportunity to create a company profile or to convert an existing personal profile. Something to keep in mind — if you choose to convert an existing account, you won’t be able to change things back.
One more thing that’s new (for both personal and business accounts) is that you can now have up to three private boards that no one else can see unless they’re invited (methinks they’re taking a page out of LoveIt.com‘s book). So start hatching those secret business plans!
Here’s how to get started…
Create a Business Account
Creating (or converting) an account is pretty easy. Visit Pinterest business page and select “Convert your existing account” or “New to Pinterest? Join as a business.” If you’re converting a personal account, most (if not, all) of the fields will already be populated, so just double check that all the information is correct.
Verify Your Website
You’ll need to verify your website by uploading a special HTML file to your server. Once you do that, your web address will be prominently displayed on your profile page. If you don’t verify your address, the world doesn’t come to an end and you can still use your account…but, it’s nice to have your site visible to everyone who visits your page. Don’t worry — you’re not alone. I need to do this, too!
Start Pinning!
You can add a “Pin It” or “Follow Me on Pinterest” button to your blog or website or you can just start pinning. Look for those secret boards at the bottom of your boards page. Oh, and don’t forget to follow SOHO Tech (or D. Allison Lee for some organization inspiration), too. =)
Need help?
Check out the Pinterest support page or drop me a line.
Pinterest plays an important role in businesses today.I’m glad you shared here the ways on getting started with it.It’s time to start pinning!Thanks for sharing.
I agree, Pinterest is a great business tool. How are you using it?
Is there a special plugin that we need to add to WP sites to do pinning??
Hey Victoria -
Get the the “Pin It” button and drag it to your browser’s bookmarks bar. Every time you see something you want to pin, just click “Pin It.” Very easy…but be careful not to get sucked in! =)
Deb