As a business on Pinterest, you have probably pinned a bunch of still photographs that have made your followers salivate, repin, and click through to your website or blog. But have you used videos to better connect with your followers?
Pinterest allows pinners to share YouTube and Vimeo videos, Slideshare presentations — even animated GIFs. In fact, videos even have their own special category in Pinterest search!
Let’s see how adding moving images can not only add variety to your pinning mix but also give you great business results.
Videos can easily answer common customer questions
Pinterest is well known for helping pinners make purchasing decisions. Why not aid pinners in making decisions about your products or services? Videos can really do wonders here.
Fusion Juicer uses this strategy. Juice fasts are a hot health trend right now. People who want to embark on a juice fast usually have tons of questions about juicing, including what equipment to buy. While the company has dozens of boards with photo pins of great juice recipes, it has set up a “Fusion Juicer Videos | Juicing How To Videos” board to demonstrate how juicing can easily be done with its product.
If you’re a company with a product or service that is not yet a household word (like “juicer”), a video can really help explain what you’re about. Ring Central delivers cloud-based business communications solutions. That’s hard to describe in a single photo — or an entire board of still photographs. So the company has put together a “Helpful Videos” board to explain what these solutions look like and how they can benefit a business.
Videos appeal better to pinners’ senses
Pinterest users by and large rely on visual cues to further engage with pins. But with video, you can tap into a pinner’s visual and aural senses.
Connecting with pinners’ ears is especially useful if you’re in the travel industry. Consumers who are considering your destination are not just curious about what they’ll see. They’re also interested in what they’ll hear — whether it’s foreign-to-them languages, street noise, rolling surf, or chirping birds.
Dublin Sightseeing, a bus tour operator in Ireland’s biggest city, understands that its visitors need to learn as much as possible about Dublin before they visit. Not only has it created several place pin boards, but it has also infused these interactive travel guides with videos that capture the sights and the sounds of its beloved city. Walking Around Dublin features curated YouTube videos of the Dublin Zoo, Meath Street, and some of Dublin’s hip neighborhoods.
Motion-based pins can provide greater assistance to pinners
Videos and presentations demand more of pinners’ time. If your motion-based pins are helpful to your target audience, they’ll stick around to watch them — and will most likely be grateful for your assistance. And you want happy, appreciative followers, don’t you?
The University of Florida College of Medicine offers a Peer Mentoring Academic Program to its first year med students. It helps these students transition to med school with academic and emotional support. It uses Pinterest to further extend its mission of helping these “first years.” It sprinkles helpful videos throughout its boards and has a “Medical School: YouTube Channels” board dedicated to video resources that may help students both in and out of the classroom.
Many businesses that work with other businesses (called B2Bs by many) pin presentations from Slideshare to better educate their clients. Constant Contact, a company featured on episode 63 of the Oh So Pinteresting podcast, uses Pinterest to further empower its clients to take charge of their online marketing. On its “TIPS – Social Media, Email Marketing & Small Business” board, it recently pinned its Slideshare presentation where each slide featured an easy-to-digest tip for getting started with social media.
If part of your business’ marketing strategy is to inform and inspire others on Pinterest, why not try adding a few more videos or presentations to your boards and see how moving images on Pinterest can help your business?
