Pinterest for Real Estate Professionals
Pinterest is a wunderkind. Nothing short of spectacular both in idea and viral growth. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, well Pinterest has taken that anecdote and turned it into the next greatest thing.
Subscribers to Pinterest, now known as “pinners,” are taking the images from their computes, their lives, and the internet and building “boards” much like my mother used to have hanging above her old rotary phone where she could tack phone numbers, pictures of her cute kids, decorating ideas, or articles of interest. Think of Pinterest as exactly that. A collection of boards (that is literally what they are called) devoted to any subject matter you can think of. Like someone else’s pin? Then repin it! Have something on your computer you want to share, then upload it on to the appropriate board!
Here are a few stats:
- The number of Pinterest users to visit the site daily has gone up 145 percent since the beginning of 2012
- Over 80 percent of pins are actually re-pins rather than brand new content
- Pinterest user growth is better than that of Facebook and Twitter at the same point in their history
- As expected, 80 percent of Pinterest’s user base is female
- Brands are having a great time leveraging Pinterest — Better Homes & Gardens has 25,000+ followers on Pinterest, compared to 21,000 on Twitter
Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/14/this-is-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pinterest-infographic/
Pinterest for Business
I believe that Pinterest and the Real Estate Industry are a perfect match. Where else in life, outside of images of food, can pictures capture so much and motivate us to act? In addition to the use of powerful imagery, starting and maintaining a Pinterest account can generate dozens of additional links, all pointing back to the real estate professional’s site. This is huge for Search Engine Optimization!
Following is a list of some sample board ideas a Real Estate Professional may want to build. Please note that not all of them are directly related to selling a particular home. By making them more well-rounded, informative, and helpful, this creates additional value and is not typically viewed as a hard sell.
Board Ideas
- Amazing Architecture
- Gardening
- Home Décor
- Featured Property Listings
- Luxury homes
- Ugly Homes
- Funny looking homes
- Staging Ideas
- Home Makeover
- Homebuyer Tips
- Historic Locations
- Top Things to do in your area
- Mortgage Process
- Pet Friendly
- Local Eateries
- Fun things to do for free in your city
- Moving day tips
- How to move with children
- Property specific with pins of neighborhood, schools, parks, shopping, etc.
Many of the social media experts talk about Pinterest in glowing terms, but one thing they all say consistently is that Pinterest is here to stay, and should be taken seriously. Most of the web’s traffic centers on images, so it is important to embrace this as your next social media channel of focus.3
Becoming a Successful “Pinner”
(source: http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/9-tips-boost-your-business-pinterest.html)- Spend the Time
- Keep it Simple
- Connect your physical presence with your online presence
- Use other social media networks to feed your Pinterest
- Promote more than products
- Follow Others
- Become a source of valuable information
- Selective Curating
Here are some additional articles to read for Pinterest for business:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/26-tips-for-using-pinterest-for-business/
http://www.fastcompany.com/1842193/pin-it-to-win-it-5-ways-brands-use-pinterest-to-authetically-connect
