The 10 Biggest Mistakes You May Be Making on Pinterest

What is Pinterest?

Unlike Facebook, where anything and everything gets shared willy-nilly, Pinterest focuses on sharing pictures and imagery exclusively. Images can be linked to web content, but the site focuses on a visual only sharing strategy for esthetic purposes. When using Pinterest, users “pin” visuals to their “board,” which essentially means they attach an image to their profile page for others to see. Boards can be organized by category or theme, and users can browse what others are “pinning” to get inspiration and learn new things.

So how can law firms use Pinterest effectively to market and expand? When used correctly, Pinterest can serve as a huge exposure booster for your brand and practice. Additionally, the site can lead to real clients, as the image-based nature of Pinterest lends itself well to marketing food, merchandise, products and services. Unfortunately, many small businesses hit some easily avoidable pitfalls along the way, and never realize this potential. Here are the ten biggest mistakes small business owners as a whole make on Pinterest.

1. Poor Organization

Pinterest’s “boards” only function well when they are organized well. If you don’t organize, you can bet people won’t take the time to browse what your business hopes to offer. Pinning everything to one board is as heinous as pinning everything to separate boards; skip the organizing, and users will skip your content.

2. Lack of Integration

Your Pinterest page should clearly mention your firm’s name and info, and your company website should link to your Pinterest page as well. And don’t forget about linking to other social networks, as well. Otherwise, you miss out on exposure.

3. Only Sharing Your Firm’s Content

Pinterest operates as something of a symbiotic community, and that all falls apart when people don’t “pin” content provided by others. If you only share and pin proprietary content, your law firm will be seen as selfish and ignored by the community.

4. Only Re-pinning

On the flip side, if you are only sharing posts from others, you aren’t doing all you can to promote your own practice. You can and should share proprietary content, and not rely only on re-pins.

5. Not Describing Pins

Also to titles, you can give each thing you pin a short description to catch the interest of others. Your descriptions should function as product introductions, but should also intrigue viewers. Otherwise, your pins won’t be seen as informative or useful.

6. Ignoring your Niche

Just like marketing offline, the more you can play up your firm’s specific strengths on Pinterest, the more you will get out of the site. Too many law offices only share general info or re-pin anything they think is interesting. But to gain a devoted audience that will lead to profits, you are best off keeping your niche in mind. Otherwise, your network won’t prove very useful.

7. Forgetting Keywords

If your law firm has a website or web presence, then you know how important keywords are to getting discovered by new potential customers. And the same is true of Pinterest as it is of your own site: keywords rule the search game, and your pins should all have keyword friendly descriptions.

8. Forgetting Photography Basics

If you are taking original photos of your practice to promote yourself on Pinterest, you better take good pictures. Too many business owners snap quick shots or don’t think about lighting and other photo principles, and use shoddy imagery to try to display their products or services. But since Pinterest is a visual community, bad visuals means you won’t gain much traction with your posts.

9. Not Interacting with Others

Again, Pinterest is highly symbiotic, and you will get the most attention and views for your postings when you give attention and see the postings of others. Leaving others comments and interacting with the community means that more people will come to your page, and your law firm will be regarded as a contributor rather than a profiteer. Unless you want to be seen as “only in it for the money” get interactive!

10. Neglecting Networking

Just like any other social networking site, Pinterest only works if you are connected to other people. But for many lawyers, the appearance and mechanics of Pinterest make networking seem less important than it does on Twitter or Facebook. By not building networks proactively, you sentence your pins to obscurity and don’t gain many of the great exposure and learning opportunities that Pinterest can provide.

By keeping an organized Pinterest account that is monitored consistently with proper imagery, pinning and descriptions, your reach as a law firm and brand is limitless. Stay connected with other attorneys and provide fresh eye-popping visuals that will entice others to emulate your social media successes. It’s time to set the bar against the competition. If you feel like your practice isn’t reaping the benefits of Pinterest, check out my profile as a reference. You may just need a few tweaks in order to effectively market your brand and law firm to its fullest potential. Thanks for reading, and have an enchanting day!