Social sharing site Pinterest has made an unambiguous play to attract business users with the launch of dedicated business accounts and tools.
Companies can now create verifiable business accounts. First and last names are not required – just a business name – and the account is verified with a code. Verified accounts will be recognised with a badge visible on their account. If your business already has a personal account, then you will be able to transform that into a business account.
Pinterest have also confirmed that they will shortly be publishing a microsite exclusively for business users, featuring case studies from Etsy and Jetsetter.
Firms will also be encouraged to add Pin It and Follow buttons to their site (something we’ve already seen on eBay) and also embed widgets on their sites to showcase their own pins. This will take Pinterest out into the wider web and this new feature will be available to businesses and individuals.
All eyes are on Pinterest since it raised $100m in May on a $1.5bn valuation. It’s impressing big brands and SMEs alike with a highly engaged readership which has a unique demographic skewed to women. According to Hubspot, 47% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase based on recommendations from Pinterest.
When pressed by Mashable, Pinterest spokesperson Cat Lee said the new features had “nothing to do with monetization or [Pinterest’s] business model. We know that when we do introduce a business model, we definitely want to design it in a way that makes the user experience better, but this announcement is just about taking that first step.” Make of that what you will.
To help you get up to snuff swiftly with the changes over at Pinterest, Hubspot have put together a handy guide which will help you set up your new Pinterest business account, add Pinterest buttons & widgets to your site, follow the business-specific terms of service and verify your website on Pinterest itself. You can download the Pinterest guide here for free.
2 Responses
RT @tamebay: Pinterest bid for SMEs with special business accounts and tools: https://t.co/utHYz6au
Thanks for your post Dan – although currently there are few actually changes to accounts, the considerable step here is that previously their terms and conditions haven’t been too open to commercial use!
I think the microsite you’re talking of is https://business.pinterest.com/ if you want to take a look or update/create a business account.
If you’re interested in reading more, my colleague wrote a post about why Pinterest is good for brands but also points out where it could improve for businesses if it’s going down this route https://ow.ly/fjAU7