How to Use Pinterest to Build Trust and Loyalty

Do your customers trust you?

The key to building a successful business is the ability to create loyal relationships with your clients or customers.

In the ‘How Content Can Help You Build a Loyal Following’ episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast, Michael Stelzner interviewed Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income.

They discuss how to build loyalty by providing valuable content and making a connection on a personal level through social media.

A great way to do this is to use Pinterest.

Here’s a look at 4 simple ways you can use Pinterest to make connections and provide value.

#1: Tell Your Company’s Story

Every company has a personality and a story to tell. When you reveal your unique story, you help establish credibility and foster a personal connection with your Pinterest followers.

A good place to start is to look into your company’s history.

General Electric has done a great job of this on its “The Archives” Pinterest board. Here, GE pins images of past ad campaigns and products.

Products form GE's past show you the company's longevity and their products' evolution.

If you share your company’s story with your audience, you:

• Show that your business has a history and isn’t brand-new on the scene, and thereby improve your credibility
• Illustrate that your products and services are not stuck in the past and that you change with the times
• Imply a sense of company growth and stability as you show your evolution, and the addition of new products can imply company growth and stability

While most businesses don’t have the long history that GE does, there are other things that can be pinned from the past:

• Company logo revisions
• Storefront or website evolutions
• Product or packaging changes
• Pictures of the CEO or owner in his or her younger years

However, the story doesn’t have to be limited to the past. Taco Bell Careers pins current images of employees working in the corporate offices and in stores on their Pinterest “The Taco Bell Community” board. Doing this will give a behind-the-scenes look and help to portray the company as fun and friendly.

Featured on this board are images of a jalapeno-eating contest, company award ceremonies and other fun events.

Even if your business isn’t as large as Taco Bell, you can pin images of:

• Office parties
• Staff meetings
• Candid behind-the-scenes photos
• Photos of pets (even the White House has done this on their Pinterest boards)

Another way to tell your story is to share the causes that matter to you. Many people appreciate doing business with and can relate to a company that gives back to the community.

Mr. Rooter has a Pinterest board to showcase the non-profit foundations they partner with and support. They also highlight what their franchisees are doing on a local level to show that the giving goes beyond the corporate office.

These pins display the many ways Mr. Rooter gives back to the community.

While sharing your story, it’s important to remember that your company is more than just a logo. Many businesses on Pinterest use recognizable logos for their profile images, but to build a personal connection, pin a photo or video of yourself.

For example, Bed Bath & Beyond created a board dedicated to their social media community managers.

The only pin on this board is a video of the community managers introducing themselves and explaining what followers can expect to find on the Bed Bath & Beyond Pinterest account.

Followers now have a sense of who the people are behind the Pinterest account. Instead of users leaving comments for a large company, they can now communicate with the actual people who represent the company. This simple video makes a large company feel very approachable.

Pinterest followers leave questions and comments for the community managers under the pin.

#2: Recognize Loyal Customers

Long ago, before video game consoles became as common as toasters, kids would have to venture out to arcades to play video games. One thing all of the gaming machines had in common was a screen that would show the initials of the top-ranking players.

Having your initials listed as a top-ranking player meant that you were pretty darn cool. It took time, skill and money to achieve that status and the initials were the video game makers’ way of rewarding you.

As a marketer, you can now use Pinterest to recognize and honor your clients or customers.

For example, UGallery is an online art gallery that features upcoming artists. Each Monday, it features a guest pinner to pin to the UGALLERY: Be Art Guest board.

UGallery includes the weekly guest pinner's name and website URL in the description of the board.

The guest pinner is featured on the UGallery blog and on the Pinterest board along with their pins. The guest pinners bestowed with this honor are likely to become loyal customers of UGallery and share the good news with their friends.

#3: Make Your Boards a Resource

Lowe’s, an international home improvement retailer, is a good example of a company that uses its Pinterest account to provide value.

Lowe's Pinterest account provides value to followers beyond links to products.

The boards Lowe’s has created not only feature products and projects from their website, they also have many pins that link to other websites and blogs for inspiration and instruction. When Lowe’s customers are looking for help with their next project, they can visit the Pinterest account to seek guidance.

#4: Verify Pins Before You Share Them

Repinning is encouraged on Pinterest. When repinning something that you think would provide value to your Pinterest followers, click on the pin to verify that it leads back to the original source.

Remember, the links attached to pins can be changed or broken. Before repinning to your account, verify the origin of the pin by clicking on it and only repin if it goes to the original source of the image. Pinning images with bad or broken links provides little to no value.

Pinterest is a great social media platform to help build connections, trust and loyalty in a very visual way. Use these tips to leverage this social media platform to build the trust and loyalty of your audience.

What do you think? How will you use Pinterest to build a connection with your clients or customers? It would be great to hear your ideas. Go ahead and share them in the comments below!