Becoming a Source of Valuable Information

The pinners behind Chobani yogurt’s Pinterest boards are smart cookies. The brand knows that merely pinning images from their own site isn’t the best use of their Pinterest presence. So instead, they create insightful boards and pins that they know their ideal clients will love.

Chobani (@chobani) maintains several different boards that feature a variety of recipes from many different websites and blogs. And while many of the recipes include yogurt as one of the ingredients, not all of them do. The yogurt company knows that their target audience (women, who do most of the grocery shopping) are always on the lookout for delicious and simple recipes to feed their hungry hoards at home. So instead of just pinning links from the Chobani website, they’re in the business of solving problems for their followers. Chobani also gets the opportunity to educate the public about their products, but that isn’t the main reason the yogurt company pins recipes.

In short, Chobani shares information and solves problems, without overtly selling.

Here’s an important news flash: No one actually cares about your products and services in and of themselves. People want to solve their problems, and that’s what they need or want your products and services for. Pinterest gives you the incredible opportunity to become a valued source of information to the folks you’re trying to reach. And if you view yourself as a source of information and ideas, rather than someone hawking your wares, you will be far more successful on Pinterest than if you focus only on promoting and pinning your own products and services.

Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, authors of the book Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) that Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business, advise becoming a source of valuable information online:

Good content shares or solves; it doesn’t shill. In other words, it doesn’t hawk your wares or push sales-driven messages. Rather, it creates value by positioning you as a reliable and valuable source of vendor-agnostic information . . . [the content you share] is of high value to your customers, in whatever way resonates best with them.

Sharing great content is always welcome on social media sites, including Pinterest. Over-promotion and narcissism are not.

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As you practice pinning for your ideal client and expressing your brand’s personality through Pinterest’s tools, your instincts about what kind of content to publish will get better and better, and your following will grow. And when you know how your Pinterest efforts fit in with the rest of your online marketing strategy, the various sites where you have a social media presence will work together like a finely tuned machine.

Now that you’re clear on your marketing goals and strategy on Pinterest, let’s move on to the really fun stuff: learning how to pin!