Pinterest is a visual discovery tool utilized by over 70 million users to share and explore ideas and products. It stands out from social giants Facebook and Twitter due to its focus on images rather than text.

Businesses today, especially restaurants, can leverage this extensive network to grow organic reach for their products and services.

Why Pinterest for Business?

For traditional social users, Pinterest offers a platform to engage with pins (images or videos) and boards (collections of pins). Users create personal profiles, follow other users' boards, and cultivate feeds that show them rich and relevant content.

Business users can utilize Pinterest in a similar fashion. But instead of striving to gain followers and learn new ideas, the goal is to increase organic reach by making the brand more relatable. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Pin with your customers in mind. Per basic content marketing principles, share images and videos that they are likely to care about and want to share with others. Aim to pin at least once per day.
• Tell the story of your brand. Create pins and boards that highlight the ideas, places, people, and moods behind what sets you apart.
• Show what you stand for. Visually displaying values and brand personality in boards will resonate strongly with viewers.
• Use high-quality, appealing images. They should be at least 600 pixels wide.
• Add the "Pin It" button to your site. It will promote shareability and increase reach.
• Share the love. You'll seem more authentic if you post content that is relevant to your audience, regardless of its source. Such "sharing relationships" with other sites and businesses will drive up traffic for all parties involved.

Check out this in-depth Pinterest Best Practices Guide for more tips on how to get started.

Recipes Highlight

When restaurants are thinking about Pinterest for business, they should pay particular attention to its application for recipes. As discussed in a previous post about restaurant marketing, 51% of social media users aged 25-44 follow food brands to learn about recipes.

Pinterest offers a great way to satisfy this craving for recipes with rich, visually appealing content boards. Take a look at these well-made boards from Kraft Foods:

Brand enthusiasts and new customers alike will appreciate the ease with which they can view steps of the recipe process and share with friends and family.

The Link to YOU

In the end, Pinterest is all about sharing visual content in an appealing way. It provides a platform for businesses to connect with current and potential customers in ways that are different and interesting. And for restaurants specifically, Pinterest can be a gold mine for cultivating loyal brand enthusiasts who enjoy easy access to great recipes.

What are some ways you have used Pinterest for YOUR brand? Let us know in the comments below!