We all know a social media strategy is a major part of small business success these days.  As a consultant to small businesses, I know firsthand how important it is to have a winning strategy in place — and that now includes Pinterest.

Pinterest subscribers are there to shop…and buy! But don’t just take it from me. Did you know a new study from Harvard Business Journal shows that 60% of Pinterest purchases were first discovered on Pinterest? In addition, Pinterest drives more traffic than You Tube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.

Here are some things to think about before you start posting on Pinterest that will help you “Pin to Win.”

1. Pinning is fun. But you have to treat it like a business. Make sure you have a Pinterest business account – and the great news is you can convert your existing account and boards. A business account allows you to take advantage of analytics and also the “rich pin options,” which include automatically updated information on prices, availability and more.
2. They have to know where to find you. You need to make sure you are directing a certain percentage of your curated pins directly back to your website to capture sales. While you want to pin a wide variety of things, make sure many of them are directly related to what you sell or offer.
3. You have to do your homework. A successful Pinning strategy includes more than just putting up images that are pretty or interesting. While that is the fun part…and can certainly be part your successful strategy — you also need to ensure that you are strategically optimizing your content.
4. Don’t sell products? Pinterest can be for you too. Pinterest is ideal for selling goods, but it also can be very effective for services. Are you a career coach? Make it a point to find inspirational quotes and then link back to some of your own favorite books. A photographer? Post images you have taken (with your clients’ permission!) of that special wedding or family grouping. Or, use your Pinterest board as a place to curate content you love by favorite photographers; or go wild shooting all the scenes you wish your clients would let you.
5. Before you pin, check the following:

• Make sure that the images are yours to pin. There are lots of copyright issues being worked through over Pinterest posts, and the best way to protect yourself is to make sure that you own the images.
• Make it pin ready. Optimize those great pictures with Google friendly and keyword focused file names.
• Create your boards with a strategy in mind. Entice your audience with fun, catchy keyword phrases. You want to create a feel and a vibe that pulls in your peeps.
• And most important…make it easy to turn your awesome audience into customers, and that means allowing immediate gratification. Say you stumble upon the perfect catch. You can see it now….maybe you’ve been looking high and low or maybe you didn’t even know that you needed that LBD; or “blue suede heels;” or green juice maker; or darling baby outfit; or monogrammed pillow. You want the option to “impulse purchase” and for sure you want that option for your customers.
• Don’t miss the moment by making them have to hunt down your website. Offer all the information they need and convert those “Window” shoppers into buyers. After all, isn’t that why you’re on Pinterest in the first place?

I would love to help you really drive traffic to your site and boost those sales.  Check out my current offer discounted for CreateHype followers, which is available for purchase through August 31, 2013. Let’s get started today to get your Pinterest strategy in place and convert your window shoppers to buyers.