Pinterest has piqued my Interest!

On Friday, I finally took the plunge.  I decided to do something with my Pinterest account...something I had "set up" maybe a month ago, but didn't really do anything with it and didn't get it.  I had read a few posts on it...and still didn't get it.  I even signed up for an inman webinar to learn about it...but alas, I had the wrong date on my calendar and missed it by 24 hrs.

 

A week or two later, I found a video so that helped.  But...I still didn't do anything with it.  (Sound familiar?).  It's hard.  I'm sooooo busy right now.

 

But, I knew it would be something good for me to do, especially since I knew I could get some links back to my website.

 

Last week's Rain Camp webinar finally got me off the bench and prompted me to give it a whirl, and I have to say, it is fun and easy.  In fact, very fun and very easy.

 

I realized that this can really help my biz in several ways (aside from the side benefit of connecting w/ more potential customers:

 

1.  I can get some more backlinks to my website.  In fact, this time, when I checked pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite, I found that both of my websites already had 3 backlinks.  That was cool!  They were pretty pictures of floors and kitchen and the comments made me realize there are so many out there looking for design ideas for their homes, especially for kitchens.  It then reminded me of so many customers I met with who were redoing their kitchens and had folders of pictures they clipped from magazines for design ideas, and this is basically the same thing but online...and easier and faster.

 

2.  This is a great way to show some of my customers design ideas...while I'm in their home.  On Friday night, I went over to a nice customer's home to pick up a deposit check.  We are doing a lot of work with them before they move in.  But, after they move in (and when we have more time to stay in the home), we are going to be doing more work and they are already talking about design ideas for the powder room and kitchen.  The husband went to his iPad to share some ideas and help visualize what I was describing to his wife.  And, then it hit me...I should be doing this!

3.  This will help me when I don't have the right sample in my car.  As you know, "I bring the store to your door," but I can't fit everything in my car so this will help extend my collection.  I can have pictures of other types of floors, borders, etc.  I think it will really help find the right items and save me some time.

 

There really are so many ways I can use this tool, and I'm so excited about the possibilities!

 

Okay, so I'm just getting started now and finding my way around.  Here's what I did to start:

 

1.  I created some topics for the pinboards - ones I thought were relevant for my biz (e.g. Cool hardwood floors, Floors that score, Kitchens that Kook, Backsplashes that make a splash).

 

2.  Then, I added some non work related/fun ones (e.g. Dream homes, Places I'd love to visite, Waterfalls, Funny)

 

3.  Then, I went to both of my websites and pinned a few photos that I though were pretty and others might like (and classified them in the appropriate pin board.

 

4.  Then, I went to find the "pin it" bookmarklet to make it faster/easier.  (to be honest, at first I had some challenges with this, but finally I got it to work).

 

5.  I then went to one of my vendor's websites (I remembered that they upgraded their website a couple of months ago and added a pin it button).  I thought this was smart and soon I will add one.

 

6.  I then went to follow a few people.  These were people that I knew that Pinterest suggested (most likely because I'm connected to them on Facebook - several from AR and some local friends).  I then checked out some of their boards and got some good ideas for other boards.  When I saw a picture I liked (and it fit into one of my boards, I repinned it.  Really, it was so simple!

 

7.  Then, I learned that if I hit the Pinterest button at the top of the page, it takes me to the "home" page where I can see others to connect with and importantly, the latest pins from my friends.  Again, some cool and pretty pictures that i repinned.

 

So, I'm excited about the possibilities here.  I'm jazzed that Pinterest is super attractive to women, esp those who are looking for style and design ideas, so it seems like a great fit for my target audience.  Knowing what they are looking for is now making me think of new blog posts and webpages to add w/ cool pictures that I can pin (and then hope get repinned).

 

Feel free to check out my pinterest page and learn with me.  I decided to call myself The Flooring Girl on there.

 

I'm open to ideas and suggestions, especially since I'm just learning this platform.  There's a lot I want to do and create, but I figure it's better to do a bit at a time.

Hardwood Flooring - Carpet - Tile/Natural Stone - Laminate - Refinish Hardwood - Backsplashes

Debbie Gartner, President and Owner

"The Flooring Girl"

Floor Coverings International: Westchester NY/Stamford CT

You can download our free flooring guide.  Or, visit our flooring selector - 2,000 options for hardwood flooring, carpet, tile. Call us for a free estimate 914-937-2950. 

"We bring the store to your door."

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