Tactic 12: Pinterest Tips Why Pinterest? Pinterest is the perfect platform to reach your target audience and existing donor base. Females between the ages of 18 and 35 are the most active on Pinterest and they also encompass a similar and almost identical demographic of the existing donors to the Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC). Pinterest is a highly visual platform. Visuals dominate social media and audiences are more receptive to visual content, as opposed to content heavy with text. Pinterest also makes engagement with other users easy. Engaging with other users will increase the number of followers you have and, as a result, increase awareness. The ability to link pins to your website, other social media profiles and any desired URL is highly beneficial. You can increase traffic to your website, therefore increasing awareness about your organization. You can also increase sales of merchandise and donations by linking your URL s to your pins. Statistics show Pinterest is an effective tool for selling merchandise and this potential can be harnessed to increase donations for the TWC. Statistics on Pinterest Engagement and Usability One pin is re-pinned an average of 10 times, which is high compared to the average Tweet which is re-tweeted about one per cent of the time Sharing is key because 80 per cent of pins on Pinterest are re-pins Colourful images are preferred, for example, red, orange and brown images are two times as likely to be re-pinned than blue images Engage with other followers by commenting and re-pinning, but limit your engagement to no more than two or three comments per day because Pinterest will flag you as spam and suspend your account Pinterest produces four times more revenue (per click) than Twitter and 27 per cent more than Facebook Since its launch in 2010 Pinterest has become one of the leading social media site for shopping Orders from Pinterest spike on Mondays The average order value generated from Pinterest is 126 per cent higher than orders generated from Facebook 41
Adhere to the 80:20 rule. Approximately 80 per cent of content should be non-promotional and 20 per cent promotional. Additionally, engage with your followers and those you follow by re-pinning content from others. Do not just re-pin anything, but re-pin content that helps achieve your objective and fits in with other content on your boards. Take note of what content users re-pin and use that to strategically plan your future content. Set up a business account with Pinterest to get easy access to all of your analytics. 42
Pinterest How-To Tutorial Sample Pinterest Boards for the TWC Content should include promotional ( Shop TWC ) and non-promotional themes ( Wildlife DIY crafts and recipes ) Capitalize on holidays, for example Earth Day, Valentines Day and Wildlife Awareness Month Example boards include: Wildlife DIY crafts and recipes, Nature photography, Wildlife Awareness Month (October), Gardening and wildlife, Earth Day, Patient Profiles, Shop TWC, Outdoor fun with friends and Valentines Day 43
How to Pin Content 1. Upload visuals from a computer Pins ca be uploaded three ways: from files on your computer, you can add the Pinterest button to you browser, or you can enter a URL and Pinterest will give you the option to post any of the pinable images on the webpage With visuals you pin from computer files, Pinterest does not give you the option to add a URL at the time, but you must add an image description, choose a board to pin to and you can geotag your pin In order to embed a link in your pin you must go into the board you pinned to, click on the pin you just uploaded and edit the pin to include a URL (see below) Embed links in pins Embedding links in your pins is a more effective use of Pinterest than pins with no links (static images) When users click on your pin they should be brought to a specific page, for example the Donation page on your website, a Facebook post, your Twitter profile, a recipe, a Wildlife Tips page Embedding links helps increase engagement, drive up website hits and achieves your communications objectives: increasing awareness and donations 44
2. Upload visuals with the Pinterest Browser Button Pinterest allows and encourages you to add its button to your browser bar (see above, top right hand corner) The button is synced with your profile and allows you to pin images and content from any webpage you are browsing Additionally, when you add the Pinterest button, pinable images will automatically have a Pin it button appear while you browse a website (see above, top left hand corner on the image) This feature makes maintaining your Pinterest activity an easy task and saves you from saving images to your computer, uploading them and then embedding the link you want 45
3. Upload visuals with a website URL You can also pin images by uploading a URL onto Pinterest Pinterest will take that URL and determine if there are pinable images on the webpage you will be given options to pin any image on that page However, you are restricted to pins of images already loaded on the website URL and creativity is limited that way Remember, you can always use a different image and embed any URL you desire after you upload the visual: simply use the first upload option 4. Re-pin Content and Engage Best practice to maximize engagement on any social media platform is to interact with other users Users interact on Pinterest by re-pining, liking and commenting on other users posts Hovering over any pin on your newsfeed provides the option to like it (the heart in the box, upper right hand corner of the middle pin), or re-pin (red Pin it button in the top left hand corner of the same pin) Additionally, you can send the pin to another user you are friends with on Pinterest To comment on a pin, you must click on the image and the comments section is located at the bottom of the pin, below the pin description 46
Effectively Reach Your Target Audience with Categories When users sign up to Pinterest they must follow a minimum of five categories to start using their account When you create boards, keep popular categories in mind and try to create boards in various categories to expand your reach Also keep your target audience in mind; females ages 18 to 35 tend to follow DIY & Crafts, Recipes and Women s Fashion Some categories may work for your organization and others will not, but make sure to stay relevant to your values and content creation will be easier Categories and picked for you Additionally, on users feeds Pinterest will suggest posts based on the categories users like Even if users are not following you yet, your content may pop up on new users feeds because you used relevant and popular categories when you created your boards 47
Social Media Campaign The TWC campaign will take place in October and early November, during Wildlife Awareness Month. It will run for a total of a six weeks on Twitter and Pinterest. Each week will have a new theme and hashtag. Please see attached content calendar for specific examples. Week One: Welcome to Toronto Wildlife Centre The first week introduces the TWC to users through Twitter and Pinterest. This week specifically will build the foundation for users who aren t fully aware of TWC services, giving new audiences an overview. Week Two: Furry Friends Week two features a different furry animal for each day of the week. The TWC focuses on educating the public on how to live harmoniously with wildlife and what to do when they are in trouble. That is the reason why we titled this week Furry Friends. The specifically targeted facts may be more beneficial to your audience with interests in specific animals. It allows the social media sites to focus in on animals that may need extra help during October. Week Three: Learn about the TWC Week three gives a behind the scenes look at TWC services on a daily basis. In addition to welcoming the users to TWC, it is important to allow them to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the organization is run. People tend to distrust not-for-profits so to have transparency on your social media sites will be beneficial in receiving clearer awareness. This week will feature how much it costs for TWC to provide medical care to animals, what products they need and how their surgery and rehabilitation centre works. Week Four: Ask the TWC questions This week invites users to ask questions and get to know the vets, volunteers, rehab centre employees, hotline/development staff and communications coordinator. When people know a little about the employee s it creates a personal connection to the organization and they may be more likely to reach out when they have a problem instead of reaching out to a stranger. It allows for an open line of communication between the organization and the community for any donations, questions or concerns they may have in the future. 48
Week Five: Rescue Week Week five presents daring rescues and showcases the TWC television show. Users may think that TWC only helps animals that are brought into their facility by someone else when that is not the case. They have a dedicated team that helps animals that are in extreme danger for free. This week will put emphasis on the fact that the service is free, the users will meet the rescue team through a team bio, users will be able to watch rescues and see pictures. Week Six: Get Involved Week six invites users to get involved by volunteering, donating or even just telling a friend about TWC. The best way to raise awareness is word of mouth. Through our ambassadors, you can reach a great amount of people in a short amount of time just by a simple retweet or repin. We invite users to actively share our stories with their friends and provide links where they can be directly involved. This week will include links to volunteer opportunities, the donation page, invitations to share stories, a date for a tour and emphasis on sharing the post with their followers. Hashtags Hashtags can help to link to other industries that have the same idea and can reach a new audience. Consistent through all six weeks and all platforms are the hashtags: #MiracleMonday #TuesdayTips #WildlifeWednesday #ThrowbackThursday #FearlessFriday 49