Like any social media platform worth its salt, Pinterest continues to grow and evolve. As one of the fastest growing social networks, it is the third largest, only behind Facebook and Twitter. Hence, publishers are finding more and more ways to use it for lead generation.

How can you make the most of Pinterest? 

First, let’s talk about how it is different from other social media platforms. 

1) You know that Pinterest is a highly visual platform relying on strong images, look back at some stellar examples of this in Publishing Made Pinteresting.

2) Did you also know that a pin has a longer lifespan than most other social posts?  As Folio’s Stephanie Miller points out, a tweet may only last minutes and on Facebook, a post may only be seen by 70% of your audience. But, a pin can still see a spike in activity after 30 days.

3) Miller also cites a recent survey that indicates a direct correlation between pinning and purchase intent, with 35% of users under 35 saying that pinning led to a purchase and 24% of those users finding those items on a stranger’s board, not a brand or retailer.

Key Tactics That Put This Knowledge to Use

1) Timing. It’s no surprise that you should employ the same tactic you likely use for other social platforms: Pin at the appropriate time. Repins and click-throughs can increase when you pin at the most active times. Those times may vary, depending on your audience and the time zone they live in, but there are tools to help you schedule your pins (see #4), so you aren’t doing the swoop in and pin that inhibits true engagement.

2) Partner Up.  Work with partners in your industry (celebrities in the field, experts, bloggers) to create collaborative boards. You can access each other’s followers, expand your audience and engage them in a unique way.

3) Use the Data. Pinterest is another way to gain unique insights into your audience. Use those insights to enhance content on your own website, by including popular pins and also to see what kind of content gets the most love—so you can tailor your own even more.

4) Leverage a Management Tool (or two).  A lot of people seem to like Piqora for managing their Pinterest activity, because it gives you analytics and lets you schedule pins. But there is Pinstamatic as well—which takes the visual power of the platform to another level. But Postris is really handy for tracking trends to support your context awareness, as well.

5) Make it Personal. Make sure your editors and writers are making recommendations on their personal boards. This will help you take advantage of the insight we discussed above: people are more likely to pin (and purchase) from an individual board, not a brand or retailer board. Also, Pinterest allows a little more of the human side to show. Leverage that to engage your audience more deeply.

6) Drive People to Your Website. The more visual your website, the easier it is to pin. Make sure your site has the most up-to-date image and video gallery tools and use those tools to their fullest potential.

7) Don’t Compromise Quality. Pinterest is no different than other social platforms, or your website for that matter, in that quality counts. Post useful, informative and FRESH content. Novelty counts especially on this platform. If it’s something they haven’t seen before, they are more likely to pin it. Use it for news and events that define the growth of your business.

These seven tips should help get you on your way to leveraging the growing power of Pinterest.

PS: Don’t think Pinterest is for you?  You’ll find business accounts, and many BtoB and BtoC publishers from MicrowaveJournal.com to Wall Street Journal use Pinterest.