Social media is a powerful medium for tea businesses.  I have spoken about the power of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn in previous posts.  This time it’s Pinterest‘s turn.

According to their About Page, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that enables people to pin pictures of interest (see what they did with their name? Pin + Interest = Pinterest).  According to Wikipedia, it is fast becoming the preferred social media site.

The modern take on the Chinese proverb, “One Picture is Worth Ten Thousand Words,” has reduced the number of words to a mere thousand, but the meaning is essentially the same, which is why Pinterest is so effective for marketing your business.  People love looking at nice objects or videos that educate, pictures of beau-tea or illustrations of creative-tea.

While some social media applications may have proven challenging for some users, Pinterest is one of the easiest.  If you like a picture, a photograph, a video, or an illustration, you can pin them on a virtual pinboard.  Pinning is the equivalent of clicking on the Like button in Facebook, once you have set up an account and installed the “Pin It” button.  Images can be uploaded by a user; pinned from another user’s Pinterest board; or pinned from sources outside of Pinterest.  Take a look at Pinterest’s Getting Started section for more information on installing the Pin It button and other useful information on Pinterest.

What is the purpose of creating virtual pinboards for a tea company?  There are several answers to this:

  1. Brand Awareness: As a tea business owner, it is about raising your online presence and your tea company’s profile.  It is essential to make it easy for customers to find you and Pinterest is one of the ways in which you can do this.  It is a place where people can find out more about your business as well as your website.  Don’t just pin pictures directly related to your business though.  Consumers love to learn more about the people behind your business, so don’t forget to pin other things that interest you too.
  2. Sharing: What is great about Pinterest is that if people like what you’re pinning, they may want to share the image on one of their pinboards.  Let’s say that you’ve pinned an image from your website.  This means your business could potentially reach out to a wider audience – not just to people viewing your website, but to those following you on Pinterest and those following the person that repinned your image.  Wouldn’t it be great if your business or products within your business went viral?  If one image appears on several pinboards from several users, this could mean reaching out to a much wider audience than just your immediate circles.  The potential is enormous.
  3. E-Commerce: If people who follow you on Pinterest like the items you’re pinning, if the images have come from your website, they will be directed to your website and maybe in time, the people who have found you on Pinterest could buy from your website.  You can also display the price point directly on any image within Pinterest.  This is almost like having two websites that show your products and your price points.  I also use Pinterest to show upcoming and previous Tea Note Speaking events with their price points.

There is plenty more to say about Pinterest, but do send me a tea-mail if you’d like to know more.  I’d like to leave you with a fabulous article that will help you with your Pinterest journey.  Enjoy.