How To Use The Pinterest Message Feature For Your Business – Pinners can now keep the conversation going without leaving the site. Earlier this month, Pinterest introduced a new message service providing a new way for its users to communicate, collaborate and share with one another. Until now, communication on Pinterest was limited to leaving comments or sending a pin.
Pinterest messaging is different
Pinterest does not aim to become a messaging service. Unlike other social networks, it does not have a persistent contact list that follows you everywhere. The message feature provides a simple way for pinners to collaborate and discuss topics related to content found on Pinterest. This opens up exciting new opportunities for collaboration within your business.
Message Feature Overview
The messaging feature is very easy to use. It is available on the web versions and the mobile app and is accessed through the notifications section of your Pinterest account:
You can send messages directly to someone – with or without adding a pin – providing you are following each other on Pinterest. You can also communicate with a group of people. The group messaging is limited to 10 people to encourage its use as a collaboration tool rather than a mass marketing tool and to avoid spamming.
I love the way Pinterest have built their Search facility into the message functionality. This means that you can easily search for and share pins in the messages. The pins within the messages are dynamic: you can click through to the source or save it to a board. You can even send a whole board to any of your recipients. On the web version you can also drag and drop pins into a chat. The easiest way to see how it works is to try it out yourself. You can also see it in action in the Pinterest videos on YouTube (see links at the end of this article).
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How can businesses use the new message feature?
COLLABORATION | Pinterest messaging makes it very easy for people to share ideas, examples and inspiration for projects they are working on. The most obvious use of the new feature is to use it for design projects, or any other projects using imagery to support project activities. With Pinterest messages, local and remote project team members can easily share images in real-time to brainstorm ideas, for example. As well as collaboration within small teams, it is also possible to collaborate directly with clients. Checking the needs of a client using a real-time exchange of visuals and comments could be a quick way to check if you are on the right track.
MARKETING | Although it is not possible to reach a wide audience using Pinterest messages (10 is the maximum number of pinners that can take part in a chat), you could use the feature to build closer relationships with key followers or customers. Their support can be extremely valuable in encouraging the spread of information about your brand, which can be just as powerful, if not more so, as classic advertising. Even sending a simple Thank You to followers that regularly pin from your website can go a long way to keep them pinning your content.
Do you think you will use Pinterest Messaging in your business? Leave me a comment. I would love to know!
Mary Lumley - Conversion Focused Pinterest Marketing
How To Use The Pinterest Message Feature For Your Business