Pinterest is a powerful tool that can enable you to effectively reach a target audience in any geographical area. Following are some tried and proven tips on how you can use Pinterest to target a local audience in any city, state or region.

Optimize Your Profile

Pinterest, like many other social media channels, allows you to include important information about your company in your Pinterest profile. Use this space to tell not what you do but also where you do it. It's also a good idea to post your business hours and phone number so people who see your pictures will be able to get in touch with you easily.

Identify Your Target Audience

Identify your target audience in a particular location. It's OK to have more than one target group but try not to target too many groups of people at once.

Choose the Right Keywords

Once you know who you want to target, it's time to choose the right keywords for your boards and images. Anything you post on Pinterest is indexed in Google, which means that adding keywords will not only increase views to your Pinterest site but also boost your business website.

Create Boards

Creating boards is a good way to set yourself up as an industry leader in your local area. You can either create boards with just your own content or add content from other Pinterest users to your boards. While you don't want to promote competitors on your social media network it's not hard to find other individuals and companies in related industries who have posted images that compliment what you have to offer.

Network

Pinterest, like all other social media channels, is meant to be social. Network with other, similar companies in your local area to increase your local audience. Re-pinning images from influencers and local companies generates goodwill and makes people want to re-pin your content on their own boards.

Use Pinterest Ads

Paying for Pinterest ads is not necessarily the best long-term way to use Pinterest to target a local audience, especially if you are a small company with a limited advertising budget. However, these ads can be a godsend if you are starting a new company or launching a new product or service. Pinterest ads are effective because:

  • They are not as disruptive as ads on other websites
  • You can use geo-targeting to reach a particular audience in a particular location
  • You can target individuals by criteria such as age, gender, marital status, employment, etc.
  • You can target people based on their interests
  • You can create targeted advertisements for people who have already purchased goods and/or services from you

How to Use Pinterest to Target a Local Audience by Creating the Right Boards and Pins

If you are new to creating boards and pins on Pinterest or have been using the website for some time but with few or no positive results, consider the following tips on creating boards and pins:

  • Use the Pinterest website to search any board names you may have in mind. If there are a number of boards that have the exact same name then change your name in order to stand out from the crowd
  • Be creating when deciding what images to post. Product images are fine but they shouldn't be the only types of images you put up. You can also post infographics, images of your employees at work or engaged in a fun activity and/or images of yourself and your family if you are a family-run business. Images showing how certain products can also be helpful to your target audience.
  • Update boards regularly to include the latest, trending content in your industry. This shows your customers that you are an industry leader who is in step with the times.
  • Make sure all images are high quality. Low-quality images show that you don't really care what people think of you.
  • Never use images you don't have permission to use. It's fine to re-pin another company's images but it's not find to pull photos and graphics from Google Images and pin them as your own.

It takes time to use Pinterest to target a local audience. If you are a busy company owner who does not have time to engage in this form of marketing on a regular basis, considering enlisting professional help to reach out to your target audience on Pinterest and other social media channels. Brandgy is a versatile online marketing company with plenty of experience in branding, website design, content marketing, offsite marketing and local SEO. Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you create a winning Pinterest campaign that will boost your business both now and in the future.