When it comes to using social media to generate sales, there’s no better place to look than Pinterest.

Compared to Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest is infinitely more open, allowing you to see an array of things that people are interested in.

Here are a few ways that you can use Pinterest to gain sales.

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Take Advantage of Reverse Showrooming

 

Thanks to many retailers refusing to make the jump to the 21st century, companies have resorted to using “reverse showrooming.”

Reverse showrooming is when people search for products online then turn around and buy them at a cheaper price.

You may have personally done this by going to a retail store such as Target or Best Buy, then gone online and bought the same item on Amazon.

With thousands of people going online to look for ideas to buy, make sure to pin them on boards so they get exposure. Compare your prices with nationwide retailers and lower them by a dollar or two.

Once people see that you carry the same product at a cheaper price, they’re more likely to shop with you instead of a local retailer.

For those shoppers with Android phones, there’s a widget that allows the display of new pins and notifications on your home screen.

When you’re using reverse showrooming techniques, make sure that you’re using rich pins. Rich pins will let you display more information about the pins, including the price.

They’re automatically updated, so once you pin them, you don’t have to worry about constantly updating them.

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Utilize Secret Boards

 

Secret boards are exactly as they sound — they’re hidden from a certain audience. These boards allow you to display information that you don’t want anyone else to know.

Recently, Pinterest upped the limit from six secret boards to an unlimited amount. You can use secret boards in a multitude of ways:

• Exclusive discounts: For those who keep up with their Pinterest account, you could offer them a secret promotional code that’ll give them a discount. Since promotional codes are likely to leak out, you could instruct them to send an e-mail to a certain address, then you could respond with a one-time use secret code exclusively for them.

• Private Sales: Secret boards are perfect for company sales that you don’t want to advertise. These secret events could be held after a physical store closes for the evening. For an online business, you can create a secret URL link complete with password.

• Product previews: You could use the secret boards to give your most loyal customer a peek at your company’s upcoming products. You could use this to get feedback on whether or not your store should carry this item. If your company makes the product, you could get feedback on the item and make changes if necessary.

• Feedback: You can use a secret board to get all sorts of feedback, product or otherwise. Listening to feedback is crucial for any business’s success. There’s always room for improvement.

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Focus on Hobbies

 

It’s almost impossible to create a board for every product, especially if you carry a variety of products. Instead, create boards based on hobbies. This will make it easier for users to go in and select their favorite hobby, then find things that are related to their hobby.

Feel free to get a little creative with the categories that you make. They’re your categories, after all. Just make sure that you group everything appropriately.

 

Pinterest is a great source for generating sales. Catering to those that go online to decide what to buy will only benefit your business. These are just a few of the ways that you can reach out to new customers through Pinterest.

Do you use Pinterest to increase the sales for your business? What techniques to you use?

Leave a comment below and let us know!

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