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Pinterest: A Power Tool for Your LYS

8/5/2013

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Picture
Pinterest is sensational. It is that simple. It is a visual feast for the imagination, and a fantastic tool for showcasing all that your yarn store has to offer. It far excels Facebook as a showcase for your business. A brief look at a picture speaks volumes, and those of us in a creative industry like knitting and crochet can really go to town communicating with each other via Pinterest. Think of Pinterest as a “pre-shopping”place, a creative smorgasbord where your customers will assemble ideas they can use in their hand made goods. In a world where time has become a valuable currency, a well done Pinterest page can engage and inspire your customers along the avenues that they choose to explore. The more specific your Pinterest boards are, the less likely a visitor to your page will navigate away. They will check out the board topics that they want to spend time on, and not feel frustrated that they have to sift through tons of material to find the inspiration they are seeking.

To learn how to use Pinterest, I recommend the book Pinfluence by Beth Hayden. You can visit her website to learn all about what she has to offer. There are many other Pinterest experts out there in cyber space, and Pinterest itself has information to get you started. If you are not a member of Pinterest yet, I suggest joining as a business. This will give you the ability to verify your website with Pinterest and will give you access to Pinterest Analytics so you can track how your pins are doing. If you are already a member of Pinterest, you can rejoin as a business. One of the most helpful things to me has been how to use PicMonkey to edit and create pictures to use for all my online endeavors. Repinning photos on Pinterest is fine, but the more original photos you publish from your own shop the better.  This link on YouTube explains how to create images starting with a blank photo.  This link is a general PicMonkey tutorial, and this link is how to edit collages in PicMonkey.

Can Pinterest be a time suck? Oh Yes!  It is a fun one though, and easy to use. With thoughtful planning before you set up all your boards, and with the help of all your employees, Pinterest can rocket your shop and its creative online presence into a fabulous new dimension. I am not a fan of a board that has only one or two pins on it. It tells me that the pinner is not organized, and is not staying current with that board. The solution to this is to use the secret board option and wait to publish until your board has been filled out. Again, I cannot stress enough how important it is to be specific with your boards. A good example of this is Knitomatic. One board I visited on another yarn shop page was titled organization and it ended up being filled with knitting cartoons, a turn off and a time waster in my opinion. One of  Beth Hayden's best tips, and this is true for all social media, is to share and solve rather than schill. This will ensure your customer's loyalty, and not turn them away.

I have created a list of board topics to get you going. If you want to keep a professional look to your Pinterest page, I would suggest staying away from food recipes and other unrelated topics.

Hats

Headbands

Baby Girls

Baby Boys

Baby Blankets

Girls

Boys

Teen Girls

Teen Boys

Mens

     Cardigans

     Pullovers

     Vests

     Socks

Womens

     Cardigans

     Pullovers

     Tanks

     Tunics

     Socks

     Skirts

     Jackets

Tools & Notions

Press

Events you attend

Events you sponsor

Knit-a-longs online

Knit-a-longs at your shop

Customer photos of finished projects

Color Theory

Different color palates

Color of the year

Pom poms

Hearts

Stripes

Diagonal Stripes

Dots

Paisley

Ribbing

Stitch Patterns

Short Rows

Tunisian Crochet


Classes

Charity Knitting

Books

Ravelry Favorites


Fair Isle Knitting

Entrelac

Modular Knitting

Mosaic Knitting

Cables

Lace

Pillows

Rugs

Curtains


Blankets/Afghans Knit

Blankets/Afghans Crochet

Yarn Weights

     Lace

     DK

     Worsted

     Bulky

     Super Bulky

Amigurumi

Toys


Trunk Shows

Feature Favorite Yarn Brands

     Noro

     Zauberball

     Berrocco


     Etc.

Knitting Tatoos

Fiber Funny

Knitting Organization

Yarn Bombing

Designers We Love

Specific Designers

Jewelry

Shawl Pins/Sticks

Bags/Purses

Scarves

Cowls

Christmas Stockings

Felting

Spinning

Holiday Boards

    Christmas

    Valentine’s Day

  Gift Giving Guide

Antique/Vintage Knitting

Buttons

Button Bands


The final Pinterest feature I want to mention is  guest pinning. It is well explained in this article by Tehmina Zaman. If you are jazzed  by my board, Ways to Wear Shawl Pins, please email me and I will invite you to pin. Now, dive in to Pinterest and have fun!

Lindsay Gates
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    Author

    Lindsay Gates, Foofaraw Shawlstick maker. In love with knitting, crochet and life in general.

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Lindsay Gates
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