Getting acquainted
Reach
  • Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has earned 42.3 million active users
  • 44% of users are American women 
  • 28% of men online are Pinterest users
  • "According to Shopify data & Seer’s clients on the platform -- Pinterest drives the highest revenue per transaction when compared to any of the other major social channels"

What Pinterest can provide for marketers
  • Visual branding, an extension of your other social efforts in a visual-centric way (perfect for those gorgeous study abroad destinations!)
  • Generates inspiration for users (ie: "dream boards" for travel destinations)

Things to consider
  • Pinterest success tends to resemble SEO over social patterns. A couple of simple examples: your uploaded file names automatically become image titles. Pinterest is more likely to crawl and rank: “10 must pack items for a semester abroad in Kenya” over "img899976"). Same goes for the pin descriptions (you should optimize for keywords, etc.)
  • Be sure to title your boards clearly & concisely to capture relevant searches (ie: “Australia Study Abroad” vs “Fun in the sun down under!”)
  • Vary your pins with seasonal and timely content, but be sure to mainly stick to evergreen content
  • Don’t go on a pinning spree -- just like any other social media outlet, your followers will expect to see you consistently but not in a saturated way
  • "Pinterest + search mindset = ideal outcome"

Pinterest pros
  • Pinterest analytics are easily accessible to see which of your pins are performing the best
  • Power users can help to elevate your efforts as they will repin posts that resonate with them
  • Users can create secret (or unpublished) boards prior to them going live -- and work on them as a collective effort
  • Group boards are a fun way for users to collaborate (perhaps your European spring semester students?!)
  • Live pinning is available (most relevant for events that your students would want to follow along with)

Pinterest cons
  • Can be a complicated account and can get pretty messy fast -- there’s a lot more pieces to consider than a basic 140 character Tweet
  • In order to promote a pin, you have to have a business account set up and it’s set up on the CPC (cost per click model). This type of advertising requires management and time

Ready to take action? 
Mashable created an excellent Get Started Guide

Feedback?
We'd love to hear what's working and/or challenging about Pinterest for your organization. Drop us a line and we'll add your content in!

Sources
5 Simple Changes That Got Go Overseas a 75% Increase in Pinterest Referral Traffic
Seer: A Guide for Marketers
Pinterest: A Beginner's Guide to the Hot New Social Network