This is a guest post by Shanna Mallon from Straight North.
If the whole point of Pinterest is pinning what we find interesting or inspiring, think about how the network’s new secret boards can be good for marketing—allowing you to gather ideas without anyone else following along!
Here are some examples of the marketing benefits of Pinterest’s new secret boards…
1. Profiling the Competition
Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing through private boards grouped by name or category. You could build an entire board focused on your biggest competitor, pinning its popular products, blog posts, articles, and press releases. You could keep a board of every new product released in your specific niche. With private boards, you can do this sort of profiling of the competition secretly, without anyone knowing what you’re up to.
2. Profiling Potential Clients
The first step in reaching a new client is understanding him or her. Use Pinterest to profile the corporation or individual you’d like to reach. Gather info on likes, interests, news, etc., and consider it strategic, private brainstorming on your market.
3. Private Collaboration
Private boards offer marketing teams a secret site for shared information. Say a group of employees is brainstorming a certain market or researching the popularity of a given product line. Through private, shareable boards, they can collaborate without releasing their research to other brands online. To create a private group board, simply set up a private board and invite team members by Pinterest username or email address.
4. Gathering Marketing Inspiration
From website redesigns to slick online videos, you can gather marketing tactics you like into one single place. You might not want other marketers to know you’re borrowing from and building on their ideas—with private boards, they won’t. What’s more, the user-friendly, visually oriented nature of Pinterest makes the gathering process easier and more enjoyable for you!
5. Networking
Brush up on the names and faces of people who will attend your next PR event, from donors to clients to colleagues, through Pinterest boards only you can see. Pin photos of the individuals to a private board that you can review beforehand.
6. Planning Surprises
Whether you’re about to launch a new product or planning a company-wide Christmas party, knowing you can protect ideas on secret boards is a lifesaver. When you’re ready to let others know about your ideas, you can always switch your board from private to public; just remember that this doesn’t work both ways. Once a board is public, it has to stay that way.
