Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland - Book review

Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business

By: Karen Leland

Published: May 1, 2013
Format: Paperback, 300 pages
ISBN-10: 1599185083
ISBN-13: 978-1599185088
Publisher: Entrepreneur Press











"Pinterest has tapped into this visceral love of visuals, and no small business, entrepreneur, or corporation can afford to miss the boat on bringing what they do beyond words and into images", writes branding and marketing strategist, and President of Sterling Marketing Group, Karen Leland in her comprehensive and very hands on book Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business. The author describes how how businesses can utilize the engagement power of Pinterest to build their marketing results to their fullest potential.

Karen Leland recognizes that women comprise the vast majority of active Pinterest users, and that fully 20 percent of all women online are users of the Pinterest social media platform. Given the tremendous buying power and purchasing influence exercised by women, the author presents a clear case for companies of all sizes to be active participants in the Pinterest community. Karen Leland guides business people through the entire process of using Pinterest effectively. The author starts at the very beginning with advice for starting off on the right foot, creating boards that are appropriate for the business, getting more visitors to the page, building community, and for engaging those visitors and community members in their transformation to customers.



Karen Leland (photo left) understands the importance of establishing a marketing strategy prior to beginning a Pinterest campaign. With firm goals in mind, the business person is able to attract the ideal customer to their community, and developing a high level of sharing and engagement with the visitors. Karen Leland provides a guide to creating a fully integrated social media strategy through the addition of a Pinterest element to the other platforms. The author also offers concrete suggestions for enhancing the visual effects of the page, and also for planning on the best metrics for quantifying success.

Karen Leland presents a complete guide to building a strong Pinterest page that is inviting and effective in building relationships and converting visitor traffic to customers. The book includes the following topics:

* On your mark, get set,, join
* Create a Pinterest profile that rocks
* Strategize first, pin second
* Build boards that are on brand
* Become a content creator and curator: Pinning and Repinning
* Pin etiquette and optimization
* Beyond photos to video, podcasts, and screencasting
* Make your website Pinterest friendly
* Follow and be followed
* Engage with the Pinterest community: Liking, hashtags, commenting and tagging
* Me, you, and we: Collaborative pinning and your Pinterest strategy
* Pinterest on the go: Mobile
* Build your blog with Pinterest
* Your profession on Pinterest: An A-Z guide
* Pin your way to new work: Job hunting and client acquisition
* Track your Pinterest performance
* Your parting party gifts, and what's next

For me, the power of the book is how Karen Leland combines an overall Pinterest strategy focus with the practical techniques and practices to make those strategic goals a reality. The author takes a holistic approach to Pinterest that includes the complete integration with other social media platforms, and with the business blog and website as well. This overall approach ensures that the brand has full visibility across all of the company's community. Karen Leland goes beyond other books on Pinterest by including key sections on blogs, advice for job seekers, assistance for profession in the use of the platform, and for developing the right metrics to ensure that success is measured correctly.

The book is designed in a large format to double as a workbook to serve as a resource and reference through the entire Pinterest brand marketing strategy. The author also enhances the concepts presented in the book with photos, screen captures and graphics that demonstrate the ideas in action. Karen Leland further augments the material with case studies of the concepts at work in real world situations.

I highly recommend the indispensable and results oriented book Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland, to any entrepreneurs, marketing and brand executives, and other business leaders who are serious about utilizing the proven effectiveness of Pinterest as a vital component of an overall social media strategy. This book will transform any current or potential Pinterest page from the ordinary to the source of relationships and an engaged community; and convert them to valued and enthusiastic customers.