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Using Pinterest For Business – Advanced Tactics – Pinterest Contests
Beyond the Basics: Pinterest Contest Examples
Running contests on Pinterest is a great way to motivate your followers to repin your products around their boards. Think Facebook contests before all of the Facebook regulations and 3rd Party sites (WildfireApp, OfferPop, etc.).
Pinterest allows for contests right on the site. Click Here for their fine print: http://pinterest.com/about/terms/
2 Methods for Creating Your Own Pinterest Contest
Followers Pin Your Stuff
This is my favorite of the Pinterest contest options because it makes participating super easy. This contest allows followers to use Pinterest functions (pins and repins) without having to create their own original content.
The Idea
Followers create their own board for your contest that includes pins or repins from your boards (using your products) and from other boards. The best board wins a grand prize.
How To Do It
Use a theme to pull the contest together and create an image that promotes the contest. Pin the image and link it back to your site where the rules are explained further, or you can put all the rules in the image. Require participants to use a hashtag in their pin descriptions to make searching for contest entries easier. Also require them to follow all of your boards.
Create instructions for your followers to either repin pins of your products or to create new pins from products on your website. Require at least 5 of your products to increase visibility.
Advise followers that they can pin other pins from across the Pinterest universe to complete the board.
Put a date and time limit around the contest and choose a winner. This type of contest is actually a “sweepstakes” because the method of selecting a winner is a random drawing.
Ramp It Up
Create images of the top 3 boards, post them to Facebook and have a “Like” vote on Facebook. This increases awareness of your Pinterest Board through cross-social-site promotion.
Pinterest Contest Examples:
- Restaurants: Pin Your Favorites: Late Night Grub, Dinner for Two, Best Lunch Dishes
- Furniture Store, Interior Designer, Lighting Store, Home Décor Store: Decorate a Room with Pins
- Flower Shop, Caterer: Design Your Perfect Wedding with Pins and Repins
- Travel Agent: Plan Your Ideal Around the World Vacation with Pins and Repins
Get It?
Followers Create Their Own Original Content
This contest takes a bit more effort on the participant’s part to enter the contest because they create their own original content; thus, you may not receive as many entries.
The Idea
Followers create pins on your board with pictures of themselves using your products. The pin with the most “likes” or repins, wins the grand prize.
How To Do It
Use a theme to pull the contest together and create an image that promotes the contest. Pin the image and link it back to your site where the rules are explained further, or you can put all the rules in the image. Require participants to use a hashtag in their pin descriptions to make searching for contest entries easier. Also require them to follow all of your boards.
Create instructions that explain contest entrants must take a photo of themselves using, wearing, etc. your product. They must then upload the photo, linking it back to your site, and pinning it to YOUR public board.
Ramp It Up
Allow Repins and Retweets (on Twitter) to count as entries too. This increases awareness of your Pinterest Board through cross-social-site promotion.
Pinterest Contest Examples:
- Restaurants: You and Your Top 5 Favorite Dishes In Baton Rouge
- Furniture Store, Interior Designer, Lighting Store, Home Décor Store: You and Your Favorite Pieces, Favorite Chair, etc.
- Flower Shop, Caterer: You and Your Wedding, Event, Bouquet
- Travel Agent: Pin Your Favorite Vacation Photo
Get it?
Hit me up on Twitter or via email with questions.
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