Pinterest is now the third most popular social media network. Are you surprised? I’m not. It’s helping retailers (especially e-commerce ones), growing among the male population, and extremely addicting.

For some businesses, it’s the leading referring traffic source. If your organization is one that benefits from displaying images, then you should definitely consider this network.

Here are a few strategies for launching your brand on Pinterest:

1. Get Your Name

If you have even the smallest notion that Pinterest is right for your company, reserve your name now. It’s OK if you have nothing to pin yet, just get the name for now so you’ll have the right one.

2. Take Advantage of Your Brand’s Assets

You have lots of professional images of your products to show? Share them on this platform. You have this amazing opportunity to display your hard work in a high-quality space, so take it! Pottery Barn has only pinned about 300 images, but take a look at how they’re presented.

3. Build Themes

Pinterest was built around sharing “interesting” ideas and images. So think themes, not product promotion, when building your boards.

Ideas for various boards are style, food, party planning, wedding, home, outdoor, vacation, etc. If you have a home decor business, perhaps you’ll want boards that feature bedroom, living room, bathroom, indoor, outdoor, neutrals, brights, etc.

4. Use Hashtags

Just like with Twitter, when searching for terms, there’s a higher chance that they will be found easier if a hashtag was originally used. If Nordstroms wants to push their Zella board, they’ll just add #Zella in their description so it’s easier to find. When pins are re-pinned the hashtags will be re-pinned with them.

5. Add the “Pin It” Button

Add the “Pin It” social button to your website so it makes it easier for people to pin images from your site. It’s like the Facebook Like button…they can pin images without leaving your website.

Mashable does this on their site, even though they’re not e-commerce. They are encouraging their readers to pin their articles. This definitely improves the chances of virality.

If you have a Pinterest account, add a follow button, where people can find your company and boards on  the site and follow you easily.

6. Talk to Your Fans

Allow your fans to contribute to your boards so they grow within the community. If they comment, try to respond if possible. This can be very challenging if you’re a big company, but if you have a social media manager, this will fit into their job description.

7. Pick Your Cover Image

You now have the ability to pick a cover image for each of your boards, so make sure to periodically go through and choose the one that entices people to look further. A first impression is always the most important, so make it count.

8. Copyright Issues

Be aware of copyright infringement. When pinning photos from the internet, always give credit to the original source and where you got the image. Even if you don’t intend to pass it off as your own, it can get you in trouble.

Got anymore tips? Let us know in the comments below!