Pinterest for beginners

Many business owners may believe that Pinterest is of no use to them because their company isn't visually based or they don't have an abundance of creative pictures to share.

But what they don't realize is that Pinterest has the potential to be a very lucrative business marketing option, and can work wonders for expanding recognition of your brand.

First, think about the reach you're missing out on. Business Insider reports that Pinterest sees 11.7 million unique visitors per month, and the average Pinterest user spends nearly 90 minutes interacting, sharing and posting to the site.

Maybe you now want to take advantage of this massive user base, but you don't know how to get started.

First things first - you can't directly sign up for Pinterest. You'll need to receive an invite from the site to join, which typically doesn't take more than a few days.

Once you've received the invitation, fill out your profile like you would with any other social media site. Talk about your company and philosophy in the About section, and don't forget to include links to your website as well as social media accounts. You can utilize your Facebook and Twitter pages and even your blog to promote your pinboard, specifically by creating a "Pin It!" button at the end of your blog content so information can be shared.

But what types of content do you have available to pin? The news source suggests not just showing off your inventory, but rather creating boards that reflect your company's beliefs and culture.

For instance, Tender Greens, an organic restaurant based in California, "uses their Pinterest page as an overall brand page about the Tender Greens lifestyle, what they're doing as a company and what inspires the individual chefs," notes Nation's Restaurant News.

BI adds that content can include infographics, video stills that link to a YouTube channel, covers of ebooks you've written, visuals from blog posts and images of customers or of how your product could be used.

Also, when creating board names, try to be as eye-catching and compelling as possible. Think of it as similar to curating a blog post title - you want to do everything you can to help you product spread faster.

Finally, build followers by following others, pinning content and repinning - every time you engage with another person's board, they'll receive a notification, making them more likely to check your page out.