Zócalo Group town square blog

With its seemingly endless supply of style, home improvement and cooking ideas, Pinterest is a haven for shoppers.

For the social networking site’s users, there’s always a fresh way to put a room together, a new outfit, or a recipe to try. And for retailers, it’s a whole new world: Pinterest already beats Facebook for the number of purchasing customers it sends to retail sites.

A recent Bloomreach study found Pinterest has the highest conversion rate of the social networks, but it’s still lower than Google or other web searches. According to Bloomreach’s Joelle Kaufman, this could change if marketers started using Pinterest to its full potential.

Here are three tips from a recent Guardian article for retailers to get the most out of Pinterest:

1.       Be inspirational, not overly promotional.

A great example of a company doing this is Chobani. The Greek yogurt brand uses its Pinterest to share inspirational words, craft and home-decorating ideas, and recipes, both with yogurt and without.

2.       Get involved in the community.

Repin other users’ content, comment, and follow other businesses and tastemakers. Just like with any other social network, those who just push out content may be seen as, well, pushy.

3.       Don’t go overboard.

Having fewer boards with more pins tends to get more followers. Urban Outfitters does a great job at this. Check out their “Behind the Scenes” board for some fun images that are consistent with their brand.

What are some creative uses of Pinterest that you’ve seen? Do you use Pinterest for shopping? Tell us on Facebook or in the comments below.