The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pinterest Marketing

Pinterest is a social media site that enables users to create online pinboards of compelling images they find online by "pinning" the images and curating them into various categories. It has exploded into American consciousness with big media attention and exponential growth-most notably reaching 10 million unique monthly visitors more quickly than any social media site in history. The vast majority of early devotees have been women of higher income between the ages of 25 and 49, and the images they pin frequently fall into the categories of clothing, crafts, food, and home décor. This represents a significant opportunity for companies and brands whose products are targeted to this market; however, Pinterest has value far beyond its initial popular use. Companies large and small are hearing the hype and hoping to get an early start with a site that shows signs of continued growth and influence. The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Pinterest Marketing helps small business owners as well as marketing experts at larger companies get on the Pinterest bandwagon and learn how to use this exciting new phenomenon to increase online exposure for their products, strengthen their online presence, and connect with customers in a place where they are now flocking. In it, readers learn how to:

• Use the basic features of Pinterest, including setting up an account, creating boards, and pinning images.
• Develop a Pinterest marketing strategy and integrate it with other online and offline presences.
• Project a brand voice onto Pinterest through strategic pinning and writing compelling pin copy.
• Create pins that get repinned.
• Grow a following organically and understand the importance of whom a brand follows.
• Engage an audience through contests, collaborative boards, and more.
• Determine who in the organization will pin, or whether to outsource it.
• Gauge and quantify the success of a brand's marketing efforts on Pinterest.

Christine Martinez is an avid social media user, internet curator, and former small business owner. She has spent the last six years helping to create success for businesses on the web, starting with her own: as a one-person operation, she successfully landed her e-commerce site in publications such as DailyCandy, Lucky, and Real Simple. She has more than two million Pinterest followers and has been named a "Pinner to Follow" by The Next Web.com. She teaches Pinterest marketing courses for SkillShare.com, where her students have included marketing and community managers from companies such as Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids. She also creates and manages Pinterest accounts on a freelance basis for international companies such as Le Bunny Bleu. When she's not pinning, she's a contributing editor to the widely popular design-focused site Design-Milk.com. She is also a weekly contributor to Dogster.com, where she shares her passion for all things dog related to an audience of more than seven million monthly readers. She also writes her own personal blog, Miles to Style.

Barbara Boyd is the author of several beginner-level technology books, including AARP iPad: Tech to Connect. She is a freelance writer whose articles have been published in national, regional, and trade publications. She honed her marketing and public relations skills at Apple, IDG Corporation, and Softbank Forums. She is a former marketing director for a design firm and former professor of English at the University of Rome "La Sapienza." When not writing books and articles, she writes her personal blog, Honeybees and Olive Trees.