Gorgeous photos can be one of the best ways to sell real estate, and Pinterest.com is one of the fastest growing tools for getting those photos into the homes of buyers and sellers. This innovative social networking site truly has the potential to increase leads and generate new traffic to your site with each pin. If you haven’t considered Pinterest before, you might now.
The popularity of Pinterest in the U.S. has reached new heights in the last year with more than 13 million unique visitors. This number continues to grow at a rapid pace in both the U.S. and abroad. Mashable.com reports that in January 2012, Pinterest had more traffic than the combined numbers of YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn. That’s huge!
How does it work?
Pinterest’s main draw is its visual appeal – everything is shown in images rather than words. This allows users to instantly digest content and connect with new ideas simultaneously.
As an image-bookmarking site, Pinterest allows users to “pin” any pictures that spark their interest on the web. Account holders create “boards” where they organize and share any images that they or others have pinned. Users are essentially finding, sharing, and collecting images at break-neck speed.
Pinterest and Real Estate Agents
Pinterest increases online visibility. As a real estate agent, you can use this to your advantage by posting pictures of the hottest homes in your area on your website or blog, and then “pinning” them to Pinterest. Make sure to use key search terms in the title to attract views. Keywords can be area specific, such as “Lake Tahoe condos,” or a more general search term such as “Victorian homes,” or “luxury waterfront estates.”
As other people “repin” your photos, their followers will see them as well. Regardless of who pins a photo and how many times it its pinned, it will always link back to your site. People can even display pins on Facebook, reaching even a larger audience.
Try to take high-quality, creative, awe-inspiring and eye-catching photos that will help you attract the most pins. People like to share photos that they connect to somehow, so get creative. Just make sure that you take your own photos or get permission to avoid copyright infringements.
Generating “Followers”
People love interesting and inspiring ideas, so generate your own Pinterest “boards” with titles such as Home Decorating, Gorgeous Remodels, Organization Tips, Elegant Homes, Glamorous Vacation Spots, Dreamy Beaches, etc. When people see the interesting boards you are creating, you will suddenly find yourself being “followed.” As you add new pictures to your boards, your followers are instantly notified and have the chance to pin the new photos as well.
Another bonus to using Pinterest is that it increases the number of inbound links to your website. Every time one of your photos is “pinned” it creates another inbound link. These inbound links are an important consideration that Google takes into account as it is ranking your site in its search engines. Don’t forget to use keyword phrases when setting up Pinboards, photo names and descriptions so you can capitalize on the SEO benefits.
Don’t forget to take the opportunity to pin pages or photos from your blog and even real estate YouTube videos on Pinterest. Be your own promoter, pin informative information and online visitors will start to come.
Pinterest is Fun!
People love visuals and will be attracted to you as an agent if you show them professional photos of your area. Pinterest is already brimming great pins, so it won’t take much effort to get your own “boards” started. Other people will love the interesting and inspiring ideas that you collect. And, as you add your own photos, the potential for growth is immeasurable.
Pinterest users find it addicting and fun. Check it out for yourself—just try not to get distracted by all of the great photos and ideas. Happy pinning!
We would love to know what you think – please leave a comment and let us know your ideas about using Pinterest as a marketing tool.