How to Use Pinterest for your Real Estate Business

WARNING: THIS CAN BE ADDICTIVE!! Have you heard of the latest hot craze among social media users? It’s Pinterest. And oh my goodness, it’s FUN! (Yes, I am addicted, can you tell?) You know how dreamers like to make scrapbooks of what we would like to do to our homes or gardens? Well, Pinterest is like a virtual stack of cut-out magazine pictures, only it’s organized, easy to sort through, and sharable with the world.

Now I have not yet seen many Realtors using Pinterest specifically for real estate listings, but you know what? Why not? It’s perfect! Your beautiful listing images can be spread across many users’ “boards” very quickly. Other businesses are finding a way to use it, and you should too.

Here are my step-by-step directions on how to get involved with Pinterest and how to use it for your real estate business. Be careful though, it’s easy to while away the hours dreaming about everything you hadn’t thought of doing before you saw it on Pinterest.

• Get an invitation. If you ask around on Facebook or other social media, you will likely find someone who can invite you.
• Set up your profile with your usual information, website, etc.
• Create “boards” for your interests.
  • Real Estate Listings. Call it something catchy like “Awesome MyTown Homes for Sale”.
  • Staging Pictures. Again, think of something catchy to title your board. These will be pictures that you take of your own staging and also pictures that you find and pin from other sites.
  • Interior décor. This is one of the most popular categories on Pinterest, as it always is used by homeowners and those who long to get out of a rental.
  • Architecture. Breathtakingly modern or traditional, if it’s a beautiful picture of architecture, put it here.
  • Landscaping. Another very popular category, feel free to include whatever you love here!
  • Anything else that interests you. Recipes, crafts, cars, hairstyles, etc. If there are pictures online for it and it’s something you love or would like to collect pictures of, this is the place.
• Start pinning!Spend a few hours adding a couple of images to each of your boards.
  • Drag a “Pin It” button to your browser’s toolbar and you then just start googling whatever interests you. When you find it, click the “Pin It” button, select the correct picture, add your description, and post it.
  • Pin your own listings and staging photos, after posting the images on your blog. This is important–be sure to add your URL onto the images as a watermark so that even if it gets “lost” people will know where it came from. This just helps to drive traffic back to your website, which is the point of using Pinterest for your business.
• Find people to follow.
  • You should start on Facebook, as many of your friends are likely already connected to Pinterest. If you have connected your Facebook account, you will just click “find friends” under your profile picture in the toolbar. A list of your Facebook friends opens, click the ones you want to follow or invite, or use the option of inviting people by email address.
  • Search for topics you like on Pinterest, and then follow the pinners that have boards you really like. These people may follow you back.

Now the fun begins. Pinterest has become nearly an obsession among many. I find when I pin some neat pictures, especially of garden or craft items, that within minutes my pins have been “repinned” dozens of times. And I only have 23 followers! These things go viral very quickly. Just think of the coverage your blog would get at that rate!

Increase your click-through rates by posting some tutorials on things that homeowners would find useful. If you indicate on your original pin that it is a how-to, people will not only repin the awesome picture, but they will click through to your site to read the details.

Going forward, always remember to post your new images to Pinterest. Ask your listing manager to do this for you or do it yourself. And remember your other blog posts as well. Especially if you take your own pictures, these should all be pinned!

One of the downfalls of Pinterest I have noticed is that it’s difficult to find locals by searching. This is why I suggest you start with your current friends, family, and contacts. Chances are most of their friends that are following them on Pinterest are local as well.

Did you know that Best Agent Business has virtual assistants who can help you get started with Pinterest? Give us a list of your favorite topics, and we will get you set up and find boards for you to follow. We can also go back through your blog, brand your images, and pin them for you. If you have a vast collection of images on your blog, it could take you hours to wade through them all. Don’t worry though, we will leave the fun of Pinterest to you! Schedule a call with Steve Kantor to discover other ways our Best Agent Business virtual real estate assistants can help you in all aspects of your real estate business.

Post submitted by Kim, Virtual Real Estate Assistant and Pinterest Addict, Best Agent Business