By Cassy van Eeden

Why Pinterest?

Pinterest users are a unique demographic that, when targeted effectively, can go a long way to increasing your brand's reach. It also offers unique functions that other platforms do not.

CEO and founder of Sway Group, Danielle Wiley, writes that 84% of Pinterest users are women and that from September 2012 to September 2013, Pinterest drove more referral-traffic to publishers than Twitter, Reddit and LinkedIn combined.

"Those that aren't expanding beyond the reach of Facebook and Twitter are missing out on some amazing opportunities. Instead of simply reinforcing brand loyalty, this is a social network that's leading the pack in terms of first-touch marketing," says Wiley.

She adds that Pinterest is the ideal marketing platform for visual brands related to food, beauty, lifestyle, media and fashion.

Zoe Waldren, social media manager at Pinterest marketing agency HelloSociety, says by including Pinterest in a social media strategy you can increase website traffic and sales.

Gain followers

Waldren says the best way to gain followers on your brand's Pinterest account is to use simple board names (usually one or two words); to pin daily; and to only use high-resolution images.

"Use commonly searched keywords in your pin description for better pin-SEO, for example: Christmas, Holiday, DIY, Style, Easy [and] use positive words such as cute, awesome, chic, gorgeous, beautiful, fun, etcetera," she recommends.

Waldren also says utilising other social media platforms to promote your Pinterest page by posting links to your pins. "Aim to tweet two to three times a week minimum and aim to post on Facebook and Google+ once a week minimum," she says.

She also recommends adding a Pinterest follow button to your brand's website and newsletters.

Generate sales

Ekaterina Walter, co-founder and CMO of Branderati, says, "As a business person and marketer you ultimately want to drive traffic to your site and inspire a purchase as well." She adds that this can be achieved through Pinterest by including a price tag in the pins you create or repin. "Pinterest pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without."

Keep an eye on competitors

Your brand's competitors are most likely to have Pinterest accounts, and by monitoring them you can learn more about your target audience.

Founder of RazorSocial, Ian Cleary, recommends Pinalerts, a useful application "that lets you set alerts for when items are pinned from any domain, like your competitors' websites, so you can find those pinners".

You will then be able to monitor the number of pins, boards and followers that each pinner has. "If they're pinning relevant content from one or more of your competitors and they're reasonably active with a good following, start following them. It's very likely they'll follow you back and start to pin your content," says Cleary.

Have you ever thought about using Pinterest as an online marketing tool? Are there any other online platforms that you use to market your brand? Let us know in the comments below.