Influence the influencers
This tip builds on the one above. But don't stop at just flattering your users. Flatter those you would love to flatter you -- your influencers. See what the most influential bloggers in your space are pinning and re-pinning. Don't just wait for them to find you. Show them you're interested in what they have to say about other things as well. Show them you're listening. They just might start following you a little more closely.
Embrace Pinterest as a living, breathing ethnography
Sam Gosling wrote a great book, "Snoop," that demonstrates how the things we own and the way we arrange them say so much about us -- even more so than our most intimate conversations. In fact, we've used that methodology in a lot of research projects to better understand -- and empathize with -- audiences. Pinterest allows you to do that in real time, at scale -- constantly.
Go follow the people who follow you. See what else they do. What other brands are they into? What else interests them? What doesn't? What do they wish they were doing?
Your participation in Pinterest is a research project. It's an opportunity to learn things about your customers you've always wanted to know. You'll understand their lifestyles, not just buying styles. You'll understand them as people. And it just might shed some new light on how your brand could be connecting with them in new and different ways.
