With Mashable announcing Pinterest as the #3 social media website on Monday, many businesses have come to see the network in a new light – one that shines on 104 million visitors. The visually fueled platform acts like a cross between an interactive Facebook album and a fantasy Flickr- it’s a collection of photos people show they like by “pinning” to one of their virtual “boards,” which are organized by themes.

Property Managers can get on board by starting some of their own boards – and promoting their business by adding appealing pictures and videos of their products, properties and services. Here are the hows and whys of Pinterest for property managers.

Why Make a Profile?

  1. According to Shareaholic, Pinterest isn’t just for learning DIY tricks, collecting cat pictures, and ogling food porn. It’s a growing source of referral traffic to other sites- more so than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined as of January.
  2. An interesting “pin” you add will gain likes and repins, further exposing your brand- all while maintaining the original link back to you.
  3. The demographics are changing. While the majority of users are women between the ages of 20-50, Pinterest is rapidly expanding to involve more men and is fast attracting the corporate world. See an infographic of the current demographics by Modea.
  4. Many companies have found a place for CRE and Property Management on Pinterest, ganering interest and traffic to web properties.
  5. Pinterest is a natural venue for photography of buildings and properties – if it’s good photography. The co-founder of Pinterest is a former architect and one of the most followed Pinterest users. Pin beautiful/interesting/cool pictures of the architecture or interiors of properties you manage. Or create pinboards related to the clients you serve or tips, ideas and places they’d find interesting.

How Do I Make it Pinteresting?

  1. Share images (and videos now!) that are aesthetic, inspirational, note-worthy, helpful or fun.
  2. Pin generously. People are more likely to follow a few full pinboards than many empty or sparse ones.
  3. Easily connect your account to Facebook and Twitter to maximize sharing.
  4. For original pins, always be sure to include a link back to your website or blog, creating backlinks.
  5. Pin pictures that link to helpful tips related to property management and living or office spaces.
  6. Use the description under the pin to further promote (tastefully) your company and build SEO with keywords.
  7. Build community – comment on pins and tag other users Twitter style by prefacing their name with the @ symbol.
  8. Install the “Pin It” button in Chrome to easily grab an image from a website to add to one of your pinboards. It automatically includes the source link to credit the owner – good news if you’re the owner!
  9. Get creative with what you pin. Does your company have a good mantra? Want to share an interesting quote? Use Pin a Quote to convert highlighted text into an attractive quote to pin.

Pinterest is a largely untapped marketing and lead generation tool for property managers. Above all, it’s an exercise in branding. Last word of advice – be careful: it’s addictive!

How Does It Work?

An example of a user: CPE CityPages

Property Managers and Pinterest

An example of a pinboard by CPE CityPages: Sustainable Developments

Property Managers and Pinterest

Property Managers and Pinterest
Here is an example of a pin