Last week on my blog I wrote a post on how nonprofits can raise money on Pinterest. My inspiration was beauty brand Elizabeth Arden, which has launched a #PinItToGiveIt campaign on Pinterest for the nonprofit Look Good Feel Better.
I’d like to see more nonprofits launch campaigns on Pinterest. That’s why this post digs more deeply into the four-step process I outlined in my original post and will further guide your success.
1) Recruit a Company Partner
Unless a company asks you first, you’ll have to find a partner for your Pinterest promotion. But which company should you choose? Your best bet is to target an existing partner that knows your nonprofit and has worked with you before. Because raising money on social networks is a new idea for many businesses, you may need to do some hand-holding–something not every business will be comfortable with unless they know and trust you.
Pinterest isn’t a standalone site so you’ll need to pick a company partner that’s active on other social networking sites. Elizabeth Arden has been using Facebook (150,000 Likes) and Twitter (17,000 followers) to promote #PinItToGiveIt. You don’t need the large following Elizabeth Arden has, but social media activity and engagement matters.
2) Create a Board and Pins
For your fundraiser on Pinterest you’ll need to create a board for your pins. Give your board a title and description that gives users all the information they need. Keyword-rich descriptions will help get boards and pins discovered more easily via search. Remember, pinners prefer short descriptions. With individual pins, include a hashtag (e.g. #PinItToGiveIt) as that will make your pins even easier to find and share.
3) Promote the Board
Promote your Pinterest campaign on your blog, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. Check out the snapshot below of how Elizabeth Arden promoted #PinItToGiveIt on its Facebook timeline cover. Another option for Facebook is to create a custom tab for Pinterest as brands such as Lowe’s homestores has had success driving traffic from the number one social networking site (Facebook) to the third largest (Pinterest).
4) Track Your Repins and Collect Your Donation
Nonprofits often ask me: “How do I track if the repin came from my our promotion of the campaign and not some random repin? Won’t the company want to know before they make a donation?” The short answer is no, they won’t. The number of repins is right on the original pin for all to see. It shouldn’t matter how you got them. I often get this question with Facebook promotions that have companies rewarding “Likes” of a page with a donation to a nonprofit. For example, if you have a one week promotion you count ALL the likes you get that week–and not just the one from your mother.
Are you considering a fundraiser on Pinterest? Please share your plans or question in the comments below!
Illustration to this post is very beautiful and many people could like it too.u00a0
Do I understand correctly – the partner company agrees to donate a certain sum to the charity/cause for every like received on the pinterest fundraiser which uses the company’s name on the fundraiser on Pinterest?
Yep, the company agrees to donate a certain amount. On Pinterest it usually takes the form of a hashtag, such as #pinittogiveit.nnOn Facebook, it can be either “Like” the company or nonprofit, or both. Check out this post on how such a program would work on Facebook.nnhttp://goo.gl/fUHh3nnJoe
I hope in the future, Pinterest will be the no.1 social networking site and Facebook will fall in no.2 spot. 😀
Spoken like a true Pinterest fan! I think @ginidietrich would agree with you, Lillian. 🙂
A company partner can play a very good role in Pinterest promotion. But you need to be very particular as the company partner you choose needs to be active in Social networking sites. Elizabeth Arden is a very good example When it comes to Company Partner.
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