Unless you’re having a seriously committed go at dieting, a slice of cake, warm pudding or pastry, maybe even all three, is a wonderful thing to have once in a while. It’s even better if you buy it from an independent baker or retailer, like the ones I saw in central London recently, or even have the motivation and ability to make it your yourself; something I sadly don’t have at present.
If you do have that motivation and are looking for some cooking inspiration, along with fascinating images of the world and other bits and pieces, then you may want to take a look at Pinterest. It is an ocean of personal prose. Whilst writing on Pinterest myself, I spied low fat Chocolate Recipes, perfect if you think the Weight Watchers equivalents taste similar to sawdust. You could even indulge in Lemon Soufflé, Pretzels, Macaroons and Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookie Bars.
But how can you become the social media equivalent of Jamie Oliver and Mary Berry when you’re struggling to drum up interest and perhaps some drooling towards your recipes? Admittedly, I have only used Pinterest fleetingly to post photos of my travels in Ireland, but here are my observations:
- Just like a Facebook page or Twitter account that promotes a business, you have to post content regularly. The more the better, but don’t go over the top. Try to strike the right balance. If you have too much to do either in a personal or work capacity, why not make use of a tool such as Viraltag. (www.viraltag.com). It allows you to schedule all sorts of Pinterest stuff well in advance, although it’ll cost you after the 14 day trial period, but if you’re serious, it could be a good investment.
- Use text for your boards and pins which is relevant and will allow random users to find your content.
- Having a board called ‘tasty stuff’ might not be as effective as ‘cake’, ‘fruit tarts’ or ‘London’. However, this might not be such an issue if you are a social media marketer for a huge organisation.
- Share your Pinterest content on your other social media profiles. A lovely picture of a rich home made chocolate fudge cake will also get interest on Facebook, Twitter, maybe even Instagram if you’re into that. But you can generate additional ‘likes’, shares and re-tweets with a bit more work.
- If you have a picture of your fine looking dessert, why not add a link to the recipe you used or even a link to the list of ingredients within a supermarket’s online shopping basket.
- Finally, always think about variety. Are you satisfying the tastes and desires of different groups of people?
- And always consider using hashtags.
If you’re managing a Pinterest page on behalf of a business, don’t forget to track your performance too.
Now, where have those cookies gone…
