Remember how hard your mom worked to teach you to share? Well, consider this your Pinterest sharing lecture of the day! It’s for your own good.

We manage the Pinterest account of a wonderful independent pharmacist.  He likes to be somewhat involved, so recently he asked why  ”shared/group” boards are showing up on his account and what he should so with them.

What is a Group Board on Pinterest?

The Pinterest blog states “Group boards are a fun way to organize ideas with others.”  They highlight using group boards as a collaborative tool for throwing a dinner party or planning a trip. In fact, we know of a recent “Pinterest party” where the ideas for everything brought to and served at the party was originally found on Pinterest.

You might be wondering, “what does this mean for a small business owner?”

How Pinterest Group Boards Increase Exposure

The most successful companies on Pinterest know their success has as much to do with the exposure those pins receive as it does the content of the pins. You might have a fantastic pin, but if only 4 people see it, the likelihood of profit is very low. Take that pin and share it with a group board that has hundreds, if not thousands, of contributors/followers and suddenly you’re visibility has soared. This will grow your audience and help drive traffic to your website. How?

• New pinners find you when they check out the group board.
• Group members may repin to their own boards.
• The entire group builds up the board, creating a dynamic and informative resource that others will find (see above).
• When the board is promoted on social media, new people find you.

Take at look at Food Network’s Pinterest account. Want to target a group board quickly? Notice the 3rd Board in – “Let’s Game Day.” You’ll see next to the number of pins, there is an image that looks like a group of heads (sorry guys, nothing more interesting is coming to me on how to describe it). This indicates it’s a group/shared board.

Now lets take a look a the actual “Lets Game Day” board. This board  has generated 54,497 followers.  If you’re lucky enough to score an invite from them, you now have 54,497 new potential clients.

Creating a Pinterest Group Board

To add contributors to a group board, go to that board and click the Edit button. You can now type the names of people you would like to add as contributors. Type his/her name into the text field. Potential matches to this name will begin to load; when you see the person you want, click their name, and click Add.When you are finished, click Save Settings. Pinterest will automatically send an invite for you.

Voila! You have shared a group board – mom would be proud!

Choosing Contributors

How do you choose contributors? If you find yourself repinning regularly from a particular pinner – invite them. Employees and even clients/customers can be a good fit. Just be sure there’s evidence they are interested in the topic and actually have something to contribute (checking out their personal boards can help).

If we refer back to the Food Network group board, you’ll notice they invited simlair brands such as Good Housekeeping and Food Republic. These contributors will compliment their site nicely.

Pinterest Group Board Tips

• You must follow at least one board belonging to the Pinner you want to invite in order to add them as a contributor.
• Mom probably taught you about good manners too. Display them here – avoid spamming & profanity.
• Avoid sending multiple invites to pin to your board, no one likes to be nagged.
• Has a pin or a comment been added to your board that is inappropriate or doesn’t fit with the theme of the board? Delete – it’s your board, so control the image your company is presenting. If a particular member continues to post inappropriate pins, remove them.  We all have to play nice!

A Word of Caution

As in life, be careful of getting mixed up with the wrong crowd. Before accepting an invite, check out the board.  Some users spam boards, filling up your inbox quickly.  Others are self-promotional, not adding value, and not making the board appealing to followers. If you see that type of activity, it’s worth contacting the board owner. Or, you can visit the profile of the offender and report them by clicking on the gray flag.

Mom was right – when you share there lots of benefits, even for the small business owner. So start sharing either by creating a group board or accepting an invite. And remember, mind your manners when pinning!

Would you like to benefit from the tremendous potential for exposure and increased sales through the use of Pinterest?  Download our free eBook on Getting Started with Pinterest. Rather not do it yourself?  We offer full Pinterest management services designed especially for YOUR business.  Let us look at your online presence and suggest a solution for you.  Call 800.305.9420 x4 or contact us today.

Have you been invited to a group board? Has it benefited your company? Tell us about it below!

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About the Author Tina Gammon (28 Posts)

With six years experience in managing a small business and many more enjoying creative writing as a hobby, Tina is happy to use both as part of the Scalable Social Media team.Tina believes that if you understand something well, you can explain it simply, so that’s her aim here. How’s she doing? Let her know in the comments! When she’s not blogging for Scalable you might find her behind a camera or hiking in Europe.

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