How Your A/E/C Firm Can Build a Rewarding Presence on Pinterest

Pictures are worth 1,000 words, so if your architecture, engineering, or construction firm is not marketing itself on the photo-based social network Pinterest, you’re missing out on the opportunity to say volumes to potential customers. Marketers generally agree that, when used effectively, Pinterest can be a lead-generation dynamo, and the tool’s visual nature makes this especially true within the A/E/C industry. Below, I’ve outlined a few best practices for getting started on Pinterest as well as 10 excellent ideas of what your A/E/C firm can start sharing on this network.

Lay a Strong Foundation

• Make sure you have a business profile. Pinterest recently unveiled a new type of profile specifically for businesses.  Business profiles on Pinterest appear and function very much the same as personal profiles, but they offer a few advantages such as the ability to select your business type and enter your business’ full name. You can create a new business profile or convert your personal profile into a business profile by clicking here.
• Write a descriptive “About” section. The “About” section on your Pinterest profile is your opportunity to introduce your business to new viewers. In it, you should describe your business, what it does, and who it serves. Unfortunately, Pinterest limits this to 200 characters, so you’ll have to be concise!
• Add and verify your website. As you’re creating your Pinterest profile, you’ll have the option to enter your website URL. However, to have your website displayed in search results and on your profile, you will have to verify that you own that site. Click here for instructions on how to verify your website and start showcasing your web address on Pinterest.
• Connect your profile with Twitter and Facebook. If your firm is also active on Twitter and Facebook, you may connect these profiles directly to Pinterest under the “Account Settings” page for your profile. Doing so will allow you to easily share Pinterest items on your other social outlets and also makes it easier for viewers to connect with you on additional social media platforms. 

1. Meet the Team. Introduce clients and prospects to your firm’s professionals by creating a pin board that includes photos of each member individually. Be sure to include a brief bio of each person in the photo’s description.

2. Behind the Scenes. Showcase your firm’s unique culture with a collection of photos of life at your firm. Be sure to include photos of your team attending events and enjoying downtime as well as action shots of professionals at work.

3. The Blog Board. If your firm has an active blog, be sure to include plenty of photos in each post. If you do so, you’ll be able to collect your blogs in a pin board and share them with Pinterest’s massive audience.

4. Project Portfolios. Showcase your firm’s best work on Pinterest by sharing photos of past projects on Pinterest. Each of the highlighted projects should receive its own board, with plenty of large, colorful photos and a description of each.

5. Case Studies. Utilize Pinterest to visually show how you’ve solved your clients’ toughest problems with pictorial case studies. Start with a “before” photo that represents the problem and tell a story with a photo from each step of the process, ending with an “after” photo. Be sure to verbally describe each step in the image’s description.

6. Share Your Specialty. If your firm specializes in a particular type of project, showcase this specialty by collecting photos of it on a pin board. For example, an architecure firm that specializes in healthcare architecture might have a pin board featuring its best work on hospital lobbies and/or an additional pin board featuring patient rooms.

7. How To Guides. If there is a particular process that your target audience often struggles with, help them address it by creating a “how to board.” Take a photo of your staff performing each step in the process and provide instructions for that step in the description.

8. Video Library. If your firm has any videos it would like to share, you can create a video library as a board on Pinterest. YouTube videos are fairly easy to share.

9. Inspiration. Inspiration boards are especially useful for architectural firms. Whenever you see a photo of a building, material, or design element that you especially admire, collect that image in a dedicated Pinterest board. (NOTE: Sharing photos from other websites is not only ok, it’s encouraged!)

10. Tools and Materials. On this board, share photos of tools and materials that your firm commonly works with or that clients’ particularly enjoy or frequently request.