Companies are really taking stock in Pinterest these days. Pinterest is now referring more traffic than the Bing and Google search engines. Books are being written about it.
How can small businesses get their share of the Pinterest traffic?
Have a “Pin It To Win It Contest”!!
I can hear you now, “A pin it to what?”
Pin It To Win It (PITWI) contests are becoming wildly popular as Pinterest traffic increases. People want to win something and here is the chance to get your product/service out there!
A PITWI contest is a contest ran on Pinterest that includes a graphic you have to re-pin for a chance to win. I’ve seen this contest used to promote a book, a social media consultation, a Twitter building program and free memberships to different online clubs.
Interested? Here’s how to run an effective contest….
1. Decide what you want to give away. Do you have an Inner Circle membership you can give away a month of? A book you are publishing? A diet product you can give away samples for? This needs to be something someone would want. My rule of thumb is to give something away that I would want.
2. Next you need to decide how long you are going to run the contest and if they have to comment also to be entered to win. Pinterest will not show all your re-pins, so you want to make sure you have your email notifications set to notify you when someone does re-pin so you will know who did re-pin it.
3. Once you’ve decided what you are giving away, build a graphic to promote it. You do not have to be a graphics master to create one. If you have Photoshop or InDesign you can create on there. You can get creative at PicMonkey too. Here is one I did for one of my PITWIs…
These are not too hard to create – if you do need help, there are a lot of people who can help out.
4. Once you’ve got your graphic, it’s time to Pin it to your Pinterest board.
I 
have my own PITWI board (click the link and you can get some great ideas). When I run a contest or participate in one, I pin it to this board. It’s a great way to keep it all organized. Make sure you link the pinned graphic back to your Facebook page or website. You want to direct traffic to where the pinners can get more information about you and your business.
5. Now that you’ve pinned your PITWI contest, it’s time to promote! Post it on your blog, Facebook page, Tweet it, post it to your Google+ page – you want it everywhere! Once you’ve posted it everywhere – and you will want to make sure it posts multiple times – sit back and watch the re-pins!
6. When your contest has ended, plug the names into random.org and let it pick your winner!
And that’s how it’s done! PITWI contests are very easy and gain you a lot of visibility.
Still have questions? Social Media Examiner just posted this great article, “9 Businesses Using Pinterest Contests to Drive Traffic and Exposure.”
Have you tried a PITWI contest? If so, how did it go? If not, I challenge you to put together a contest this week! When you do, post it to my Facebook page so I can re-pin it too!
Love the outline of the start to the finish on how to create a Pinterest contest; I have done a few, but I think it’s time to do that again!! Thanks Mandy and have a beautiful celebrating your birthday!!
Thanks Olga!!
Fantastic post! Your outline of exactly how to create a pin-it-to-win-it is spot on! Thanks!
Thanks Martha!
Thanks so much, Mandy. You’ve answered all my questions about how to do a contest on Pinterest! It looks so simple…once you’ve provided the step by step instructions! You rock!!
Thanks Alexandra!!
Some great ideas.
Thanks Lyn!
Hmmmm … sounds like something I’d want to hire someone to do for me … 😉
Well, if you ever need help 🙂
Great timely information!
I’ve seen some of these contests, but always wonder how successful they’ve been. =)
Thanks Jamie! They are super easy to do!!
So interesting..I don’t know if I can keep up with FB, Twitter AND Pinterest! Although, I’m on all three… :=)
I just use a management program for Facebook & Twitter to make it easier 🙂
Some awesome ideas here. I am not a Pinterest gal yet but will bookmark for future reference 🙂
Pinterest is fun Anita! You should just jump in!
Great article! I subscribe to your newsletter and when I received this in this weeks issue I immediately took notes!!! Love your detailed steps! Thanks!
Thanks Denny!! I appreciate your support!
Wow, Mandy you just keep bringing it! I’ve bookmarked this post and will return as I build my next Pin It To Win It contest. Thank you for sharing such great detailed steps to help all of our marketing efforts on Pinterest.
LOL! Thanks Carla!!
I love how you build up the instruction with useful information about Pinterest! Great work as always Mandy 😀
Thanks Christer!!
That’s so much easier than I thought. Silly me, putting off hosting any PITWI contests because I thought it would be too much work. Guess I need to change that now, don’t I?
It’s a lot easier than people think! I would love for you to do one!
Very detailed steps, Mandy. Thanks for sharing them!.. 🙂
Thanks Lorii!
Mandy, thanks for the clear outline on how to do one of these pin it to win it contests. I haven’t tried one before and am thinking it just might be time to do it. That is a really neat graphic that you created, by the way. : D
Thanks Sherie!!
So many great ideas, Mandy. Thank you so much for sharing with us. 🙂
Thanks Solvita!
great tips , Mandy! Mine don’t always go they way I would like them too..;) I’mma try a few of these !
Thanks Liz 🙂
I posted my last one “everywhere” but I failed to do it multiple times. I’ll do better next time.
I’ve found that you have to continually pump it throughout the day!
One of these days I WILL do this! I promise! Thanks for the great info, I was wondering how to go about it for when that time comes!
Thanks Suzanne! It’s pretty easy to do!
Great post! I must think of a PITWI idea and just do it!! Thanks!
Thanks Kerry!
Wow, great info. I am bookmarking this for future reference. Thanks Mandy!
Thanks Sara!!
This is a great step by step post Mandy! I will have to think up a contest for next week now. 🙂
Thanks, Mandy for a great post. I love doing PITWI contests. I have grown both my one on one coaching as well as my Inner Circle doing them. I will definitely be sharing this post on my social networks.
Great information Mandy. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love PITWI contest. I need to do one again soon! Thanks Mandy!
I have thought about doing this, but I see someone has already thought it through and now I don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Thanks so much for the clear steps on how to do this.
Great step-by-step walk through of how to do a PITWI contest Mandy. No one has an excuse for putting it off now! I love PITWI contests and have won some really cool stuff by participating in them. It’s also a really easy and effective way to promote your business.
Love holding contests on Pinterest. At the moment, prepping for my next one. Thanks for the reminder!
I have thought of this a while ago, but I am not sure how to do it. This is a great step by step guide, I don’t need to look far as I have the tips right on my fingertips. Thanks for sharing Mandy 🙂