Have you tried using place pins for your own business? Are you wondering what they are? Do you keep meaning to experiment with them but never got around to it? Here’s an explanation for Pinterest’s Place Pins and some ideas regarding how you can use them.
What are Place Pins?
Place Pins are ordinary pins with a map. You can add the actual ‘place’ source for where the pin is located. Other pinners can then see the exact location for that pin (be it a bookshop, restaurant, farm) However, to do this, you need to make a board into a ‘place board’ first of all. Then, all of the pins within that board become ‘place pins’.
To create a ‘place board’, click on ‘edit board’ and click on the toggle button of ‘add a map’ so it says ‘Yes’ and that is it. You can also click on that toggle button when setting up the board too if you wish.
All of the pins within that board now have a ‘add a map’ button underneath. You can click on that to insert the place name. If the location has previously been registered on Foursquare, it will come up. If not, you can either go for a nearby location or if you wish to be precise, you can register it on Foursquare here.
Once you have added the location (or as near as you can find), that pin is highlighted on the map for the place board. See how this Australian board highlights the best places to visit if travelling around Australia.
You can identify a ‘Place Board’ by the little icon on the top right over the board.
The Four Seasons Hotels are using Place Pins very well, so well, that they have been featured as a successful case study on Pinterest. Just as a concierge would be able to tell guests about the best places to visit in an area, the Pinterest board entitled ‘Concierge Recommends’ shows all the recommendations – a really clever and useful way to show guests what is on offer in that area – or in this case, around Europe. The Dublin hotel has a concierge board recommending all the best spots around Dublin – and this sends all the right messages. Not only is it a great hotel to stay in as a base for visiting these places but it cares enough about its guests to help them place their itinerary before they arrive. They also encourage guests to create a ‘Pin.Pack.Go’ board which is their own board for planning their trip but they can ask a Four Seasons Hotel account to become a contributor on that board and help them plan their trip. A really clever idea as the pinner will undoubtedly stay at the Four Seasons Hotel then too.
How Can You Use Place Pins For Your Business? Here’s Some Ideas:
1. Tourism – Create a board for your area and pin all of the local attractions that are worth visiting. As they are place pins, their locations will show on a map which will help visitors to plan their trip. If they wish to visit one of the attractions, they just have to click on the pin to read more and book their outing. This is a must for all accommodation providers. You could also invite other complimentary businesses to pin to that board by making it a group board.
2. Retail: Collaborate with other shops by showing them but you must concentrate on a particular theme. This place board highlights the best Vintage Shops in NY.
3. Food: By creating a place board for the ‘Best Hot Chocolate’ or ‘Gluten Free Food’ or ‘Kid Friendly Establishments’ within your own country, and of course, placing your own business in there if it is relevant – other pinners will see you as knowledgeable and trustworthy. You will gain more followers and your board may show up in google searches for ‘best hot chocolate’ or similar.
4. Tours: If you organise sightseeing, food or farm tours, place pins are a wonderful tool as you can highlight the places on your own tours.
5. Travel Agents: can use place pins to suggest trips.
6. Merchandise: If you have a product, you can create a place board to show where your product is for sale – in a similar way to listing stockists on a website but this is much more visual.
7. Book Tours: As an author, you could use a place board to show the various places you will be doing book signings and talks.
8. Gardening Talks: With summer approaching, many counties have garden trails or talks at various gardens – a place board would be a handy way to visually show where all the gardens are, as well as promote the garden trail on Pinterest.
Have you used place pins for your own business and have you found them useful? I’ve listed 8 ideas for how businesses can use them. Can you think of any others? I’d love to hear them.
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