Part 4 of the 5 part series "Web Marketing Workflow"...

Just in case you you are coming to the party late here are links to the first three articles in the series, part 1 "Naming and Branding Your Images", part 2 " Web Marketing Workflow Guide to An Individual WordPress Blog Post", and part 3 "The Protocol To Announcing and Releasing on Facebook Timeline".

Here is part 4...

Step 4: "Adopt and Promote Pinterest Pinning".

Stay tuned for the next post (which will be a podcast) which covers the highly debated use of Pinterest for photographers

Pinterest has gotten a lot of attention in the media recently (and rightly so for their copyright clause in their terms and conditions) but as much as some photographers are running scared, I personally believe that Pinterest is here to stay. As photographers have seen in the last industry movement, your brand is as much about your personality as it is your images. Although changes need to be addressed in the whole of the internet and copyright, for the moment, we've found Pinterest to be a fantastic way to connect with your couples, share ideas, build trust and create leads.

If you're not familiar with Pinterest, you're in for a treat! It’s the newest, hip social network that cracked the top 10 of popularity…while still being INVITE only! Inspiration or vision boards of styles you like, goals for your future, books you want to read, cute DIY wedding ideas have been around for a long time but up until Pinterest, they were created with paper, scissors, tape and poster board – I know, we’ve all been there!

Creating and Adding Pins To Your Page

Pinterest is a gold mine for photographers, especially wedding photographers, because brides-to-be are there, pinning images from their favorite websites to showcase ideas while categorizing their favorite wedding cakes, details, dress and even their ‘something blue!' As photographers, we supply the BRANDED images that they pin. Then, their followers and friends see our work...and…in comes a job lead!

Pinterest for your brand can be used as a way to showcase appropriate wardrobe for their session, fun props they should consider, location options, things personally you love and your clients can connect to, cool posing and lighting concepts, etc. The possibilities are endless for your brand.

But, we're here to talk about workflow, not about the value of Pinterest - sorry, it's just so much fun.

Encouraging Your Clients or Fans to Pin Images

After our images are up on our blog and Facebook (see Step 2 and 3), we've already taken the steps to have our favorites branded. To encourage pinning from your blog, be sure to add the 'Pin it' plugin for your WordPress blog. Speak with your web developer if you have questions on how to install a plugin (it's super easy though!) and discuss whether you want to add a pin under each image (what we've chosen to do) or just at the end of the blog post.

Whether you pin a branded image or your client does, like all social networks, their followers see the pin and the compounding effect of viewers being exposed to your work grows as their friends "re-pin" it. A great image, video or idea can go viral easily as you can imagine.

If you haven't already, your homework is to:

1) Create a Pinterest profile (if you're not sure how, view Pinterest's Getting Started Guide) and create one or two boards pinning your favorite portfolio shots and two or three boards on re-pinning others work with any of the ideas above (posing, lighting, wardrobe, stuff you love, wedding dress ideas, etc.).

2) Add your 'Pin it' button to your blog at the bottom of your post or under each image.

3) Include a Pinterest link to your profile on your website next to your Facebook and Twitter links.

4) Once you've created the baseline for your boards, announce your link to your profile on Facebook and encourage your fans to follow you on Pinterest. Geez, you can even ask them what they would like to see on your Pinterest board and have them vote on the topics of choice using Facebook's Questions.

5) View what pins have already been pinned from your blog by going to: http://pinterest.com/source/yourcompany.com (where you change the yourcompany.com to your domain URL).

6) Twice a month, check your pins and comment, like and/or follow those that have re-pinned your images. Add more images to your boards and create new boards. Keep the dialogue going...

Thanks so much for participating in the Web Marketing Workflow Series. We'll be wrapping it up with Scott with a special, last post very soon! As always, if you have questions, don't hesitate to comment below or send them over directly to me. If you've found this series to be helpful, please share the link on Facebook and spread the love so that others may learn and benefit. If you'd like to follow us, our Pinterest profile is at: http://pinterest.com/studiobr/


You can contact Wendy for a 1 on 1 coaching session, purchase her e-book or just stop by and say hi on Facebook!

Wendy Roe has spent the last 10 years ingrained in all things web marketing – from design/development to search/social media. In May 2010, she decided to quit the corporate life and join forces with her husband, Byron Roe, to shoot full-time one of life’s ultimate highs – weddings! She now focuses on business development and her role as a second shooter for wedding photographers, Byron Roe Photography, based in Bend, Oregon.

She is the co-author of "55 Smart Web Ideas for Photographers” e-book, a 2-time speaker at WPPI Photographer’s Ignite, and has traveled through west coast speaking and consulting with photographers on web marketing. She’s known as an "interpreter", changing technical language into easy to understand information. Above all, she’s an educator at heart and believes: “Web marketing and wedding photography are two passions that drive bringing the best out of beauty and brands.”