Nowadays, Pinterest has become a popular buzzword in social media circles. Since being launched in 2010, this visually-oriented network has attracted millions of users from all over the world. However, despite its popularity, many users have failed to tap into Pinterest’s potential for indirect marketing and brand building.

The following are some tips which will help you make the most of Pinterest.

1. Create unique boards

Make sure every pin board you create has a unique, keyword-rich name. Avoid generic names such as ‘Things I love’ or ‘My favorites’. There are hundreds of other boards with similar names, making it meaningless for search engine optimization. Instead of such generic names, think of a name which is relevant to the image pinned on it. ‘Executive men’s shoes’, ‘Sights and sounds of Nairobi’ or ‘Latest kitchen appliances’ are board names which are keyword-rich, and are therefore likely to appear in search engine results.

2. Edit your descriptions

Pinterest allows you to accompany your images with 500-character description. Before pinning images on your board, take time to create and edit the descriptions. Make sure you add the necessary links to your descriptions. You can link to social media feeds, blogs or sites. In addition, you need to ensure that your main keywords appear in the text. A proper description is likely to result in a good ranking for your pins on search engines.

3. Optimize image names

The file name of your image needs to be relevant to the image. Don’t make the mistake of pinning an image which has an incoherent name like 9yurc_hw5.jpg. Such strings of numbers and letters cannot be found by web users and are therefore useless in terms of SEO. Make sure your image has a relevant and keyword-rich name. For instance, if you have an image of sunset in Hawaii, an appropriate name would be Hawaii_sunset.jpg.

4. Make repining easy

The more your followers you have, the greater your influence on Pinterest. Therefore, take time to add Pinterest buttons to your site or blog so as to encourage people to follow you or repin your images. A vibrant social presence is likely to result in a higher ranking for your site or blog.

5. Interact with other users

Businesses can benefit immensely from Pinterest when they engage their target audience in conversations. Establishing good relationships is likely to enhance brand reputation, as well as customer loyalty. Therefore, take time to follow other people and comment, share and repin on their boards. When they see your sincerity, they are likely to be interested in your products or services. Avoid direct advertising as much as possible.

This is a post by Charles Mburugu, an internet marketing and social media blogger. Currently, he is writing for Host In 15, an awesome blog that provides hosting reviews based on real user experience.