Setting Up Pinterest Business Accounts

Pinterest, like other social media sharing sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and even Google+ has finally noticed that businesses want to be social too, and has started offering special business accounts in the last few months. This is great news for businesses because it will finally give businesses a clear and approved way to use Pinterest to connect with users, show off their benefits, and get more publicity using Pinterest.

On the surface, business accounts still look like regular Pinterest accounts– the profile layout is the same for instance, but if you are a business using Pinterest to drive traffic or increase your online presence, there are some great reasons you should consider switching to a business account.

Now don’t worry– you won’t have to make a new account, because Pinterest provides you with an easy way to convert your personal account to a business account without losing a single follower or pin.

Reasons to Convert to a Pinterest Business Account

So why should you switch to a business account? There are actually some excellent benefits to switching and at this time, not much in the way of restrictions on Business Accounts.

First, instead of needing to shoe-horn your business name into the First and Last Name fields of your profile creatively as is shown in the example below, now you FINALLY get a real place to put your business name.

Once you convert your personal profile into a business account, your business name will be displayed as you enter it, instead of a first name and last name.

Another great reason to switch is that now your business account can actually have a verified website. What does this mean? It means that once you have followed the verification procedure, your verified website will now show up with a red checkmark next to it in links from pins, and on your profile.

No big deal?

Think about this… Many of the “big” website brands like Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo now have icons of around the same size showing up in pins leading back to their sites. These little icons make these pins easier to see, and draw attention to the pins. This means the likelihood that these pins will stand out and be clicked increases. And getting people back to your website is really what you want, isn’t it?

How to Convert To a Pinterest Business Account

Pinterest has made it incredibly easy to convert your personal profile into a business account.
Here are the steps you need to take to convert your account:

• Login to the Pinterest Personal Account you want to convert to a business account
• Under the “About” tab at the top of your profile, click on the For Businesses option
  
• You’ll be taken to a screen where you will need to check over your profile information, and make changes, as well as add a few more details such as:
  • Business Name to be displayed
  • Business Category
  • Contact Name of person managing your account
• Once you have adjusted your profile settings and business name, read through the separate business terms of service and mark the checkbox to agree.
• Now just click the “Convert Account” button.

After converting your account to a business account, you’ll be offered some new toys to play with.

Here they are:

Not all of these widgets are new or restricted to businesses, but if you have a website, you’ll want to take a look at each of them and integrate them with your website to encourage the sharing of your content

That’s it! It was easy to convert your personal account into a business account.