Association of Club Catering Professionals

Today I had the pleasure of speaking at the Association of Club Catering Professionals Conference on the Power of Pinterest. This marks the second annual event for the ACCP and I was delighted to speak again this year.

The Private Club industry has amazing potential to build an audience through the visual mediums like Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. The Catering and Private Event Directors are the ones who can truly take advantage of all of the wedding planning, party ideas and concepts shared on Pinterest. If your Club doesn’t have a Pinterest account, or if you are aimlessly creating boards and repinning without thought, please read on…

 

Here are a few of the tips I lent during my seminar:

Clean Up Your Website

Make sure your website is Pinterest friendly and has lots of fantastic images which Members and guests can share. Pinterest will drive traffic to your website. If you are inviting people to your house for a party, make sure you clean up first!

Plan Ahead

Give great consideration to what boards you will create, what titles you will give your boards and the descriptions you will use. This will help get your boards and pins found. Think about all of the potential boards you’d like to create and use post-it notes on a wall to plan. Keep in mind that when anyone lands on your account main page, the first two rows of boards are visible. Your most engaging and fantastic boards should be at the top.

Make Time

Of course it takes time and effort to build your boards, your audience and to let people know that you are on Pinterest. It takes time to incorporate Pinterest into your communication routine. Yes, we are all busy, we all have full plates, but Pinterest serves as a powerful, visual communication tool which can help you better connect with your audience and attract new business. No communication tool will help you become and overnight success. You have to work at it. So get to it.

Pin For Your Audience

Consider that food and beverage are the most popular topics on Pinterest. For Private Clubs, you should be able to rock this category like no other. But what other helpful pins will your audience crave? Images should be high quality and visually appealing (like these drool worthy, individually sized Chocolate Lovers Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cakes), as well as serve as peak the interest and serve as inspiration to Members, potential members, brides, wedding coordinators, etc. Think about who will repin or like that photo before pinning. It will help you create high quality content.

Use Analytics

Pinterest offers analytics for business accounts. While the analytics are pretty simple, they will guide you to understand where traffic is coming from and going to on your website, what pins are popular and how many people are interacting with your pins. Reading through the analytics will help you determine what types of photos your audience is looking for and what content is the most helpful for your Members.

Have Fun and Be You

Your Members and guests who interact with you on Pinterest are interacting with YOU. And that’s who they want to pin with. Infuse your board descriptions and photo captions with smart text and personality. Leave comments which are kind and sincere. Pinterest is a very fun way to connect with your audience. Enjoy it!

I love having the opportunity to gather a groups and chat about social media. I love it even more when the topic is Pinterest and the group members have the chance to really make the most of it!  If you would like me to speak to your Club’s Catering or Private Events team about the Power of Pinterest, give me a call! 619-244-2400.

For attendees who missed the handout provided at the conference, click for your digital copy: ACCP Pinterest Handout