You may have seen this useful feature on Pinterest and wondered “what are secret boards and why do I need them?” Just the phrase Secret Boards sounds exciting in itself right ? Anything secret is instantly appealing. Anywhere you can squirrel stuff away that no one else knows about has got to be a good thing.
How many times have you pinned stuff in the past and actually thought you didn’t want anyone else to see it ? Maybe you were planning a birthday but someone involved was a follower and might see it or you had a great business idea and you just wanted to keep it to yourself.
Pinterest weren’t far behind and pre empted our needs by introducing secret boards, and for a while you could have a set amount of boards to fill with super secret, covert, hush-hush, cloak and dagger goodness! Then they went a step further after realising how much everyone loved them and were cramming them full of undercover amazingness and decided to make secret boards unlimited! It was a dream come true to secretive pin hoarders who wanted to plan, and plot, and file in private.
But for a business what are the benefits of Secret Boards? Who wants to keep their products and greatness secret ? Well, in this article we are going to outline some of the major benefits of secret boards and how you can use them for your business.
What are Secret Boards?
Secret Boards are one of Pinterest’s most useful features and can be your secret weapon in business. Simply put, they are what they sound like. They’re private boards that only you (and anyone you invite) can see. It’s activity is off the radar and we’ll discuss why this is handy later on. You can make secret boards public at any time but once you have, you can’t switch them back. In the same way that any existing public boards you have, can’t suddenly be made secret.
1 – Plan under the radar
With a secret board, you can collate and plan the perfect board without your followers noticing. This way you can take your time and build up great content then BAM, make it public and wow your followers. For Agencies and Marketers, it’s a great way of setting up a whole account for clients before going live.
2 – Share Ideas Internally
Secret boards are a great way of brainstorming ideas with your team in house. You can invite them to collaborate on the board and together you can get ideas for events, functions and new products. Think of it as a virtual white board filled with tons of inspiration and planning.
3 – Share Exclusive Offers
This little tip is GENIUS! Think of this idea as being like a Facebook Private Group but wayyyyy more visual and customer centred ! Set up a board that’s secret and invite VIP customers (maybe those on your newsletter or repeat customers) then share exclusive offers as well as news and previews with them. How special will they feel knowing that they have access to one of your “secret boards”? All they have to do is click through to get straight to what you are offering!
4 – Research Your Competitors
This is the true meaning of covert pinning – this is the James Bond of social media research! As all the activity for secret boards is hidden from the public, you can use them to collect information from your competitors. Pin the best content from rival Pinterest accounts and use it to grow your own website and boards. Gather intelligence on new ideas and make sure you are ahead of the game.
5 – Find what’s trending
If you find certain pins getting a crazy amount of repins and likes, put them in a secret board. Later you can look at the content and see if there’s trends or patterns and use this information for your own boards or even content for your website.
This should give you a few ideas of how you can use secret boards for your Pinterest Business account. If you want more Pinterest tips straight to your inbox, join our FREE newsletter.