Remodelers are adding Pinterest, a website that allows users to pin images and video to “boards,” to their social media arsenal. For Mosby Building Arts, in St. Louis, it’s “all about being ‘findable,’” owner Scott Mosby says; to be where potential clients are. Since joining Pinterest,  Steve Gray Renovations (SGR), in Indianapolis, regularly posts project photos. “We didn’t want to put all our project photos on at once,” says director of operations Deanna Gray. “We wanted to pace ourselves so we have activity, which feels more interactive.” Like other social media, Pinterest requires a committed effort and consistent posts. Deanna and owner Steve Gray meet weekly to review and adjust their strategy based on feedback.

Ben Thompson, president of Thompson Remodeling, in Grand Rapids, Mich., thinks that all remodelers should use Pinterest as an extension of their website portfolio: “If you have that image [of your work], why not re-post it? With a little extra work, you’re broadcasting it a different way.”

Instead of using his company name, Thompson uses its tagline, “Love where you live” as the Pinterest page name. He has created boards for the company’s projects and also pins from other sources for the company’s broader topic boards such as “seasonal” and “products we love.” He plans to add the company logo to its pinned photos so that users can easily identify Thompson Remodeling projects.

Client Style Guide

During the design process, SGR’s designers review client Pinterest pages to gauge the client’s style, which has “expedited the design time frame,” Steve Gray says. However, the site is unfamiliar to about 80% of his clients, so Gray suggests that they review SGR’s page before creating one of their own. He does the same for the company’s Houzz profile. (Houzz is a site dedicated to home ideas; Pinterest covers a wide range of topics.) SGR uses both sites to draw viewers to its website and receives five to seven hits a week from both Pinterest and Houzz.

Mosby Building Arts is also on both sites and has a staff member to handle the company’s social media marketing. COO Darrell McClanahan says the social media goal is to align the company with clients, organizations, and experts in the industry. “It’s not about self-promotion — it’s about relationship-building,” he says.

—Nina Patel, senior editor, REMODELING.