How to convert your personal Pinterest account into a business account

Pinterest logoPinterest finally launched accounts for businesses this week. While the platform is not fit for all businesses, the new pages give businesses some new tools to promote their pages and pins. If you already have a Pinterest account for your business, you should convert it to a business account to get all the new features.

Here is how to convert your Pinterest account into a business account:

Go to http://business.pinterest.com/ and click on CONVERT YOUR EXISTING ACCOUNT. Pinterest will open a new pagePinterest screenshot with a form. Fill out the form with your business information. For the first field, you’ll choose your BUSINESS TYPES. There are nine categories (professional, public figures, media, brand, retailer, online marketplace, local business, institution/non-profit and other) to choose from.

On the form, you’ll also be able to choose a username that will become your Pinterest URL. Make sure you choose something that represents your business and is easy for your customers to remember – I suggest sticking with your business name. Use the same username you use for your Facebook URL and for your Twitter handle, so you can keep a consistent identity throughout all your social media accounts.

Also, on the same form, you’ll be able to add all your contact information, such as contact name and email address, website, Twitter account, Facebook account and location.

One of the most important fields on the form is the ABOUT section. The text in it will be shown at the top of your Pinterest Business Page, so it needs to tell people about what your business does. Pinterest is a very visual platform. You are only allowed to use 200 characters in this section.

The last step for converting your page is to read the agreement. Make sure you read and understand what they say – everything you post on Pinterest becomes non-exclusive and royalty-free. In other words, Pinterest users are allowed to re-use your photos for any purposes. After you read it, check the ACCEPT TERMS box and click on CONVERT ACCOUNT.

Your Pinterest business account should look like this:

Pinterest screenshot

You can edit all the information you filled out in the conversion form – just click on the arrow next to your name (on the top right-hand side of the page) and click on SETTINGS.

If you don’t have a Pinterest account for your business, go to http://business.pinterest.com/ and click on NEW TO PINTEREST? JOIN AS A BUSINESS. You will need to go through all the steps I mentioned above and add a profile picture. Pinterest does not specify the dimensions of the picture, but 180 pixels by 180 pixels fits well. After filling out all the fields, click on CREATE ACCOUNT, and you are done!

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