Top 20 Companies on Pinterest from Social Media Delivered

Meredith Darling | @merdar It seems like almost every social media blog these days is about Pinterest, but brace yourself for one more. For this reason I'll be skipping the news and statistics and get to the point. In my previous blog I discussed how companies can use The Social Media Business Equation on Pinterest. Since then I have been working on a list of the top 20 businesses that are pinning.

This list is based on several factors. Numbers (followers, following, boards, pins, likes), interaction (re-pinning, liking, commenting, pinning from other sites besides company website), and quality (self explanatory).

You might be thinking I left off a lot of great companies from my list. Many of the ones that first came to mind ended up not meeting my criteria. Maybe they'll make it to our next Top 20 Pinterest list!

	Lindt Chocolate This chocolatier does more than pin for fun. They pin for a cause. For each #Pin4Autism pin that is repinned, $1.00 will be donated to Autism Speaks. At the time this blog was written there were 1,759 repins. Help Lindt get to 10.000! Please #Pin4Autism!
	Parenting Following their pins is a must if you're a parent, and not just because "parent" is in the name. Many of their pins are from various blogs and websites other than their own (but there are those too). They also get my vote because of their questionably appropriate board titles "WTF?" and "You got elfed."
	Whole Foods Market Nom nom nom. Lots of delicious food pictures but scroll down and you'll find more boards that are interesting and interactive. You can even be added to their boards. It's nice to know companies still want to hear from their customers.
	Travel Channel With a category like "travel" at your fingertips the options are endless. The Travel Channel takes advantage of these with pins ranging from animals, scenery, city, and foods, as well as behind the scenes pics from their most popular shows. They also were savvy enough to ask Facebook fans what boards they'd want to see.
	Southwest Airlines The "LUV" airline has a lot of Pinterest potential. My favorite pin of theirs might be this one outlining armrest wars. Other pins include window seat views, vintage ads, and quotes. They haven't pinned in six days but I'm trying to stay positive.
	CORT Furniture I find their Pinterest description interesting: "We mostly use this page as a forum to visually display ideas from our furniture blog posts... We also love to support innovative ideas from other inspiring design, decor, event planning, and home staging blogs." Something about this makes me really respect them.
	Four Peaks Brewery Breweries are becoming more and more popular on Pinterest, for obvious reasons. Pair pretty pictures with a cold brew and you're in heaven. Four Peaks was chosen for my list because they have a wide range of boards, frequently pin, AND because of their board "Brews in the Wild." I'm hoping they'll turn it into a gnome and Travelocity type thing.
	Sony Electronics No, Pinterest isn't only for women who love fashion and weddings. You can find the proof on Sony's page which is full of geeky technology and a "Shot with a Sony" board. Another important lesson to take away is that they respond to comments.
	Etsy Lucky for Etsy its company website is already full of amazing possible pins (and where many of mine come from). But what got them on the list is their engagement. Not only are many of the posts repins, they have two boards where they will add you as a contributor. What else I love: not every pin has a price tag.
	Chronicle Books They definitely get it. I saw a lot of other publishers who only pinned their own books onto boards (snooze). Chronicle understands it's about connecting with your audience and appealing to all of their interest. Boards range from decor, kids, quotes, and yes, books.
	Style Me Pretty A large congratulations to Style Me Pretty! This is their second appearance on one of my Top 20 lists, the first being Top 20 Wedding Accounts to Follow on Twitter. All bias aside, Pinterest wouldn't be Pinterest without weddings and my oh my does Style Me Pretty pin.
	Zales Zales thought of everything with their board themes. My favorites being Stories (from customers), Organize Your Jewelry, Polished Nails (for those ring-clad fingers), Date Night, and Sounds Like Love (love song lyrics and videos). No worries, there's still plenty of bling to admire as well.
	la Madeleine This French cafe's board offers a little bit of everything- recipes, organization, home decor, style, travel, cleaning, and even baby showers. If you are looking for pins of only quiches, crepes, and Paris you will be disappointed. They win my vote for more surprising board categories.
	Petplan Pet Insurance Why wouldn't you follow a pet company on Pinterest? What I love about Petplan besides the unlimited pictures of adorable puppies, is the information they share like breed information and healthy pet tips. They also give you a sneak peek inside their uber cute animal themed offices.
	TODAY This morning show makes an appearance on the top 20 because they respond to comments, post behind the scene pics, repin from fans, AND (most importantly) pinned Hunger Games cupcakes. Crossing my fingers that they'll make a "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" board.
	west elm Williams-Sonoma and its other subsidiaries Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids have all made an presence on Pinterest. No offense to its parent and sister companies but West Elm has done it best. With 32 boards, 1,176 pins, and 255 likes there is something for everyone.
	Lilly Pulitzer Like I keep saying, it's OKAY to advertise a little bit. But it should in no way be the majority of your pins. Lilly does this effortlessly by splicing in their colorful designs into creative boards that match. Cocktails? Yes, please. Prints? Why not!
	U.S. Army All of their uniforms may look the same, but their Pinterest boards definitely standing out. Many pins highlight humanitarian efforts and good morale. Don't fret though, not every board will bring a tear to your eye, check out this 1950s skort.
	Fossil Sure they could repin more and do more to interact, but their diverse pins earned them a spot on this list. My favorite boards by far are "Quite The Keyper" and "Color Blocking Genius". Take notes and create boards outside your industry.
	Bergdorf Goodman The 113 year old retailer proves that wisdom does come with old age. They asked their Facebook followers to complete the following sentence "In the morning I never forget..." and pinned the responses here. A perfect example of how you can integrate social media platforms.

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