Pinterest is the third-most popular social network in the U.S. The virtual pin board, in which people and brands share images, retains users at a high rate. Not only do people spend a lot of time on the site, but also it drives a good percentage of traffic to others websites and 40 percent of social media purchases. Plus, it’s growing.

[Read: Everything you ever wanted to know about Pinterest users]

Success on Pinterest requires more than just slapping a “Pin It” button on your site and starting a Pinterest page. You have to know how to engage your audience, attract followers, and get people to actually pin your content. The last part is usually the hardest. How do you get people to actually pin your content?

Here are five simple tactics to help you out:

Share high quality, creative product photos. Pinterest is all about the eye candy. People pin interesting, high quality pictures that fascinate them. You don’t see a lot of grainy, unclear images spreading like wildfire on Pinterest. What does this mean for you? It means you need high quality, creative, and interesting pictures of your products. Find a way to show your products in action or in a fun, sexy light.

Write to-the-point descriptions. A good description can sell your content and get people to repin it. For instance, descriptions that are about 20 characters long are the most repinnable.

Create compelling infographics. People love infographics. A compelling infographic educates and engages the reader, and people often share them (the good ones) with their friends. Put the time into creating great infographics, and share them on Pinterest. Check out these five tips for creating a killer infographic.

Study your target audience’s Pinterest habits. The best way to determine which type of content you need to create is to study your target audience’s habits on Pinterest. What type of content are they pinning? What subjects interest them most? What type of tone do they respond to? Once you understand what your target audience likes, you can tailor your content to appeal to them.

Run a contest. Pinterest users love contests and giveaways. Just search the words “contest” or “giveaway” on Pinterest and you’ll see tons of results pop up. Running your own contest is a great way to garner some attention, get a lot of pins, and build a strong brand presence on Pinterest. Make sure to use relevant words in your product descriptions. For example, if you sell basketball shoes, write “Basketball shoes giveaway” in your description.

Do you use Pinterest? What tactics do you use to get more pins?

Mickie Kennedy is the CEO and founder of eReleases and blogs at PR Fuel, where a version of this story first appeared.

(Image via)