When it comes to driving traffic to your website, one of the most powerful tools for business owners today is social media sites.
Right now you're probably thinking Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
But you might be missing out on the value of Pinterest.
Pinterest is a social media site that allows users to create and manage image collections of their favourite things. It helps people find ideas and make purchase decisions. It allows users — or ‘pinners’ — to share and discover new interests by posting ‘pins’ that are essentially large images or videos.
Put simply, Pinterest marketing presents several unique opportunities. It's no Google, Facebook or Twitter, but it does have some very specific benefits for business owners, including the ability to drive traffic quickly and effectively using images alone.
With over 478 million monthly users, Pinterest is being touted by social media marketers as one of the biggest visual search engine platforms to ever power online marketing campaigns. In 2020, 85 per cent of users have bought something from a pin they've seen, generating over $1.4 billion in brand advertising revenue.
Suffice to say, many marketers have already integrated Pinterest into their strategy. It would be foolish for businesses not to pay attention to this highly visual platform. Read on to find out how you can get the most from your Pinterest business account if you're considering integrating it into your overall online marketing strategy.
Can a Pinterest marketing strategy help your business?
Pinterest marketing is something that any business owner or marketer can do with no upfront investment (except when using promoted pins). Building Pinterest boards won't take hours upon hours each week as you might invest with other social media platforms.
Pinterest is essentially a visual discovery tool that can push leads into your funnel. If you're a marketer or a business owner, you can easily focus on what you want to show rather than having to write it all out.
Moreover, what makes Pinterest so powerful for businesses is the fact that it's primarily used by women (including mums), who happen to be some of the primary purchasers in today's market.
For businesses, this means that Pinterest has the potential to be one of the most profitable social media networks available out there. Not only does it generate brand awareness among prospective customers that can be converted into an incredibly engaged target audience, but it can also convince them to make a purchase.
There's also an opportunity in running Pinterest ads, which is similar to Facebook or Google advertising in the sense that campaigns can be created around specific or relevant keywords.
Combine these with compelling and relevant content that shows off what makes your business great, and you should be able to grow your Pinterest presence in no time.
What are the advantages of this visual social media platform?
One of the great things about Pinterest is that it doesn't require any special knowledge or training to use right away. Some of the most successful businesses on this social network can attribute their success to a slow but steady start in which they were able to learn more about how it works and what best fits their business needs.
With a little bit of time and effort, you too can make Pinterest work for your business. Here are some of the reasons why the platform is advantageous to small and large businesses alike:
#1 - Pinterest is HUGE
Every second, 152 product-rich pins are posted on Pinterest. Consider these stats from the social media platform itself:
- Total users — 444 million active users
- Gender — 14.8% men, 77.1% women, 8.4% unspecified
- Age — 34% of users are aged 30-49, followed by 32% of users in the 18-29 age bracket
- Income — 45% of Pinterest users in the US make $100K or more per year
#2 - Pinterest drives website traffic
People who use Pinterest are three times more likely to click on a direct link to a product or service they find on a Pinterest board. This means that if you pin content related to your business regularly, you can refer people to your website and help them learn more about your product.
#3 - Pinterest users buy stuff (and plenty of it)
As well as being very open to leaving the site to shop for their fav products, Pinterest users don’t mind spending money once they land on other websites, either. According to research, an impressive 85% of users have purchased a product because of Pinterest. They also discovered that 89% of users are on the platform for purchase inspiration.
#4 - Pinterest account holders are big spenders
According to Neil Patel, Pinterest delivers the highest average order value of $50, higher than all the other social media channels available. More than a way to expand your social branding, harnessing Pinterest can help you unlock seriously impressive financial results.
#5 - People on Pinterest are more open to advertising
The average consumer dislikes the process of being sold products or services (let's be honest, ads can get *pretty* annoying). People on Pinterest, on the other hand, love it. As HootSuite suggests, it's that rare frontier on the internet where people are open to branded content. Pinterest ads cost cheaper by 2.3 times per conversion compared to other social media marketing tools.
Getting started: Pinterest marketing tips for brands and businesses
Pinterest may have been around for years, but not everyone knows how to use it effectively. There are those who have been quite successful at building an audience from scratch by using a certain Pinterest strategy to generate awareness and increase sales. Here are some of the best practices that you should aim for.
1# - Go visual with your Pinterest business account
One of the most effective ways to attract attention on Pinterest is to create a profile with lots of great visuals. This includes photos of your products or pictures which appeal to people's emotions.
Furthermore, you can create captivating pins whether you want to sell items from your online store or when you simply want to generate brand awareness. Have a pinnable image using the pointers below:
- Use vertical images (2:3 aspect ratio)
- Use only high-quality images and/or videos
- Add a text overlay to support your fresh pins
- Keep a consistent brand voice
- Ensure that all links to your site are working
A good example of best practice would be Fenty Beauty, one of the most popular brands on the platform which has managed to attract more than 8.3 million followers just by sharing pins that feature different product applications, promotional offers, and lifestyle images that are focused on makeup in general.
#2 - Optimise your account for conversions
Remember when we talked about the fact that 85% of users have purchased a product because of product pins? Take advantage of this information to improve your business revenue. This is done by creating products that are tailored to maximise conversions with visual cues like arrows, circles, or dots to highlight key features and calls to action.
In addition to all these, you should ensure that you don't ignore the power of keywords for your board titles or pin description as they continue to play a major role in your visibility online. Exert some effort into Pinterest SEO to see an immediate increase in rankings.
#3 - Make sure to include a pinnable image on every blog post
Those who want to market their products on Pinterest via blog posts graphics can do so by inserting images that are 735 pixels wide and 1102 pixels high which is the standard size for pins.
#4 - Automate content on your Pinterest page
Create and schedule pins relevant to your business niche, especially those that will be widely shared. This can easily be done with various third-party tools such as Tailwind, IFTTT, and SocialPilot (among others) which let you create boards and multiple pins for months in advance so you don't have to do them manually.
#5 - Contribute to other boards
Group boards are just like regular boards, only that it functions like a collaborative board owned by an individual who can then add more users in hopes of adding new visual content. Think community boards but virtual. The benefit of joining a group board is that it enables you to cross-promote your own content and find new audiences which you can potentially introduce to your own brand.
You can also pin or publish to multiple boards at once and set a specific time that you want these pins to go live. In addition, if you have a business account, it's always good practice to use a tool that automatically pins new products as you upload them.
#6 - Use Pinterest analytics to measure your efforts
Measurement should always be part of your Pinterest marketing efforts. Pinterest for Business is a great tool that can give you insight so you can continue growing your online presence on the platform and gain more followers.
Whether the goal is to create a free business account from scratch or convert an existing personal account into a Pinterest for Business account, this is your best bet when you want to track the effectiveness of your campaigns.
#7 - Use #hashtags on Pinterest
Hashtags are pretty effective on Pinterest. Running a hashtag campaign can help you attract new audiences who are using that specific hashtag to search for things to purchase. It is also great to use related trending keywords to maximise the impact of your campaign.
#8 - Tap into your existing audience
If you already have an established presence on social networks like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, don't ignore the potential of engaging these users to share and support your Pinterest profile as well. It's possible that users will follow your boards and pin your content which can eventually lead to increased exposure if they see your brand promoted on these other platforms and other networks.
#9 - Pin at optimal times
According to Oberlo, the best time to post is late nights on Fridays and Saturdays between 8 pm and 11 pm. This is when people are winding down from the work week which means your content can be seen by a wider audience. Take advantage of this to boost your social presence on the platform via pinning during these periods.
Setting up a Pinterest account
Now that you're familiar with the key strategies on how to be successful on Pinterest, it's time to set up an account. Hopefully, you'll find some ideas on how to make a concrete plan of attack to navigate this platform flawlessly.
Choosing the type of account you want to maintain
The first step before creating or modifying your profile is choosing which account type will be best suited for your needs. Be clear on what will you be using it for.
- Personal - ideal if you want to use the account for casual use such as creating pins, boards, and secret boards
- Business - set your profile up for this purpose if you want to sell products
- Company - use this option if you want to build up your brand online
- Public figure - if you're planning to make your mark as an influencer
Creating your account
Now that you've decided which type of account you want, the next step is setting up your profile. Keep these tips in mind when creating your new account:
- Choose a profile name that best represents your brand or personality. For business, it's best to use the brand name plus the location or location-based keywords for your profile name.
- Fill out the entire user information and include a link to your website. You can let users easily access it from your Pinterest page.
- Link your social accounts like Facebook and Instagram in order to boost the number of visitors to your profile.
- Add pins that are related to the niche you're interested in and match your brand or personal interests. This can help attract more users who have similar interests.
- Don't use text-only pins since these won't get noticed as easily as those with visuals attached.
Pinterest is a great tool that can give you insight so you can continue growing your online presence on the platform and gain more followers. With these tips in mind, it should be easier than ever before to set up your new profile while taking advantage of all of its nifty features.
Interested in finding more ways to help your business stand out online? Click here to browse Australia’s leading talent to support your next Pinterest campaign
Instagram: @iblamesid from @espl.media
Credits: Sidney Pierucci
