As you know, Pinterest is not just a social network. In fact, nowadays it is considered one of the best visual search engines and productivity tools. Then, if you’re looking for some new strategies to advertise your brand and make it more popular, this article will be perfect for you.
You should know that Pinterest offers businesses of all sizes a unique way to market themselves. As a visual tool, it is the ideal interface to expose new potential customers to your brand.
But, what exactly is Pinterest marketing?
Pinterest marketing is a set of tactics that incorporate Pinterest into your business’s bigger social media marketing strategy to reach new audiences and grow awareness for your brands and products.
Actually, according to Pinterest Business, social media marketers usually turn to the platform to:
- Reach a new audience and grow an online presence.
- Drive more traffic to the business’s website or online store.
- Encourage conversions like newsletter sign-ups, ticket sales or purchases.
In other words, using Pinterest for business can help your brand reach a lot of people and, of course, make money. Well, as we mentioned before, Pinterest is very famous and, during 2021, was categorized as the 14th largest social network in the world with 459 million active users each month.
A matter of fact is that approximately 80% of weekly Pinners have discovered a new brand or product on the platform and according to Pinterest statistics both the number of Pinners and boards created is increasing year over year.
Hence, this platform can be particularly beneficial if your business targets the same demographic that loves and uses Pinterest. The platform has historically attracted women and people who want to shop or start a new project. As of 2021, it’s becoming increasingly popular with men and Gen Z-ers.
So, now that we know how Pinterest marketing works and what it is, we can move on to how you can market your business on Pinterest. Thus, keep reading for 8 actionable tips.
How to use Pinterest for business: 8 tips and tricks
1. Create a Pinterest marketing strategy
Start by drawing up a social media strategy for Pinterest just as you would with any other social media channel. But it’s not as simple as it seems since creating a marketing strategy means:
- Setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound). On top of gaining a following on Pinterest, do you hope the platform will drive traffic to your website, increase sales for a specific product or drive sign-ups for an event?
- Learning about the general Pinterest audience and the demographic that is most likely to use this channel.
- Learning about your brand’s specific Pinterest target audience.
- Consider what your competitors are doing on this social media platform.
- Planning and incorporating on-brand content for Pinterest into your social media content calendar.
Once you’ve set a clear strategy, it will be easier to work toward your goals.
2. Pin engaging, captivating content
Okay, Pinterest is a visual platform, so don’t expect customers to come to you if you don’t produce high-quality, engaging visual content to share. But what makes a captivating Pin?
- Vertical imagery: This is a very common format that digital designers use as data shows 82% of users browse Pinterest on mobile. Often,you can opt for a 2:3 aspect ratio to avoid ending up with awkwardly cropped images.
- Consider your image and video quality: Avoiding pixelation is the best option when you’re trying to expand your business through Pinterest, so aim for the highest quality image and video that Pinterest recommends.
- Descriptive copy: Good descriptions can help you improve SEO, add context to your images, and encourage users to click on links.
- Text overlay: Include a headline that reinforces your visual message.
- Tasteful branding; If it makes sense for your brand and corresponds to your Pinterest marketing strategy, incorporate your logo in your Pins so your brand doesn’t get lost in the Repin shuffle.
- Make sure your links work: Broken links won’t help your brand! Make sure the link with your Pin won’t go to a 404 and that it loads quickly to give Pinners the best user experience.
Finally, and perhaps the most important thing, is to be consistent because daily Pinning is more effective than creating a board and filling it up all at once. And Pinning regularly ensures your content will reach a wider audience.
3. Try different Pin Formats
It’s true that we’ve told you that Pinterest is an image-sharing platform, but it’s not just about photos. Indeed, you can mix it up. Take into account that Pinning a video usually encourages Pinners to shop at your e-commerce store, or try adding multiple photos to a Pin to create a carousel.
Additionally, try to think beyond shopping and explicitly promote your brand, as Pinners also visit the platform in order to get some inspiration, with 85% of them saying they come to Pinterest to start a new project.
For instance, have you ever considered posting how-to Pins or inspiration boards to provide your audience with fun and valuable content? There are brands, such as Nespresso, that have already implemented this initiative with step-by-step pins and it is not a bad idea.
4. Carefully plan your boards
As 97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, your brand’s boards can help reach new Pinners interested in specific topics or learning specific things. For example, Oreo’s boards include Pins with inspiration for upcoming seasonal holidays (like its Spooky Sweet Halloween board and Holidays with Oreo board) as well as recipe ideas, like its Oreo Cupcakes and Oreo Cookie Balls board.
In other words, the brand skillfully mixes useful, engaging, and inspiring content boards with boards that are more promotional. You can check out this example here. Basically, the idea is to try to identify those topics in which your target audience is interested and create Pins that both advertise your brand and present specific subjects at the same time.
5. Optimize your Pins for SEO
It is important to make sure your business’s Pins are easy to find on Pinterest. So, pay attention to the keywords you can include in your Pins’ descriptions, on boards and in hashtags.
Furthermore, you can take a look at the Rich Pins that are designed to pin new content from your business’s website while avoiding duplicate content. This will also boost your brand’s Pinterest SEO.
6. Try out different Pinterest ads
Another effective way to market your business on Pinterest is with ads. Pinterest allows advertisers to target ads based on keywords, interests, location, age and other metrics and categories.
And detailed audience targeting lets advertisers reach specific groups of Pinterest users, including:
- People who have visited your website.
- People who have engaged with your Pins.
- People who have engaged with similar content on the platform.
- A custom list, such as your newsletter subscribers.
7. Track the metrics
Now, the most successful Pinterest marketing strategy is based on tracking, measuring and analyzing the key metrics of the social network and the behavior of your target audience. This will help social media managers see what content works best and what content is a little less engaging.
8. Promote your Pinterest profile
Finally, make sure your loyal followers from other platforms know you’re also active on Pinterest by promoting your Pinterest profile like this:
- By linking to your Pinterest profile on your company website.
- Including the link in your email signature.
- Cross-promoting your Pinterest business account on your business’s other social channels.
- Sharing the news of the Pinterest profile in a company newsletter.