Instagram and Facebook may be the most popular platforms to use for your business, but it’s time to introduce Pinterest to your marketing strategy. If you’re already using Pinterest, it’s about time you maximize its potential to grow your brand. 

Why Pinterest?

You may know of Pinterest as the visual search engine and productivity tool for planning your dreams, but it’s a lot more than “pinning” that dream wedding or house. Users come to Pinterest to save helpful information and to learn more about how to improve their lives. On Pinterest, users are not only interested in branded content, but they actually find it helpful!

Pinterest is the fourth most popular social media platform in the US, ranking ahead of Twitter and LinkedIn. Approximately 28% of US adults have a Pinterest account—that’s more than one in four people, and one in two millennials. (Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/) 

8 Tips To Kickass On Pinterest

There’s no question as to whether or not you and your business should be on Pinterest, but now the question is how to effectively market your brand on this platform. Here are 8 tips to kickass on Pinterest.

1. Create beautiful, compelling content

Pinterest, like Instagram, is a visual platform. A Pinterest study revealed that 85% of pinners place more importance on visuals than on text. (Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/) This means every pin should have a captivating visual image, in addition to great copy. 

As far as images go, vertical photos perform better as most users are on mobile while exploring Pinterest. Canva is a great resource for templates to create and design your pins. Include some overlay copy on the image telling users exactly what information your pin will lead to. This copy should be like a compelling article title. In the caption, include more details on exactly what users can expect from the link. Don’t forget to include your logo or some other kind of branding within the pin. 

2. Pin daily (or schedule ahead)

We know, we know…another social media platform to be on every day. As long as you’re setting aside an hour or two every day to devote to social media engagement across all platforms, squeezing in some pinning shouldn’t be difficult. At the very least, pin one blog post or product that links directly back to your website once per day.

In fact, pinning one pin a day is more effective than bulk uploading pins onto a board all at once. Pinning regularly will allow your business to reach a wider audience. Better yet, you can schedule out your pins (one per day) if you’d rather do all of the work in one sitting.

3. Think seasonally (and don’t forget about holidays!)

Pinterest users are planners. When it’s summertime, they’re already thinking about fall weather. When it’s winter, they’re dreaming of tropical destinations. Always think ahead of schedule when planning your pins. Get a jumpstart on any upcoming holidays or seasonal changes, and plan your content accordingly.

Holidays are especially important on Pinterest. In 2018, more than 56 million searches were made for Valentine’s Day, 227 million for Halloween, and 321 million for December. (Source: https://business.pinterest.com/sub/business/insights/PinterestSeasonalInsights-2019.pdf) 

4. Connect with other users on Pinterest

Group boards are often overlooked on Pinterest, but this could be one of the greatest assets to your brand. Do you have customers who have shared testimonials or before and after photos? Are some of your team members rockstars at tutorials? Create a group board with your customers and/or with your teammates and use these boards to collaborate and expand each other’s audiences. As a business you can even have an influencer board where influencers share their photos using your products.

Pinterest recently released some amazing group board features, including the ability to react to posts group members share. (Source: https://newsroom.pinterest.com/en/post/new-group-board-features-for-more-collaborating)

5. Optimize your page for Pinterest SEO

Like any search engine, keywords are essential for your content to be discovered on Pinterest. Include keywords in your Pinterest profile, boards, and pins. Make sure to use keywords in your pin names and descriptions. You can even use hashtags on Pinterest, and users can follow their favorite hashtags—a lot like Instagram!

Southern Social Secret: Claim your website on Pinterest and your page will be favored and viewed over others. Then pin directly from your website. (Source: https://help.pinterest.com/en/business/article/claim-your-website) 

6.  Build awareness before selling

The majority of Pinterest searches are non-branded. Jumping right into selling before creating awareness around your brand and its message is a huge mistake and will turn users away. Remember, create captivating content that will drive users to save your pins and click the link to learn more. After you spend time building awareness, you’ll peak interest, then users may decide they love your brand, and eventually this will lead them to take action and purchase. This marketing funnel ought to apply to all of your social media accounts, not just Pinterest.

7. Use Pinterest ads for your target market

You may be familiar with using ads on Facebook or Instagram. Thankfully, Pinterest is very similar and easy to use. Pinterest allows advertisers to target ads using keywords, interests, location, age, and other demographics. 

You can also audience target, reaching groups like your customer list, newsletter subscribers, people who have visited your website, people who have engaged with your pins, and those who have engaged with similar content. 

8. Create your storefront

The Pinterest-obsessed are shoppers, naturally. Make it easy for pinners to find your products by creating “Shop the Look pins.” (https://business.pinterest.com/advertise/#ad-formats) These pins are aesthetically beautiful like all of your other pins, but they take the user directly to the product page so the user can buy something immediately if desired. 

You can create your own storefront within your Pinterest profile by including a shop tab. Now users can shop directly from your Pinterest page!

Finally, always remember to check out your analytics page. Pinterest has remarkable analytic tools that can provide you with valuable insights. Continuing to evaluate your presence on Pinterest and learn more about your audience will help you kickass on Pinterest.