Grow Your Ecommerce Business With Pinterest

There are so many options when it comes to marketing that it can be difficult to discern which platform to utilize and you may be wondering “Why should I bother with Pinterest?” Great question! In a nutshell: Pinterest differs from every other social media site because it isn’t just for sharing; Pinterest is one of the largest search engines on the web. A visual search engine… how perfect is that? 

Here are a few key points to know about Pinterest: 

• Over 2 billion searches are conducted on Pinterest per month.
  
• 97% of searches are unbranded – when someone searches for something on Pinterest, they’re not searching for a specific brand, but rather something like “boho minimalist decor”. Pinners are looking to discover something new!
  
• Longest lifespan of social media posts – a pin can keep showing up organically in the feed up to a year after publication versus hours or – even just minutes! – on other platforms.
  
• Pinterest users are planning future purchases – 85% of pinners are planning a project or event.
  
• Pinterest is positive – 80% of pinners say using the platform makes them feel good and they consider Pinterest to be an “internet oasis”. Pinterest users are planning projects, getting ready for holidays, and looking toward the future with optimism.
  
• Pinterest does not require a lot of engagement – if trying to keep up with comments and DM’s feels overwhelming, take heart because success with Pinterest doesn’t require any of that.
  

Setting up Your Pinterest Business Profile

There are two options: convert an existing personal account to a business account or start fresh with a new business account. You can learn more here. 

Now that you have a business Pinterest account, be sure to claim your website and social media accounts. This will ensure that your name and profile picture appears on every Pin with your content. Here is how to claim your website and Instagram, Etsy or YouTube.

Be sure to fill in all of your business details including your headshot, brief bio or tagline(160 characters), and a link to your website. Keeping your branding consistent among all the different platforms that you use is a great way to build trust and increase your visibility. 

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Setting up Boards

Now it’s time to start creating the boards where you can pin images. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Top pinners – accounts with 300k+ followers – have an average of 56 boards.
  
• Boards with at least 20 pins perform better and see more repins. You can keep a board “secret” until you have enough pins to share. Secret boards are also great for doing visual research that you don’t want to share with the world.
  
• Pinterest is all about “Lifestyle Marketing”, so consider the lifestyle of your dream customer when setting up your boards. Imagine different environments where your work will shine.
  
• Curate your profile to keep your best content toward the top. The first 6 boards are the ones that people will see first when they visit your profile.
  
• When you create a new board, be sure to choose a category, add a keyword-rich description, and a cover photo.

Get Your Shop Pinterest-Ready 

Before we dig into Pinterest marketing strategies, it’s a good idea to make sure your website is optimized for Pinterest sharing. Let’s explore these essential elements that will transform your shop into a Pinterest magnet.

Add Pin it buttons – These are the little buttons that show up when a viewer hovers over an image allowing them to easily pin it to one of their boards, thereby sharing it with all of their followers. Some website platforms add pin-it buttons automatically, but if your website is missing these, here’s how to add them.

Apply for Rich Pins – This adds extra details and a company logo to your Pins and updates important information from your website. If there is a change to the product on your website, the Rich Pin updates to reflect that change.

Image SEO  – Include descriptive ‘Alt’ text and keyword-rich captions. All of those words are searchable and will help people to find your work. Craft them with care – keep them concise, yet oh-so-compelling. Let them weave tales of your products’ uniqueness, benefits, and charm. Tailwind has a great article about copywriting best practices for Pinterest.

Share Stunning Photos – Imagine wandering through a gallery of your finest creations. That’s the experience you want to create with your product images. Compelling, on-brand lifestyle photos tell a story and connect with the viewer. Vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio perform the best. Creative Market has a huge selection of Pinterest marketing templates that can help you get started.

Pinterest Marketing Strategy

Now that your shop is Pinterest-ready and your Pinterest Business Profile is all setup, let’s dig into some strategy!

Pin images consistently – 5-15 pins per day using the 80/20 rule – 80% content re-shared from other pinners, 20% your own content. Tailwind makes this easy.

Social selling – If you are on Shopify, you can add the Pinterest Sales Channel which will sync with your shop and allow pinners to buy your goods directly on Pinterest.

Group boards – Join like-minded creators on group boards to cross-promote each other’s work.  You can also create a group board just for your customers to celebrate your product’s impact and build a devoted community.

Idea Pins – Pinterest’s Idea Pins (previously called Story Pins) are phenomenal for engagement, getting saved 41x more than static pins. These are carousel-style posts that can include up to 20 images and/or videos, plus text overlay. When these pins were introduced, Pinterest deliberately omitted the option of including a link, to keep viewers on their platform. However, an outcry from content creators has convinced them to amend this policy! Sometime this year, the new feature will roll out, so stay tuned for that.

Augmented reality pins – with  AR Try On, Pinterest users can virtually “try before they buy”. These pins are currently available for home decor products and makeup. According to Pinterest, users are 5x more likely to buy if they can “try it on” first.

Share seasonal content well in advance – According to Pinterest, searches for the holidays reach peak ad opportunity 5 months ahead of time.

Delete older pins with no re-pins – Curating your pins to keep Pinterest’s algorithm happy. The more high-engagement pins you have, the more your pins will show up in your followers’ feeds. 

Review your numbers and adjust – Pinterest has powerful analytics built in, which will give you great insight into your audience and what content resonates the most with them. It’s a good idea to pop into your analytics once a month to see what’s performing well.

I hope this post inspires you and sheds some light on what a powerful marketing platform Pinterest can be. Your audience is waiting – let the Pinterest adventure begin!