Everything You Need To Know About Pinterest Marketing
business and produce conversions across your marketing strategy. But we’ve never spoken in length about Pinterest and how brands can make the most of the highly visual community on the platform, so here we are.
Pinterest is often overlooked as a crucial social media platform for businesses, however, Pinterest has continued to grow over the years and brands who are using it to their advantage are reaping the reward. The ability to embed links and drive traffic from Pinterest has become its biggest drawcard (especially when compared to Instagram), and if you’re in the travel, fashion, beauty, craft or interior industry, Pinterest has the potential to become your hero referral source no matter how big your business is. As a result, this online scrapbooking platform is, in fact, the top choice for many a brand that has value to add via engaging imagery and inspirational content.
If you are new to the world of Pinterest, or simply want some better ideas on how to use the social media platform to your advantage, here are 10 things you should know about Pinterest marketing.
Portrait imagery works best
Long, portrait images work well on Pinterest because of the way the platform was built. Images uploaded to Pinterest are reduced to a maximum width of 736px, so landscape images get lost in the feed and receive less visibility while long, portrait images grabs viewers attention and looks much better when scrolling through the platform. You don’t want your Pinterest marketing efforts to go unnoticed, so make sure you capture and create images specifically for Pinterest rather than using the same content across each platform. It may take a little more time, but your results will be much better.
Don’t forget to include links
To convert your pins and repins into website traffic and ultimately sales, don’t forget to embed a link with each of your original pins. This will ensure that if users see your content and are interested or intrigued, they can click through to your website for further information on the topic or to purchase with ease. if you don’t include links in your pins, you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to direct potential customers to your eCommerce platform.
Use the analytics feature
The built in Pinterest analytics feature is perfect for reviewing your Pinterest content and strategy, analyzing engagement and impressions, improving your conversions and optimizing tactics that work. Pinterest analytics are freely available and are connected to your account, so use them to your advantage so you know what does work and what doesn’t. Setting aside 30 minutes each week to look at and analyze your analytics will make a huge difference, so stop putting it off and check your analytics to perfect your Pinterest marketing strategy.
Make it easy to pin your content
Enable a hovering ‘Pin It’ button on your website and imagery to allow for users and customers to pin things directly from your website to their own personal boards. This will keep your link with the image and generates a wealth of free publicity as they encourage and spread discussion about your content organically. It’s like word-of-mouth marketing in the digital world!
Collaborate with Pinterest influencers
Want to target a specific market of users but don’t know how to reach them? Consider approaching and collaborating with top Pinterest influencers with a particular focus in your field, engaging with your target market. Work on a mutually beneficial agreement with the Pinner, similar to how you would on any other social media platform (and be sure not to take advantage of their work and their platform). Depending on your strategy, pitch and KPIs, Pinterest influencers can offer packages to consider like single pins, original content development, sponsored boards, and long-term partnerships.
Make your boards relevant
If you are in the interior and design industry, consider a range of boards that are closely associated with your core topic and split them into categories, such as bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, or perhaps interior trends and themes such as bohemian inspired rooms, luxurious interiors, the Hamptons color palette or classic Victorian styling. Setting up a collection of relevant boards will engage the Pinterest community and attract a range of users who are interested in different subjects under the interior and design umbrella. When you make your boards, create fun, quirky names for each one to engage and inspire your readers and followers.
While we are on the topic of relevant boards, it might be cute to have a baby animals board on your primarily beauty account, but it may have a negative impact on growing your community and engagement. Keep your boards relevant to the high-level topic so your followers know what to expect when they land on your page and start following your feed.
Consistency is key
As with every other social media platform, you have to be a consistent Pinner and post in peak times for maximum reach and engagement. If you want to reach an international audience, your pins have to be consistent day and night and across time zones (so use a tool such as Tailwind to pre-schedule content). If you’re only targeting a national audience, stick to the morning and evening periods as that is when most users are on the platform, or engaged for the longest period of time (before and after the standard work day). Consistency is key, so try to keep your account active, even if it is only for a couple of pins and repins each day - that is much better than lots of activity one day, and then none for a week.
Ensure content is visually pleasing
Pinterest is an extremely visual platform and people will be more inclined to repin aesthetically pleasing images (because no one wants an ugly photo in their feed), and repins give you more organic exposure and reach. Give your pins the best chance of going viral on the platform by having high quality, bright and crisp images on your boards, and only repin and share high-quality imagery from other pinners. Don’t be afraid to add infographics to your content if these suit your brand as these are particularly popular for D.I.Y and tutorial-based content.
It’s also interesting to note that the color red performs much better on Pinterest than blue hues, so if you can, incorporate a splash of red into your imagery to grab attention and stir a reaction.
Perfect your pinterest bio
Ensure you’ve made the most of your short Pinterest biography on your profile so that users can learn more about you, and find out on other platforms. Things to include are your website link (obviously!) and your full company name to help users find you super easily when they search. Try and get your company’s name as your username as well to keep brand unison and maybe even consider using your logo as your profile image to keep a professional approach. Finally, pop in a short sentence about your brand and be sure to include your contact details.
Always include an image description
Write up a creative image description for each image you post as these will stay with the image through repins across the site. What you write should draw in new followers, so it is important you convey a strong message to viewers and include a call-to-action every so often. Try and include your business name within the description if it is specifically coming from your website to ensure it gets maximum visibility and brand exposure.
Do you have a Pinterest marketing tip to share with our community? Let me know in the comments below!
