If you still think that Pinterest is just for recipes, house cleaning hacks, and hairstyle ideas, you may be missing out on one of your most potent marketing tools. It’s simple to get started, and you can take advantage of its massive user base to build awareness of your brand and drive buyers to your website.
Search: It’s Not Just for Google, Anymore
Sure, most of us still fire up our favorite search engines (Google, Duck Duck Go, Bing) when we’re looking for information. But you may be surprised at how many Pinterest users turn to its search function to learn more about products they’re interested in.
While 89% of Pinterest users utilize the platform for buying inspiration nearly half of them use it specifically to search and shop for products. Of all the large platforms, more people use Pinterest to shop than any other social media site, and, frankly, it’s not even close.
If your company’s objectives this year include building brand awareness and getting more conversions from your social media channels, an optimized Pinterest profile may give your marketing department a leg up on your competition.
First Things First
If your company doesn’t already have one, you need to set up a Pinterest Business Account to take advantage of the ad platform and analytics.
Make sure your Pinterest username and “about your profile” section are SEO-friendly. Keyword research should be part of your digital marketing work plan, so observe trends and make sure your profile uses words and terms people search for.
And, since Pinterest is a highly visual platform, your logo or company image must be high-resolution. Have your team double-check it on different devices to be sure it displays well. If it looks funky, replace it with a better image.
Once you have your profile set up and optimized, it’s time to make your first board. How do you want to introduce your brand to over 300 million Pinterest users? Have you got a new product you’re proud of or some expertise to share? Pin it! And remember, when you’re naming your board, give it an SEO-friendly name to make it easy for people to find it—and your business!
Link Pinterest to Your Website
When the name of the game is getting people to pick up their wallets, you want to know how effective your marketing efforts are. In addition to tracking analytics on Pinterest, you can link your profile to your website using the Pinterest tag.
If you’ve used the Facebook Pixel or Google Analytics, then you’ll be familiar with the process of setting up the Pinterest tag. It’s a snippet of code that helps you set up targeted landing pages on your site to track conversions and get accurate analytics on your profile’s effectiveness.
You can also help users share your content by adding another bit of code to your site that creates a “save” button on your images. This allows visitors to your site to pin your product to one of their boards.
From Aerospace to Yoga Studios, There’s a Pin for That
Think your business couldn’t possibly benefit from having a Pinterest profile? Think again! Better still, pull up the site and type in your industry in the search bar; you’ll find hundreds, if not thousands, of related pins.
Pinterest has implemented several features that make it easy for your business to benefit from all of those pins that go beyond brand awareness. With features such as Shop the Look ads, you can tag as many as 25 items in your image. Whether paid or organic, creating a pin with SEO-friendly keywords is an extremely cost-effective way to get more of your product line in front of more eyes using a single post.
Here are a couple of industries that are finding a surprising amount of success using Pinterest’s SEO and social marketing power.
Real Estate
If you’re a Realtor or a home buyer, you know that Real Estate is a highly competitive industry. It’s one reason why many people are bypassing traditional listing sites and using outside-of-the-box sites like Pinterest to help them find their next home.
With Pinterest’s Place Pins, not only can you show off your latest listing, but you can also show prospective buyers what neighborhood it’s in by pinning it to a map. If you specialize in a particular region, create a Place Board that displays your listings in the area.
And remember those Shop the Look pins? Partner up with interior designers and furniture stores to stage your homes for sale and cross-promote your businesses on Pinterest.
Electronics
Surprising? Not when you consider how electronics design has evolved since Apple started making candy-colored computers to fit different personalities. In the Selfie Age, users want everything from their laptops to their headphones to fit their signature style.
And when COVID-19 closed down all of our favorite hangouts, we turned to online gaming and streaming to stave off cabin fever.
Where did buyers turn for information on gaming consoles, computers, and accessories? That’s right, they turned to Pinterest. So, if you run a small electronics shop or you have a boutique that sells kitty-ear headphones and smartphone cases, Pinterest can be a lifeline to keep your business going through lockdowns.
Start Pinning!
If you’re looking for a way to reach a vast audience without putting a big dent in your marketing budget, it’s time to set up your Pinterest profile and start pinning!
Setting up a profile and linking it to your website is a reasonably straightforward process. But if you’re searching for just the right (key)words for your profile, or the idea of tinkering with your website’s code gives you the heebie-jeebies, you can call in the digital marketing experts to help you get started.