If you still think Twitter and Facebook are the be-all of social media marketing tools—think again.
Say “hello” to your business’s new best friend—Pinterest.
Believe it or not, Pinterest pins are over 100 times more spreadable than a tweet, with the retweet average only hitting 1.4%—and as for Facebook, the half-life of a pin is 1,6000x longer than a FB post.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see how this social network has become a hot commodity for business marketing. Aside from feeding obsessions with gourmet food recipes, exotic destination vacations, home decor, and the best DIY craft tutorials in the world, the real strength of this revolutionary platform is the integrated features of their business accounts.
If you join the 500,000 businesses with Pinterest for Business accounts, you will get added marketing features to promote your unique brand on one of the fastest-growing popular social media platforms.
So, it’s time to set aside your Twitter hashtags and turn toward visual content. Can you build a successful strategy around this social platform?
Absolutely.
Keep reading to learn more!
If you don’t happen to have a Pinterest account already, or if your account is set to personal for your own content, you are going to need to sign up for an official ‘Pinterest for Business’ account so you can tap into the full potential of this platform’s marketing potency with Pinterest users. With your business account, you get:
The terms of service are a little different on the business side of Pinterest, so be sure to read through them. The main difference comes from the fact that you are using the account commercially. You still have the same Acceptable Use Policy as well as the Pin Etiquette Policy, but there are a few guidelines for businesses to adhere to when they are using their account for business purposes to help promote high-quality content:
Pinterest doesn’t just give you the platform; they also provide great educational marketing materials to help teach you how to optimize its effectiveness for marketing your brand.
Pinterest Analytics is one of the newest features and arguably one of the most awesome features that Pinterest has to offer when you start your Pinterest for Business account. When you verify your business account, you will get access to important tracking information and metrics, where you will be able to see which content and strategies are working with your demographic so you can constantly improve your marketing efforts.
Pinterest offers five different Rich Pins, all loaded with more information than your average pin for serious sales power. They include real-time stock and price updates, direct links to your website, as well as interactive map location.
Okay, so we now understand what the difference is between a Pinterest account and a business Pinterest profile, but why should a business use Pinterest for advertising purposes in the first place?
Well, for starters, Pinterest is the fourth most popular social media platform in the United States. It ranks ahead of Snapchat, Twitter, Whatsapp, and LinkedIn. Roughly 28% of US adults have a Pinterest account—that’s more than one in every four people!
Pinterest also has a strong global footprint. From 2018 to Q3 2019, this monster platform’s international base of monthly active users grew 38%—from 171 million to a whopping 235 million.
Additionally, visual search engines are, without a doubt, on the rise. As a “visual discovery engine,” Pinterest is the only social media platform in the world to offer visual search. That is huge since 62% of millennials and Gen Zers say they would like to be able to search by image.
You see, Pinterest is not just a social media platform—it is a special platform that inspires people. Consumers use Pinterest to search for ideas and plan for special events or occasions through their Pinterest boards. Some 95% of members say Pinterest sparks creativity and inspires them, and 91% say Pinterest helps them to achieve their goals.
Before you dive headfirst into starting your Pinterest account for your business, it’s important to understand that Pinterest is a long-term game that requires quite a bit of preparation and strategic approach, as well as patience. It takes a while to get traction and conversations on Pinterest, especially if you only market organically.
It is possible, however, to speed things through paid advertising and Pinterest ads, but if you are looking for quick results, this platform is probably not for you! However, when done correctly, it will drive traffic to your website for months and years to come.
Here are a few tips and tactics that will help you nail your Pinterest marketing strategy.
As we mentioned, visuals speak volumes on Pinterest. Pinners these days place more importance on visuals than text. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should slack off on your copy or pin description. Infographics that are created with templates can also be incredibly versatile tools for grabbing attention. Your Pinterest pins should be designed to deliver on all fronts. A good pin consists of the following:
You’ll also want to curate boards in a way that makes sense to viewers, whether you’re going for specific themes or aesthetics. That way, when you introduce new products and new pins, they already have somewhere to fit in.
Pinterest suggests that businesses pin something at least once per day. This is much more effective than creating a board and filling it up at once. Pinning regularly, especially if it’s new content, helps to ensure your content will reach a wider audience. It may be worth it to schedule pins in advance, so you know you’ll be getting them up on time.
Pinners love to plan ahead—like, way ahead. That means brands have to be even better planners. Pinterest suggests sharing seasonal content up to 45 days in advance. Holidays and seasons are massive opportunities for businesses. More than 56 million Pinterest searches were made in 2018 for Valentine’s Day, 227 million for Halloween, and an incredible 321 million for the December holidays.
Unsurprisingly, content that is timely always tends to see a corresponding holiday boost. According to Pinterest, promoted pins that align with holidays and life moments see a 22% lift in online sales.
Almost all of the searches made on Pinterest are non-branded. That means there is a ton of opportunity for brands to get discovered—especially when SEO strategies and strong content are in place.
It goes without saying that exposure is important, but a good content strategy needs to follow through. As Pinterest suggests, marketers should “Build a strategy that takes consumers from awareness to purchase.” Once a pinner or blogger shows interest in your brand, your content should take them through the marketing funnel, from interest to decision, to action, to revenue in your pocket.
So, can you build a successful strategy around this social platform giant?
Absolutely!
Pinterest is a powerful marketing tool with the ability to help you increase brand awareness, increase sales, boost conversations, as well as create long-lasting relationships with your target audience and buyer personas.
As we mentioned a little earlier, it does take a little bit of patience to get traction, so patience is key. However, to create an out-of-this-world Pinterest Business account from the get-go and to help speed things up, you can always recruit the help of a reputable advertising agency—like MuteSix.
Every day, MuteSix helps brands to think big, execute smart, and deliver growth. If you’re in need of an incredibly creative marketing team to help grow your business, MuteSix can help!
Sources:
275 Pinterest Statistics and Facts (2020) | By the Numbers
https://policy.pinterest.com/en/community-guidelines
https://help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest
Social Media Fact Sheet