We pin the latest fashions…
We pin the hottest lifestyle products…
And this time of year, we’re definitely pinning garden ideas, products and home decor items.
We pin - A LOT - and if Pinterest isn’t currently part of your business strategy, you are missing out on potential clients!
So - what IS Pinterest?
It’s a social network that allows users - or “pinners” as they are commonly known - to share and explore new interests. A process that is known as “pinning”.
Pins are basically images or videos of products uploaded by companies / other users, these “pins” are saved on personalized user “idea boards”.
While Pinterest may not be as big a social sharing site as Facebook or Instagram, it is still very much a big player on the social scene.
Pinterest inspires action.
Almost ⅔ of active pinners - and 84% of daily pinners - are inspired to try something new once a week or more. Whereas ¾ of active pinners - and 89% of daily pinners - have actually purchased something new that they discovered on Pinterest.
Pinterest also refers 5% of the worlds referral traffic. The only other player who can beat that is Facebook.
In a nutshell - Pinterest is full of users who have no problem leaving the Pinterest platform to discover and shop new products and brands.
If you follow these steps, the next product they discover… could be yours!
Set up your business account
Go to the Pinterest for Business page to create your account. Be as diligent as you would be with your other Social sites. Include all the necessary information, and be sure that the link to your website is correct!
Once you’ve created your account, create a few “idea boards” and start pinning right away!
Add “Save Buttons” to your business’ website
If you want people to take action, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. Adding “save buttons” to the products on your website will do this. It will allow website visitors to “pin” your content with just a click, in hopes of them following through with a purchase in the near future.
You can create your Pinterest Save buttons using the Pinterest Widget Builder.
Pin Consistently
It’s recommended that you pin at least once a day during peak times - which Pinterest reports as evenings and weekends.
Pinning posts to coincide with an upcoming holiday? Pinterest users are planners - start pinning these posts up to 45 days before said holiday.
Use only quality images
Pinterest is a highly visual medium - if your photos are blurry or bad quality, users will be less likely to save the pin and essentially follow through on the purchase.
But don’t just post “product photos”. Pinterest studied the performance of 50,000 promoted Pins and found that lifestyle images generally outperform product images.
Get creative - and if you don’t have the time or budget to spend on creating images yourself, there are plenty of great stock photo options available!
Don’t forget to do some pinning yourself!
Like all mediums, Pinterest is based on Social Activity.
If you want people to engage with your pins… you need to be engaged yourself!
Follow pins and boards in your niche from relevant but non-competitive brands.
Also, encourage your employees involved by inviting them to contribute to group boards - the more the merrier!
Improve results with analytics
Analytics are included with Business accounts for a reason! Utilize them.
They will tell you what types of content are performing best, you’ll see what Pins are most popular and which are actually driving traffic to your website, you’ll also see which boards your pins are being included in.
All of which can give you a sense of how people think about your business and products, which in turn can spark new ideas of how to position your efforts.
Convinced? I thought you might be.
Start pinning today!
And if you need help with your Pinterest strategy, I’m always a click away. :)
Sources:
Stats - http://canadiansinternet.com/pinterest-use-canada-growing-statistics/
Other - https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/
https://www.shopify.com/content/the-power-of-pinterest-marketing-6-shocking-statistics