Pinterest is a social media platform that has been gaining popularity among individuals and businesses alike. With over 400 million active users, Pinterest offers a unique opportunity for businesses to reach a large and engaged audience. In this article, we will explore how businesses can leverage the power of visual discovery on Pinterest to drive traffic, sales, and brand awareness.
Now that we have that out of the way and we both agree that Pinterest has a lot of potential to help your business grow, let’s speed through setting up a Pinterest Business Account, so we can get you established and get to the good stuff!
Create a Business Account
The first step to using Pinterest for business purposes is to create a business account. This will allow you to access Pinterest Analytics, which provides valuable insights into your audience and content performance. To create a business account, just go to the Pinterest Business page and follow the prompts to sign up.
Once you’re done signing up, come back to this article and continue to the next step.
Optimize Your Profile
Now that you’ve created a business account, it’s time to optimize your profile. This will ensure that it accurately represents your brand and attracts your target audience.
This includes:
- Choosing a profile picture that is consistent with your brand identity.
- Writing a clear and concise bio that describes your business and what you offer, and keep it simple.
- Adding a link to your website or a specific landing page.
By optimizing your profile, you can make it easier for users to find and engage with your content. This is also where you begin to establish the look and feel of your brand on the platform.
Create Boards and Pins
The core of Pinterest is the concept of boards and pins. Boards are like digital bulletin boards where users can save and organize content that they find interesting or useful. Pins are the individual pieces of content that are saved to boards, and they can include images, videos, and links.
To get started on Pinterest, create boards that are relevant to your business and target audience.
For example, if you are a home decor store or interior designer, you might create boards for different rooms in a house, such as a living room board or a bedroom board.
Make sure to choose visually appealing images for your pins, and include descriptive titles and descriptions that use relevant keywords.
You have plenty of options available to you! Just to give you a general idea, here are the ten most popular categories along with their most popular sub-categories.
Now, if your niche doesn’t fit into any of those, don’t worry, Pinterest has a niche for everyone. No joke, I’ll include a list of some of the less mainstream categories below as well.
Some of the most popular categories and subcategories on Pinterest, according to Pinterest’s Business Insights Guide:
- Home decor – subcategories include interior design, DIY home decor, and home organization.
- Food and drink – subcategories include recipes, healthy eating, and entertaining ideas.
- Beauty and personal care – subcategories include skincare, hair care, and makeup tutorials.
- Travel – subcategories include vacation ideas, travel hacks, and outdoor adventure.
- Fashion – subcategories include outfit inspiration, style tips, and sustainable fashion.
- Health and wellness – subcategories include fitness, mental health, and self-care.
- Parenting – subcategories include pregnancy and baby, parenting tips, and homeschooling ideas.
- DIY and crafts – subcategories include sewing, knitting, and woodworking.
- Weddings – subcategories include wedding planning, bridal fashion, and wedding decor.
- Technology – subcategories include gadgets and apps, social media tips, and tech reviews.
Impressive right?
But, Pinterest is a platform where users can discover and share ideas across a wide range of interests and hobbies, including some surprising and niche categories.
Here are five of the most surprising niche categories on Pinterest:
- Taxidermy – Yes, taxidermy has a small but dedicated following on Pinterest, with users sharing tips on everything from preserving animal skins to creating unique displays.
- Beekeeping – Beekeeping is a niche hobby that has gained popularity in recent years, and Pinterest has become a hub for sharing beekeeping tips, honey recipes, and DIY beehive designs.
- Vintage Pyrex – Vintage Pyrex, the colorful glassware that was popular in the mid-20th century, has a dedicated following on Pinterest. Users share photos of their collections, as well as tips for finding and restoring vintage pieces.
- Natural swimming pools – Natural swimming pools, which use plants and natural filtration systems instead of chemicals, have gained popularity among environmentally conscious homeowners. Pinterest is a great resource for finding inspiration and tips for designing and maintaining a natural swimming pool.
- LARPing – LARPing, or Live Action Role Playing, is a form of interactive storytelling where participants dress up in costumes and act out fictional scenarios. Pinterest is a popular resource for LARPing enthusiasts, who share tips on everything from creating costumes to building elaborate sets.
These are just a few examples of the surprising and niche categories that can be found on Pinterest.
Basically, if it’s an interest shared by more than a dozen people, and it isn’t illegal in the United States, you can get involved and market your business with Pinterest.
Engage with Your Audience
One of the most important aspects of using Pinterest for business purposes is engaging with your audience. This includes following other users, repinning their content, and responding to comments and messages.
By engaging with your audience, you can build relationships and increase the visibility of your brand.
This may seem like a lot of work (it can be, in all honesty) but take it a bullet point at a time and do it daily. Building a successful presence on Pinterest will take time and consistency, but it’ll be worth it.
I’ve put together a handy list to get you started and keep on track to drive that engagement for your business.
Share only relevant, high-quality, and appealing content. Pinterest is a visual platform, so it’s important that your content is visually appealing and high-quality. Use high-resolution images and create pins that are well-designed and attention-grabbing. This will help your content stand out in the feed and attract more engagement.
- Create a consistent brand identity. You need to develop a strong brand presence from day one, and that means having a consistent brand identity across all of your pins and boards. Use the same colors, fonts, and imagery to create a cohesive look and feel for your brand. It’s your brand palette!
- Respond to comments and messages often. Engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages quickly. This shows your followers that you value their input and are interested in building a relationship with them. This goes a long way to build your Pinterest presence.
- Host contests and giveaways. Hosting contests and giveaways is a great way to engage with your audience and build excitement around your brand. Create a compelling prize and ask users to engage with your content in order to enter the contest. And don’t overthink it! You don’t have to spend $1,000 on the prize. It could be a gift card to your own business!
- Collaborate with other users and brands. Working with other users and brands will help you reach a wider audience and build relationships within your Pinterest niche community. Consider partnering on collaborative boards or cross-promote each other’s content.
- Use Pinterest Analytics to track engagement. Pinterest Analytics can provide valuable insights into how your content is performing and what types of content are resonating with your audience. Use this data to inform your content strategy and make adjustments as needed. In time, you’ll want to learn how to drill down into that deep well of lovely data and use it to maximize every pin you post.
- Participate in group boards. Group boards are a great way to connect with other users who share similar interests and to get your content in front of a wider audience. Join relevant group boards and contribute valuable content to help build your brand and attract new followers. Do this weekly and try to be consistent on each group board.
Promote Your Content
To drive traffic and sales from Pinterest, it is important to promote your content. This can be done in a variety of ways, including:
- Promoted Pins: Promoted Pins are paid advertisements that appear in users’ feeds and search results. They can be targeted to specific audiences based on factors such as location, interests, and behavior.
- Rich Pins: Rich Pins are a type of pin that includes extra information, such as product pricing and availability. They are especially useful for businesses that sell products.
- Pinning to Group Boards: Group boards are boards that multiple users can contribute to. By joining relevant group boards and pinning your content, you can reach a wider audience.
Measure Your Results
Finally, it is important to measure the results of your Pinterest efforts to determine what is working and what needs improvement.
Pinterest Analytics provides data on metrics such as impressions, saves, and clicks, which can help you optimize your strategy over time.
Here are the basics to get you started:
Understand Your Audience
One of the most important aspects of Pinterest Analytics is understanding your audience. Take the time to explore your audience demographics, such as their age, gender, and location. This information can help you tailor your content and messaging to better connect with your audience.
Monitor Your Performance
Pinterest Analytics provides valuable data on your content performance, such as impressions, clicks, saves, and engagement rates. Keep an eye on these metrics to identify what types of content are resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Track Your Website Traffic
Pinterest Analytics also allows you to track your website traffic from Pinterest. This can help you understand how Pinterest is driving traffic to your site, which pages are most popular, and what types of content are driving the most engagement.
Utilize the Content Performance Tab
The Content Performance tab in Pinterest Analytics provides an overview of your top-performing Pins and boards. Use this information to identify what types of content are resonating with your audience and optimize your content strategy accordingly.
Experiment with Promoted Pins
Promoted Pins are a powerful way to reach a larger audience and drive traffic to your site. Use Pinterest Analytics to track the performance of your promoted Pins and adjust your targeting and bidding strategies to improve their effectiveness.
Measure Your ROI
Pinterest Analytics allows you to track your return on investment (ROI) from Pinterest advertising. Use this information to determine the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns and adjust your strategy as needed.
Stay Up-to-Date with Pinterest Updates
Pinterest is constantly updating its platform and features, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest changes. Follow the Pinterest blog and social media accounts to stay informed and take advantage of new opportunities to grow your brand’s visibility and engagement.
Seasonal Pins: The Evergreen Traffic Source Your Business Needs on Pinterest
Pinterest users are highly engaged with seasonal content, particularly during major holidays and events such as Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
In fact, according to Pinterest’s internal data, over 50% of people on Pinterest start planning for a holiday at least two months in advance, and 90% of weekly searches are for new ideas and inspiration.
This presents a huge opportunity for businesses to create seasonal content that resonates with their target audience and drives traffic and engagement to their website.
But it’s not just about creating content for the major holidays – there are many other seasonal events and trends throughout the year that can be leveraged to drive traffic and engagement on Pinterest.
Evergreen Traffic with Seasonal Pins
One of the biggest benefits of creating seasonal content on Pinterest is that it can be an evergreen traffic source for your business.
Unlike other social media platforms where content has a short shelf life, Pinterest is designed to surface relevant content over time.
This means that a well-designed seasonal pin can continue to drive traffic and engagement to your website for months or even years after it was originally created.
For example, a Halloween-themed recipe or DIY tutorial that was created several years ago can still drive traffic and engagement during the Halloween season each year. This is because Pinterest’s search algorithm prioritizes content that is popular and relevant to users, regardless of when it was originally created.
Creating Seasonal Pins
So, how can businesses create effective seasonal pins that drive traffic and engagement on Pinterest? Here are a few tips to get started:
- Plan ahead: Start planning your seasonal content well in advance to ensure you have enough time to create high-quality pins and promote them effectively.
- Focus on evergreen topics: While it’s important to create content that is relevant to a specific holiday or event, also consider creating evergreen content that can be repurposed and promoted throughout the year.
- Use high-quality visuals: Pinterest is a visual platform, so it’s important to create eye-catching pins that stand out in users’ feeds. Use high-quality images, bold text overlays, and on-brand colors to make your pins stand out.
- Optimize your pins for search: Use relevant keywords and descriptions in your pin titles and descriptions to make it easier for users to discover your content through search.
Leveraging seasonality on Pinterest can be a powerful strategy for driving traffic and engagement to your website.
By creating high-quality seasonal pins that focus on evergreen topics, using high-quality visuals, optimizing your pins for search, and planning ahead, businesses can create evergreen traffic sources that drive results for years to come.
At this point you should have set up your Pinterest business account, optimized your profile, created boards and pinned your first pins. Now keep at it and be consistent. Success on Pinterest takes time, but it will help you drive traffic, sales, and brand awareness.
