So how is this relevant to businesses?
Currently, Pinterest has 322 million users worldwide and 87% of its users state they have purchased a product they’ve found through the site, yet it’s still relatively untapped by businesses. Pinterest offers brands the opportunity to showcase products and services to an engaged, niche marketplace that’s ready to spend. So, it’s time to step up your social media strategy and start using Pinterest for business!
In essence, Pinterest is a social network that works more like a top notch visual search engine. Many people use it over Google when searching for visual inspiration and, unlike Facebook or Instagram who aim to keep users on their sites to engage with your content, Pinterest aims to link users to the information they’re looking for.
We’ve compiled a list of our top tips for success when using Pinterest for business.
Get Rich Pins for your site
Having Rich Pins embedded on your site brings the title of your blog posts over on to Pinterest, shown in bold below your pins, which gives your pins much more information so that they can be found more easily via search. Rich pins can make a big difference in driving traffic to your site. Curious to learn more? Read Pinterest’s article on how to get rich pins.
Share your blog posts and use vertical images within your blog posts
To encourage more people to visit your website via links, share your blog posts on Pinterest, especially those that link to trends and tips that are relevant to your brand. Vertical pins take up more real estate on Pinterest, making them far more likely to catch a pinner’s eye. While you can still use horizontal images in your blog posts, try to include at least one vertical image in each blog post for use on Pinterest. Here is an updated article about optimal Pinterest image dimensions.
Use text overlay on images included for pinning
While text overlay does not always look great on images used in a blog post, these images work far better on images linked to Pinterest as they help explain what your pin links to at first glance.
Include keywords in your descriptions
It is important to understand what information or labels Pinterest pulls into their site from yours, and you should know where that information is located so that you can include keywords and descriptions in that area on your posts. On WordPress, you can add this information in the caption and alt text of your images. The caption is what Pinterest will pull onto their site, and is where you should add a description, a photo credit, keywords and hashtags.
Hashtags
You do not need to go overboard with the hashtags, as they show up in Pinterest’s feed and can look a little over the top. But they do work, so relevant hashtags should be included. Unlike Instagram, you can make your Pinterest hashtags a little more generalised. For interior pages, hashtags such as #livingroomideas, #kitchenideas or #decoratingideas are popular. When it comes to selecting hashtags, search the hashtag you’re thinking of using first to see what kind of content comes up and how popular it is.
Create boards to showcase your style and work
On Pinterest, you’re able to create boards to organise your pins and the images you’re saving. These boards can either be public or private (only you or people you invite can see them – a nice idea when collaborating and sharing ideas with a customer). You might want to create separate boards for various themes, and fill them with appropriate images, to offer users a consistent source of inspiration and give them a feel of your style.
Share your top products
Again, to encourage pinners to visit your website, include links in your pins that direct pinners straight to the product page. Make sure to use lifestyle photos rather than images of only the product, as these photos are more likely to be viewed and saved by pinners that are looking for inspiration. Make sure that the titles, product descriptions and all relevant image tags are complete and unique to the product being shared.
Keen to delve deeper into the world of Pinterest for business to generate leads and drive traffic to your website? There is just one more thing that you must keep in mind. Pinterest pins do not usually take off immediately – don’t be put off by low ‘save’ counts or click throughs in the first couple months. Many pins only take off over a year after they’ve been published, for no apparent reason.
If you’re still feeling a little overwhelmed, we’re more than happy to chat to you further and help curate your integrated social media strategy.