Pinterest is a great social media and marketing tool for retailers. It is easy to use and can be seamlessly integrated into a current ecommerce website. Pinterest is the second largest referral traffic driver to retail sites, and 93 percent of its users are on the social site to plan for purchases. Pinterest’s estimated 100 million active users spend twice as much money online than the average internet user. Using Pinterest is extremely profitable for retailers, so how does one get started?
Creating an Account
Pinterest offers a special business account with many useful marketing tools for retailers, such as analytics, rich pins, and promoted posts. To get the most out of the Pinterest account, retailers should make sure to use current pictures and logos, keywords in the bio for search engine optimization and details explaining what viewers can expect to see on the page. Add a location and verified website as well, to prove to potential consumers that your store is a trusted business. Once your Pinterest account is active, explore the many features that retailers can use to optimize their success.
Features
A business account on Pinterest offers many features, such as user analytics. Similar to Facebook, Pinterest’s analytics provide the details of who is viewing your page, interaction, website insights, and more. With 85 percent of brand engagement happening outside of Pinterest, adding buttons to an e-commerce site is crucial. The “Pin It” button allows shoppers to pin images to their profile and boards directly from a retail site. A “Follow” button gives viewers the ability to automatically follow the account without having to go to Pinterest separately. There are also “Rich Pins” that businesses can add to their websites. They include current availability and price information right on the image itself. This allows users to see this information when someone pins the product to their own account. Integrating these features is sure to bring retailers a boost, but the features are not enough on their own. A successful Pinterest must have a strategy for optimization.
Strategies
Pinterest is an extremely visual platform; this should be taken into account for every action made on the site. Pins should have a consistent and quality look to them. Pictures used for pins collectively create an image for your brand. All Pinterest photos should have excellent lighting and be clear. They should all have an aesthetically similar appearance, whether in the lighting, colors, or composition. Keywords should be employed, not only in the bio but in the description of pins as well. When creating boards, it is important to include images from other accounts. Boards should have a variety of pins.
Pinterest can be brought inside a brick and mortar store by creating Pinterest boards centering on a display or set of products. Boards are used as inspiration and should evoke an image and lifestyle that shoppers want to emulate. Engage with your customers and show them how items in-store can be used outside the store and tie into everyday life.
Promoted Pins
Similar to any other social media platform, Pinterest offers paid advertisements to their users. “Promoted Pins” do exactly as they say; they promote a pin. The user can pick a specific audience they want seeing their “Promoted Pin” based on characteristics such as location, language, and device. Pinterest then charges by cost-per-click and promotes the pin so that the chosen audience will see it in their feeds. Promoting pins is simple and affordable for retailers.
Pinterest is a social media platform all retailers should be using. It is mostly used to provide inspiration to shoppers and help them to visualize what retailers’ products can add to their lives. The visual nature of the website puts the products on display and is truly perfect for shopping.