You may already be familiar with how to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram for ecommerce.
Pinterest is often overlooked as a marketing resource for stores, but it can be a great place to promote your brand and attract shoppers. The site has millions of users who are in the market for a wide range of products.
When used correctly, it can even become a core component of your online marketing strategy to help you get customers for your ecommerce business.
You can’t make sales directly from Pinterest, but you can link back to your product pages in your posts. Being active on the network can also help people to better recognize your brand.
If you own an online store, it’s beneficial to understand how Pinterest helps internet retailers and how you can use the platform to promote your own business!
How is Pinterest beneficial for ecommerce?
It’s safe to say that social media plays a significant role in ecommerce today.
Pinterest may not receive as many monthly users as platforms like Facebook or Instagram, but it’s still an effective channel for promoting brands.
Pinterest is different from most other social networks because users often actively search for what they’re interested in at that moment. On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, most users only scroll through their feed and react to whatever they happen to see.
The browsing experience on Pinterest is much more active, so users tend to show more interest in the posts they view.
Many people use Pinterest for comparison shopping. Instead of browsing multiple online stores for the item they want, they can streamline the process by scrolling through Pinterest search results.
Shoppers often use Pinterest to discover new brands, so having a presence on the site is a great way to expand your audience and increase sales.
In addition, Pinterest promotes brand recognition. When users see something they like, they can bookmark the image to come back to it later, creating a “Pin” and saving it to one of their boards.
Although consumers viewing your posts may not purchase something immediately, Pinterest makes it easy for users to revisit the brands they’ve seen previously.
For what businesses does Pinterest work best?
Business-to-consumer companies tend to be more successful on Pinterest than business-to-business brands. However, any ecommerce store can boost sales and expand their customer base with Pinterest.
The platform shows your posts to users who search for related terms. No matter your niche, you can trust that your content is being delivered to interested users.
Some demographics are more active on Pinterest than others, so businesses that serve those consumers will likely perform better on Pinterest than businesses with other audiences.
With 250 million monthly users, though, brands in all kinds of industries can find their audience on the platform.
The percentage of men using Pinterest is growing, but women have historically used the platform more frequently. If you market your products to women, Pinterest can be an especially valuable marketing tool.
Most Pinterest users are between the ages of 18 and 49. For this reason, businesses that market to millennials and Generation X usually do very well on the site.
Some of the most popular categories on Pinterest are home decor, fashion, travel, and health and wellness. If your store belongs to any of these industries, your target market is likely active on Pinterest.
How to use Pinterest for your online store
Pinterest can be a highly effective way to increase your online visibility and improve brand recognition. For the best results, you should approach Pinterest with a careful marketing strategy. Here are several of our best tips for using Pinterest to promote your ecommerce business!
1. Start a Pinterest business page
To have a Pinterest business account, you can either convert your personal account or create a new account. Business accounts have access to more analytics, which is important for measuring and assessing your performance on the site.
The other benefit of a business account is that it allows you to avail of pay-per-click ads. This will serve your content to more users in exchange for a fee whenever someone clicks on the content.
You may not want to invest in paid ads immediately unless you’re certain that your financial standing is pretty good. Once you’ve started profiting, though, paid Pinterest ads can be an effective way to achieve exponential growth.
Make sure that you fill out your profile and the bio section right away. People who visit your page should be able to understand who you are just by glancing at your profile. You should therefore be clear and straightforward in your write-up.
2. Include a Pinterest share button on every product page
Your Pinterest marketing efforts don’t have to be contained to the social network itself. By including a Pinterest share button on your website’s product pages, you can drive traffic from your site to your Pinterest page.
When your customers share your products on Pinterest, they increase your visibility on the platform. You’ll then receive more traffic to your site from Pinterest as users view the shared content.
Some of these visitors may also share your product pages on their Pinterest boards, and you can achieve a continual loop of website traffic.
Your social media share buttons should be noticeable and located to the left or right of your product photos. You could even include a call to action that says something like, “Want to save this for later? Click on the Pin to save this on Pinterest!”
3. Avail of "Shop the Look" Pins
Most Pinterest users have bought at least one product they’ve seen on the platform. In the early days of Pinterest, customers would have to leave the website and search for an item separately if they wanted to buy it.
In recent years, though, Pinterest has introduced Shop the Look Pins, which allow businesses to tag products in their photos and link directly to their product pages.
Shop the Look provides a more convenient and seamless shopping experience. All the user has to do is click on the photo, and they’ll be taken to your store. The faster and easier it is for shoppers to make a purchase, the more likely they are to complete the sale.
In addition, Shop the Look lets you include multiple tags on one photo. This is especially helpful if you sell something like clothing or home decor that involves coordinating multiple items.
You can create staged scenes featuring multiple products to give users inspiration for their own collections. Then, you can tag each individual component in the scene.
4. Create a variety of content
Pinterest is all about visuals, but this doesn’t mean that all of your content has to be the same. Successful businesses use a wide variety of content formats to attract a wider audience and keep users interested.
You could post images that solely feature one product, or you could upload photos of your products in action. Scenes that utilize multiple items are popular because users browse Pinterest to find aesthetic inspiration.
Posting photos with more than one of your products simultaneously can also encourage shoppers to possibly purchase an entire collection of yours. This in turn can increase sales and boost your store’s average order value.
Although photos generally receive the most attention, you’re not limited to that medium on Pinterest. Blog posts can do well if you accompany them with a high-quality image and write a concise summary. Infographics and videos can be engaging, too.
5. Add large, high-quality photos
Users go to Pinterest to look at images, so your photos should be as high quality and engaging as possible. Pay attention to lighting, which may be the biggest factor in taking a visually-appealing photo.
Taking photos in the morning when the natural light is generally best is suggested. Make sure that all of your photos on Pinterest are high resolution.
Taller and larger photos tend to perform better than smaller photos. Huge images on your own website aren’t always ideal because they can increase the loading time for your pages. However, to promote engagement from the people who follow you on Pinterest, opt for larger photos.
6. Share Pins that complement your products
One of the top tips for brands looking to use social media for ecommerce is to post regularly, regardless of the platform.
An excellent way to keep up with consistent posting and curate a variety of content on your page is to share Pins that are complementary to your products.
Sharing content from other users helps to build a community around your Pinterest profile. It can draw attention from potential customers and help users feel a stronger connection to your brand.
In addition, it makes your page more valuable to your followers, because it contains a wider variety of content.
You probably won’t want to share Pins from your direct competitors, as that will only send traffic away from your store. However, you can locate plenty of Pins that complement your products without directly competing.
Search for Pins that visually match your brand image or reflect your values. Think about why your followers view your page, and look for Pins that also fulfill that need.
7. Make sure that your descriptions are SEO optimized
Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just important for your website. You can use SEO techniques on any of your social media channels to improve their visibility.
To implement an SEO strategy, start by researching and brainstorming some target keywords. Pinterest offers a Keyword Research tool that shows the monthly search volumes for various terms.
You could use a third-party keyword tool as well. Some will give you a list of keyword suggestions when you type in a broad term relating to your business or industry.
Unless you have a very specific niche, targeting broad and general keywords will be difficult because of the volume of competition. You can instead focus on a few highly specific keywords. Use these keywords in your descriptions, board titles, and hashtags.
Remember to avoid spamming your Pinterest posts with keywords, though! They should always appear naturally in the text.
This can also be a good way to ensure that your content is focused. By centering your ideas around your target keywords, you can craft unique resources that are helpful and interesting for consumers.
8. Engage with your followers
Like all other social networks, Pinterest is about more than posting content. It provides an opportunity for you to engage with the people who follow you, and this is where many of the benefits of social networking happen.
By interacting with users, you create connections that lead to long-lasting brand loyalty. Engaging with your followers humanizes your brand and makes you more memorable.
Check your Pinterest account regularly for comments or questions left on your posts. Respond to them quickly to show your followers that you value their input. When a user likes or re-pins your content, send them a message to thank them.
You can encourage users to interact with your posts by asking questions in your image descriptions or running a contest or giveaway. Your goal should be to use any chance you can to reach out to users and let them know you’re interested in what they have to say.
9. Track your performance with Pinterest Analytics
Social media marketing is strategic. The first step is to establish a presence, so you may not worry about numbers much as you get started on Pinterest. Eventually, though, you should fine-tune your methods to optimize your results.
Pinterest’s analytics tool shows you the information you need to measure engagement. If you have a business profile, the tool will show you which posts get the most exposure, likes, and comments. It also gives helpful information about your audience’s demographics.
After a few months on Pinterest, the analytics tool should have gathered enough data for you to start making adjustments to your strategy. Look for patterns in which types of Pins perform better than others for which demographics.
You should still post a variety of content, but you can now focus on the Pins that get the most engagement.
Pin your way to ecommerce success!
Don’t underestimate the value of Pinterest for your online store, especially if you sell fashion, decor, or wellness products.
On most other social networks, users primarily browse to see what people are up to. On Pinterest, however, users are actively searching for items they like.
Even if your followers don't purchase anything right away, they may remember your brand in the future because of your Pinterest posts.
Having a successful Pinterest presence requires you to craft high-quality content and engage with the social network. Some brands use Pinterest only to share photos from their own website, but the platform has many other functions, too.
To attract loyal customers, use Pinterest to interact with your followers, encourage engagement, and promote your amazing products!
