When it comes to putting down the beginnings of a social media strategy with clients, they immediately turn to the obvious – Facebook, Twitter and maybe even LinkedIn. To which my response is “Have you thought about Pinterest?”
Not always a platform businesses associate with their social marketing strategy, Pinterest is the third biggest social media network – so not something that should be overlooked.
In a nutshell, Pinterest is a social media site built around the concept of “pinning”. Gone are the days of cutting and pasting your favourite pictures out of House & Home. Users can “pin” photos from the web or upload their own photos to boards, which can be shared with other Pinterest users. Some of the most popular categories to pin are weddings, interior design, recipes and life hacks.
Pinterest isn’t just for ‘pinsperation’; users do actually shop and engage with products and services so businesses need a clear strategy about how they are going to leverage the platform as a brand. Pinterest is shaping the future of e-commerce. Research shows that Pinterest has the highest average order value out of all the social networks. Why? Because it’s inspiration for what to buy and more importantly, where to buy it from. A pinned image clicks through to its original source whether that be an e-commerce shop or a blog post, for example.
So how should you be using Pinterest as a business? First and foremost you need to set up a business profile (rather than a personal profile). This will allow you to add a link back to your site in the business description as well as gain insights with their handy analytics tool. Add the Pin It button to your site to invite people to pin things from your website. You can also add a Pin It button to your own toolbar so you can pin away!
It’s probably worth pointing out that just because Pinterest falls into the ‘social media’ category, Pinterest isn’t for everyone. So think carefully about your product, service and audience before you launch into the world of pinning.
The secret to successfully pinning is a message we regularly preach at Browser Media. Create good quality content. By this I mean creating information that is valuable to the user whether that be for their own use or for sharing with other people. Unlike Facebook or Twitter where you have to ask for a share or retweet, sharing is what pinners do naturally – around 80% of all pins on Pinterest are repins.
Pinning directly from your site, as well as repinning, helps to increase visibility. Every time you repin to your account, a notification is sent to the person you repinned from, great for brand awareness. In turn, every time someone pins from your account, it will show in their followers feed. Once you have increased visibility, the traffic to your site will increase and, ultimately, so will sales.
Whilst repinning other people’s pins is a great way for businesses to interact with users, it won’t alone drive valuable traffic to your site. Creating your own images, videos and blog posts will drive traffic. Visuals like infographics, checklists, calls to action and videos are all great pins that attract high engagement. Here are some great examples…
‘How to choose bridal lingerie’ infographic
‘How to create a cleaning schedule that works for you’
Once you’ve created some good quality pins, you need to think about the caption area. This is the small ‘image description’ box underneath each pin which should be optimised as best as possible for it to be found in Pinterest, and even Google search results.
Aim to add a call to action such as ‘view the whole range’ as well as keywords that describe the image ‘beautiful wedding venue and wedding ceremony DIY ideas’, and a link preferably to deep content not just the home page. Think about optimising your board names as well as this can help with visibility in Google too.
Here are some businesses that are nailing the pin…
At the risk of sounding cliché, Pinterest really is revolutionising the way in which people search, engage and purchase. With other brands already realising the potential by extending their reach, increasing their sales, and building relationships with customers outside of other social networks, now is the time to consider integrating this platform into your marketing strategy. Afterall, no one likes to be late to the party.
Struggling for Pinsperation? Get in touch with us today!
