Some people look at Pinterest and wonder how you could possibly market your business through the platform. Many folks figure it’s mainly for finding craft and meal ideas, and not much else. But Pinterest marketing is a great way to increase brand awareness, bring new viewers to your website, and even drive sales.
Regardless of your market, the big question is, how does one approach Pinterest marketing?
Well, first we’d like to address how Pinterest works in today’s age, seeing as how much has changed over the years. Then, we’ll explore opportunities for boosting traffic through Pinterest, even if you think your business doesn’t fit on the platform.
The current state of Pinterest marketing
Quite a bit has changed since the inception of Pinterest. In fact, Pinterest was once one of the few social networks that didn’t allow ecommerce sales or ads.
As mentioned, this has changed, but Pinterest has still managed to maintain its original identity and cater to specific groups of people.
So, what should you expect from Pinterest? What are the demographics like and what options do you have in terms of marketing and advertisements?
Pinterest marketing basics
Although the social media space is ever-changing, here are some tips and thoughts to consider when embracing Pinterest as a marketing solution.
- 41% of all women online use Pinterest in some way. Around 16% of all males online are on Pinterest.
- The main age groups are 18-29 year-olds and 30-49 year-olds, making it a sweet spot for many companies.
- The Pinterest user base has grown under the radar compared to the press hogs like Twitter and Facebook. As of this article, Pinterest has surpassed 290 million users, with 29% growth.
- Pinterest is the best social network for product discovery. People look for news and status updates on other networks, while many Pinterest users login knowing they’re going to be buying something.
- Pinterest is nicely indexed on Google, and the search function is highly targeted.
- Pinterest offers a wide range of marketing tools, such as regular pins, buyable pins, videos, large images, hashtags, and comments.
Pinterest marketing advantages
- Pinterest coordinates well with most website platforms and other social networks. You can share your Pinterest feed on a website and even use similar posts from Facebook and Twitter.
- Pinterest has a hyper-targeted search function, meaning that the people landing on your content are most likely interested in it.
- Pinterest pins are so easy to share, and the userbase actually enjoys doing so.
- All Pinterest pins make credible inbound links to your website, potentially boosting your SEO and helping people find your content.
- Followers aren’t forced to see everything you post, making it more manageable for them.
- There are plenty of Pinterest design tools for generating quick images for things like how-tos, recipes, tutorials, and listicles.
Pinterest marketing limitations
- Pinterest autoposting is not supported through many of the social media software options we’ve tested. Some, like Buffer and our very own Revive Old Post plugin, offer direct posting, but others either don’t have access or provide alternative posting options.
- Many users only see Pinterest as a hub for crafts, travel, food, and lifestyle pictures.
- Spam isn’t uncommon on Pinterest, so you may start thinking that your marketing efforts are working, when you’re actually getting tricked.
- The image dimensions are very specific for Pinterest. Meaning you can’t typically use the same image you utilized for a post on Instagram or Facebook.
- There are some legal gray areas when you start sharing other content that’s not your own.
- Some businesses have to restructure their content to address the fact that Pinterest users like the platform for social/lifestyle content. So, this may not be the same content you’re used to sharing elsewhere.
Pinterest marketing strategies you can implement today
As you can see from the stats above, Pinterest users do trend a bit older than other networks. There are also more women than men compared to other networks.
However, brands should see this as a unique advantage.
After all, the older age groups are more likely to buy than kids in high school and college. Also, women are typically the driving force when it comes to buying decisions in a household.
Overall, Pinterest should be tested by all companies, even if it seems like a lawyer may not be able to gain traction with Pinterest posts. With the right strategy, you may surprise yourself.
So, here are some of the best Pinterest marketing strategies that are relevant in today’s market.
Making short videos that cater to the scrollers
“Scrollers” are common with all social networks. They’re the users who quickly scroll through content and don’t ever engage with one item unless it really stands out.
That’s tough for marketers since not everyone has a budget for super viral videos.
However, Pinterest is friendly in many ways. For instance, short videos pop out and don’t necessarily have to be the funniest, most creative thing on the internet. Pinterest users want content that helps them in some way.
That’s why we recommend focusing on 6 to 15-second videos. Pinterest actually recommends this range based on its own research.
This way, the videos act more like animated GIFs, never relying on audio, and rapidly going through text and images that people can relate to.
Some other tips about Pinterest videos:
- Pinterest tells us that the most effective videos are how-tos and storytelling videos.
- Make sure you have a cover image that people see when they scroll through the feed. Also, ensure that it’s related to the message you’re trying to convey.
- You can have audio, but don’t rely on it. Always have text that explains what users are seeing or what your message is. Users aren’t required to turn on the audio on Pinterest.
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
You don’t have to spend much time making a short video, and the user is engaged instantly.
Make sure your Pinterest hashtags are well thought out
As with Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, Pinterest users can also type in hashtags to seek out trending keywords and also place them on their own pins so that others can find the content.
Compared to other social networks, Pinterest hashtags aren’t meant to be all that creative or funny. They’re meant to find relevant content fast.
Therefore, one main rule applies to Pinterest hashtags: Keep them practical and specific.
The hashtag #dogsofpinterest may be cute, but it doesn’t fall into much of a searchable category. Hashtags like #dogcostumes or #dogrecipes would get more results because they are saying exactly what the user is going to find.
Some information about Pinterest marketing hashtags:
- You have the option for up to 20 hashtags on Pinterest pins.
- Pinterest offers an autocomplete feature that you can use for suggestions.
- Feel free to follow other accounts in your niche and copy hashtags from their successful pins.
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
There’s no pressure to be creative with hashtags like on Instagram. Pinterest users want hashtags that will lead them to that exact content. It’s also easy to spy on your competitors and simply copy what they’re doing for your own content.
Use the right graphics
Going back to basics, it’s essential to make your Pinterest pins look nice. The size, style, and shape all comes into play for grabbing attention and following Pinterest rules.
The best way to go about this is to use a designer that provides templates for you. Some are basic designers, while others are social media posting systems:
Regardless, they all have Pinterest templates with the right specifications.
If you plan on making the graphics yourself, here are some requirements for the most effective designs:
- The best aspect ratio for a Pinterest image is 2:3. These are tall, noticeable images.
- Only upload a PNG or JPG image with no more than a 10MB size.
- Keep your title for a pin below 100 characters.
- Keep your pin description under 500 characters. The most important part of the description is the first 60 characters, since this is what shows up on the Pinterest feed.
- Animated GIFs are acceptable and often quite successful.
- Videos appear the best on Pinterest as an MP4 or MOV files. Short videos are best. It’s also a good idea to avoid landscape videos. Pinterest suggests squares or 2:3 aspect ratios.
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
Quite a few tools are available that do all of the design leg work for you. Canva is free for individuals and it has plenty of templates with the right aspect ratios and some beautiful designs.
Look at and use Pinterest trends
In today’s analytical business world there’s no need to listen to your gut when making decisions.
Blog posts should be based on keywords people actually search for. Social media posts should be based on what trends are occurring on social networks.
Similar to Google Trends, Pinterest has its own trending page for you to see past, present, and future content that gets popular.
Search trends by industry, category, people, and month.
Just as an example, I looked at the trends for this current month (October) and found these trends:
- Pictures and articles about marriage engagements. Everything from rings to engagement locations is included.
- Recipes that are not only delicious but healthy.
- Exaggerated fall clothing styles like baggy cardigans and chunky sneakers.
- Door decor such as painted interior doors and wooden barn doors.
- Mini canvas art is very popular in the Australian market.
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
The Pinterest Insights get rather specific, making content creation easy for you. Not only that, but Pinterest breaks down all of these trends into beautiful landing pages/blog posts with their own analysis.
Take advantage of seasonal occasions
This should be a tip for all types of marketing, but it’s also super important for Pinterest.
The reason Pinterest sees great engagement during holidays and certain seasons is because it’s a social network that doubles as a planning tool.
Many people strictly plan their vacations on Pinterest. From meal planning to gift planning for sporting events and holidays, the idea behind Pinterest is to create a board of cool ideas.
Pinterest provides a seasonal planner to get you started, but you can also find other interesting holidays elsewhere online.
What’s cool about the one from Pinterest is that it outlines when people start pinning more for certain occasions.
For instance:
- Easter pins go from January to May.
- Awards season is from January to March and July to September.
- Memorial Day pins are most popular from April to June, even though it’s a one day holiday!
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
It basically gives you free content ideas that everyone can relate to. Furthermore, you know that users get worked up about holidays and special occasions, so people may already be looking for your guides and products.
Pinterest ads
Advertisements are part of marketing too! Check out some of our tips on Pinterest ad strategies.
The best part about this Pinterest marketing strategy?
You can still get your product or services or blog posts out there with a little money.
Are you ready to take on these Pinterest marketing strategies?
What’s great about Pinterest is that the marketing tactics are so simple compared to others you would have to implement through platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Heck, Instagram is often only useful if you have perfectly professional photos and some cheesy motivational sayings. But with Pinterest, users are looking for functionality from their pins. That’s why a quick video about a product or process is so effective. Not only that, but so many tools are available for making pretty banners for Pinterest.
The post Pinterest Marketing Strategies You Can Use Today to Boost Engagement appeared first on Revive Social.