Today let's talk about Pinterest. You know, most people do not really consider Pinterest a big thing when it comes to promoting products and driving traffic. When people hear the word "Pinterest," they usually think of it as a fun social network filled with pretty pictures, but not much else. The problem is, this kind of thinking is causing online store owners to miss out on a whole 70% of their potential customers.
But we're here to break it down for you. In this article, we'll analyze why every brand or offer out there actually needs Pinterest, how to effectively promote your pins, and even share some eye-opening statistics from a successful business account.
How Pinterest Works, and Why You Need It
If you really want to understand why Pinterest is so interesting, it's important to understand the role it plays around the world. In Russia, for instance, people mainly use Pinterest to admire stunning pictures, discover inspiration, or hunt for new wallpapers to fill up their smartphones. On the other hand, in the United States, Pinterest has become the go-to destination for people looking to make a purchase. It's like an AI-powered search engine for Americans. They typically start by searching for visually appealing products on Pinterest and then proceed to the actual purchase page.
According to the latest official stats, Pinterest boasts over 435 million active users each month, with over half of them residing in the US. And here's an interesting fact: 77% of all Pinterest users happen to be women. This makes Pinterest an absolute goldmine for selling jewelry, clothing, artwork, home decor, and a whole lot more. It's a marketplace tailored perfectly for these kinds of products.
The cool thing about Pinterest is that it's totally free. You don't have any limitations when it comes to setting up your profile, and all the tools are available to anyone with a business account. Promoting a product is super easy and straightforward. All you have to do is post a photo of the product, include a link to the landing page, write a short description, and give it a name.
The easiest way to add a pin is by sharing it directly on Pinterest. This way, all the information, and photos will be filled in automatically.
Alternatively, you can add a pin by using a link to the product. In this case, the photo and link will be loaded automatically, but you'll need to add the name and description manually.
How to Promote Your Products on Pinterest
So, the very first thing you want to do is change your regular profile into a business account. Once you have a business account, you gain access to analytics, which gives you full statistics about all your pins. This can be really helpful for developing your personal brand. You also get some cool features like idea pins and Pinterest Ads.
Once you've uploaded your pins, the main goal is to make them popular. There are plenty of ways to promote your pins, and we'll discuss those later. But first, let's talk about the most important aspect: the photos themselves. It's crucial that your photos are visually appealing because, on Pinterest, users often make their choices based on the photos they see. So, make sure your pictures are flawless and make people want to buy whatever you're showcasing.
In addition to that, you should create themed boards with beautiful pictures. It's also a great idea to post idea pins and video pins to keep things interesting. And here's another cool thing you can do: upload all the products from your website and set up a store right on your Pinterest profile. This way, people can easily browse and purchase your products without leaving Pinterest.
1. Thematic Boards
Thematic boards are like organized collections of related Pins on Pinterest. Think of them as virtual bulletin boards where you can group and showcase specific topics or themes that resonate with your brand or interests.
Let's say you're using Pinterest for your business, like selling clothes, for example. Instead of just randomly pinning all your product images together, you can create themed boards to categorize and display them in a more appealing way. For instance, you could have a board called "Fashion" and another one for "Summer Outfits," and so on.
By creating these themed boards, you make it easier for people to discover and engage with the content they are most interested in. When someone visits your profile, they can explore different boards and find relevant Pins that catch their eye. It's all about organizing and presenting your content in a visually cohesive and attractive manner.
Plus, when users find a Pin they love on one of your themed boards, they can save it to their own boards, spreading the word about your products or ideas. This engagement can lead to more visibility and growth for your Pins as more and more people save and share them with others.
Practically, they look like this:
On this board, we've got this really nice cozy rustic vibe going on. Everything just feels so natural. The color scheme is all earthy and organic, which adds to the overall charm.
Now, let's talk about that photo with the green vest and that with a beige beanie. Those pins are like little accessories that perfectly match the style of the entire board. They fit right in and add a touch of flair to the overall aesthetic.
Here's something important to keep in mind. While working with Pinterest, we're not really into promoting or sharing pins from social networks like Instagram. Instead, we're more focused on highlighting pins from online stores and personal sites. Those are our top priorities.
2. Idea Pins
Idea Pins also known as story pins have only been around for half a year. They're pretty new! The main purpose of these Idea Pins is to show the process of creating something cool. They're like a series of images or videos that give step-by-step instructions to Pinterest users on how to bring their ideas to life.
To keep things interesting, the ideal duration of an Idea Pin is around three minutes. That way, the viewer doesn't get tired or lose interest before reaching the end. But hey, don't worry about downloading any video instructions. Pinterest users enjoy watching short videos of the creation process, kind of like how people enjoy TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Let me give you an example of a popular Idea Pin: Imagine an artist showcasing their artistic process from start to finish. It's pretty fascinating to watch!
so if you're looking to whip up your very own Idea Pin, you'll want to give your viewers a bit more info. You know, stuff like what materials you used for the project, and maybe even let them know how tricky or easy it was to make. People love those little details!
Tips for working with Pinterest idea pins:
- To create Idea Pins, you'll have to change your region settings to Europe or the USA. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available in Russia yet.
- You can add a shopping tag when you create them. This means that if a user likes a product they see in the video, they can simply click on the shopping tag. It will take them directly to the product pin page!
If the user wants to know the price of the product, they can click on a button and they'll be redirected to the product page in the store. It's a clever way to make the buying process easier for the potential customer.
All in all, Idea Pins are great because they can help guide interested buyers toward making a purchase. Pinterest acts as a warm-up for them, sparking their interest and leading them to explore products further. It's a win-win situation!
3. Spotlight Shop in Profile
The Spotlight Store is basically a special page on your Pinterest profile where you can showcase all the Product Pins from your online store. It's pretty cool, but there's a catch. This feature is only available to people who have their own website, not those who use platforms like Etsy or Shopify, which are more AI-based stores.
Now, when users visit your profile, they'll find the "Buy" category right there under the page information. It's easy to spot, and it'll look something like this:
You'll see different product pins, and each one will have important details like the price, a description, and its name. If you're interested in a particular product, just click on the pin, and Pinterest will take you directly to the purchase page on the store.
But here's the thing: to get your products from your website onto the Pinterest store, there are a couple of steps you need to follow. First, you'll need to create a new catalog, and then you'll have to install the Pinterest plugin on WordPress (that's a popular website-building platform). Once you've done that, the plugin will give you a special code that you can add to Pinterest. After a few days (usually 3 to 10, depending on how many products you have), all your products will magically appear in your Pinterest store.
Don't worry if this sounds a bit overwhelming. Pinterest has got you covered with a detailed step-by-step guide that will show up when you start using the Spotlight feature. They'll walk you through everything you need to do, so you'll be up and running in no time.
4. Pinterest Ads
Another cool thing you can use is internal Pinterest Ads. They're pretty handy when it comes to advertising because they're effective, convenient, and can actually make you some money. And get this, they even offer a trial ad budget of $30 so you can fully test out the ad and see if it suits you.
One great thing about advertising on Pinterest is that you only pay when people actually take action, like adding items to their cart or making a direct purchase of the product. That means you're not wasting money on ads that don't lead to any real results.
When you run ads on Pinterest, they show up in different places like users' feeds, in search results, and in recommendations. However, it's important to note that you can't run ads in all countries, but you can find the full list of supported countries on their website. To run ads, all you have to do is change the region in your settings, which we discussed earlier. Oh, and just to give you an idea, here's an example of what a promotional pin looks in a user’s feed:
How Effective is Pinterest?
So, let's talk about how effective Pinterest can be as a promotional tool, using a case study from an artist uses it to showcase his paintings.
Over the past three years, this artist managed to get around 1 000 subscribers to his Pinterest account. At its peak, his Pins were reaching over 100 000 users every month, which is pretty impressive! But lately, it's dropped to around 25 000 views per month. Why the dip? Well, turns out the artist's Etsy store closed down, and the associated links became unavailable. When that happens, Pinterest won't show the Pins in search results anymore. They kinda want active stuff only.
Here are the statistics he shared from the last 90 days:
In the last 90 days, millions of users have stumbled upon the artist's work on Pinterest. Out of those millions, about 14 100 people clicked on the Pins and were directed to the artist's Etsy store. The best part is, this traffic was all organic and free—no ads needed.
"The Etsy store's stats show that Pinterest has boosted my traffic by a 96%. That's a huge win. And not just traffic, because many of these Pinterest users actually went ahead and made purchases too.", the artist says.
So, all in all, Pinterest can be a seriously effective tool to get your stuff out there and attract lots of potential buyers. The key is to keep your links active and make sure your Pins catch people's attention.
Conclusion
To summarize the principle of Pinterest advertising, we can say this: It's like a give-and-take relationship between you and Pinterest. Here's how it goes: First, you put in some effort by creating a profile and sharing your pins. Once you've done that, you can sit back and relax because Pinterest takes over from there. Your pins have the potential to become popular as users save them.
All you really need to do is keep an eye on the increasing statistics and handle any orders that come your way. It's kind of like a low-maintenance way of promoting your stuff on Pinterest.
