More than 250 million people visit Pinterest’s website every month. Eighty million of those users are from the U.S., many of whom are about twice as likely to earn high incomes. With more than 90 percent of users visiting Pinterest to make purchase decisions, it’s evident that the social media platform is a place where advertisers can turn users to loyal customers. Take Hootsuite’s perspective on Pinterest:
People use Pinterest for different reasons than they use networks like Facebook and Instagram. Pinterest is a network where people look for inspiration, including specifically seeking out ideas about new products to buy. That means they are excited to see posts from brands in their feeds. According to eMarketer, only Facebook outranks Pinterest in terms of influencing U.S. social media users’ purchasing decisions.”
With almost 60 percent of users reporting that they visit Pinterest to look for products, marketers would be ill-advised to ignore its powerful advertising potential. However, simply creating a Pinterest business account is no guarantee the social media site will help you achieve your key marketing objectives. To do that, you need a solid plan, one that leverages Pinterest’s unique social media culture, demographics, and advertising tools.
To ramp up your advertising influence and optimize your marketing on Pinterest, you need to implement the following twelve strategies.
Table of Contents
1. Make It Easy for Users to Pin Your Content
Not every Pinterest user has installed the site’s browser button. That means it’s harder for them to pin and save the content you post.
Fortunately, there is an easy fix: Simply add a save button to your website. Once you do, prospects and customers can pin the content they like with one click. That simple fix will increase the amount of your content Pinterest users save. To add a Pinterest save button to your Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge web browsers, you must follow these steps:
Chrome or Firefox
Step 1: Go Pinterest Button for Chrome
Step 2: Click “Get our browser button.”
Step 3: Follow the installation instructions.
Microsoft Edge
Step 1: Got to Microsoft Store.
Step 2: Click “Get.”
2. Get Your Images Right
The people who use Pinterest go there expecting fantastic, inspiring imagery. That means using cheesy, poor quality stock photographs on Pinterest is a drop-dead deal breaker for your advertising campaign. If you don’t post great images, in other words, there is little point to selling on Pinterest.
Make sure your Pinterest photos are professionally designed and focused, reflecting the quality of your products. It is also important to use images that give prospective customers what they are looking for. For example, product images alone don’t work nearly as well as photos that show people using your product in their lives.
3. Use the Description Field Strategically
If you want Pinterest users to go to your website, you need to give them a good reason to do so. That’s where the description you use below your photos is critical.
For example, if you posted a photo of a dishwasher from your appliance account on Pinterest, you could add a description with this copy: “The dishwasher you buy needs to do more than look good—it should also get your clothes clean, be energy efficient, and save you money. To learn more, click here.”
Pinterest descriptions are located underneath the post headline.
4. Be Consistent
Many Pinterest users visit the site every day, expecting to see something they didn’t see yesterday. If they like your business, that something needs to come from you. In other words, post a Pin at least once a day. You should also make your Pins timely, aligning with what’s going on in prospective customers’ lives. To ensure that all of your posts are consistent, you can use a scheduling program to automate your posts, for example, Tailwind or Sprout Social.
5. Empower Brand Advocates
No one promotes your brand more than customers and employees who love your business and products and love talking about them. Identify those people who praise your brand and invite them to contribute to group boards. More than 90 percent of consumers look for recommendations about your business, and brand advocates can give you the positive word of mouth to take your Pinterest campaigns to the next level.
6. Get Analytical
Pinterest offers its own analytics tool, Pinterest Analytics. Use it.
With Pinterest Analytics, you will find out which content is most effective and which is underperforming. For example, Pins that are unpopular or aren’t driving traffic to your site need to be tweaked or eliminated. The marketing insights you gain from using Pinterest Analytics will help you continually improve the performance of your Pinterest advertising campaigns.
7. Make Text Legible with a High-Contrast Background
How you write your image descriptions and alt-text is important for SEO. However, the text you use on the image itself is what will make someone either Pin your post or keep scrolling. Use text that’s attractive and easy to read to help viewers get a quick understanding of your content. Large text in bold, clear font draws attention. Keep your captions from getting lost by using contrasting design techniques, such as banners and color blocking.
8. Use Vertical Images
Every social website works best with certain image dimensions, and Pinterest favors long vertical images over horizontal or square ones. They take up more real estate on the user’s feed, and bigger is better when it comes to visual platforms.
9. Get Creative with Colors
Pinterest is one site where a minimalist approach can be easily overshadowed. Loud and bright is the way to go, with warm colors, such as coral and yellow, dominating over more subdued tones, such as gray or navy. Pinterest’s user base is primarily comprised of women, so it helps to keep this in mind when you’re selecting color palettes. Additionally, don’t be afraid to use clashing colors. This site is all about being the first to grab someone’s attention, so get creative with your color combinations.
10. Stick to a Cohesive Theme
Although the best way to see what works on Pinterest is to try different designs and styles, all of your Pins should follow consistent branding. This will help you increase brand awareness and maintain a fluid look and feel on your boards.
11. Don’t Mimic Your Competition
It can be tempting to use similar Pins as a template for your own, but standing apart from the rest is the best way to attract users to your content. Take a look at what people in your niche are posting, and try to create Pins with different features. If everyone is using script text, try block letters or a bold serif. If your search populates a feed full of cool and dark images, keep yours light and bright. You don’t want your Pins to get lost in a sea of similar posts.
12. Follow Pinterest Trends
One way to increase exposure for your brand is to capitalize on some of theseason’s biggest Pinterest trends. Each season and each holiday has its own trending topic that users are voraciously searching for.
Memorial Day: March through May
Memorial Day is one of the country’s most celebrated weekend holidays, and it is the best time to highlight anything related to barbecues, camping, or family getaways. Patriotic themes are also a hot search topic, so make the most out of this holiday with anything red, white, and blue.
Because Memorial Day kicks off the summer season, use bright colors and punchy phrases to make your Pins pop. Remember that your content should be respectful (the holiday exists to honor fallen U.S. army members ) yet fun and family-oriented. Honor, unity, and gratitude are central themes you can use.
Graduations: March through May
Searches skyrocket for anything soon-to-be graduates would need before starting the next chapter of their lives. This includes everything from portable refrigerators and non-perishable foods to dorm-friendly bedding. Invitation templates, photo-related gifts, and other mementos also gain more traction in the spring.
For your content, pursue the theme of pride, using bold, stately fonts and high-contrast colors. If you’re sharing curated content or a timely blog post, focus on anything related to preparing for the future.
Fourth of July: April through July
March through July are the best months to post patriotic content on Pinterest. Independence Day-themed outfits, decorations, potluck dishes, and even makeup tips receive a considerable amount of attention on the platform.
To make your photos pop, incorporate fireworks, backyard barbecues, and lots of American flag prints. Tie in anything related to outdoor activities or patriotism, and you will have the perfect Fourth of July Pin to add to your Pinterest boards. Similar to Memorial Day, you can’t go wrong by tying in national colors with sans serif fonts.
Summer: March through July
Whether you’re celebrating a break from school or enjoying the sunshine at the beach, summer is a hot topic that everyone can get on board with. Travel inspiration, warm weather activities, clothing, seasonal hair and makeup trends, and fresh meal ideas all perform well during this time of year.
Grab the attention of your target users by using bright colors, script-like fonts, saturated backgrounds, and summer backdrops in your cover photos. Coastlines, picnic tables, and colorful beach umbrellas are all fun ways to tie your product or post in with the summertime theme.
The Great Outdoors
April is when most of the country starts to warm up, so it is a great time to post about anything from outdoor patio furniture to in-ground swimming pools. Users are searching for garden inspiration, picnic ideas, and unique ways to cool down as temperatures rise.
If you want to take advantage of a 700 percent increase in year-over-year (YoY) search frequency, tie a rustic barn theme into your content. Searches related to chicken coops, barn-facade homes, and edible gardening have skyrocketed this year. Increase brand visibility by telling your audience how to optimize garden space for easy-to-grow herbs or how to build a DIY-reclaimed wood pub table.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Pinterest users are currently loving recipes that feature fresh produce. Grab their attention with bright, summery colors and helpful tips on how to use whole foods for entertaining, decor, and meal prep. Smoothies, homemade ice cream, and barbecue foil wraps are a few season-friendly ways to incorporate fresh fruits and veggies.
Road Trips and Minimalistic Travel
Searches for van living and carry-on packing tips reached a YoY increase of 44 percent and 157 percent, respectively. Use the theme of minimalistic travel in your own content by adding a capsule packing list or road trip survival guide to your Pinterest campaign.
Pinterest Isn’t the Only One
Effectively leveraged, Pinterest is a powerful social media marketing tool, but it’s not the only one. To maximize your social media advertising performance, you need to adopt a multichannel approach, one that optimizes the totality of social media opportunities available to you. Alongside Pinterest, you can use other social media platforms to promote your business, such as Instagram or Facebook.
Written by Nicole Frost
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