Pinterest is not just a platform for sharing DIY projects or discovering new recipes; it has evolved into a powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their reach, drive traffic to their websites, and increase sales. With over 450 million active users worldwide, Pinterest offers businesses an opportunity to tap into a highly engaged audience that is actively searching for inspiration and ideas. But to make the most out of Pinterest marketing, you need a solid strategy that will help you achieve your business goals.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step approach to creating a successful Pinterest marketing strategy that will elevate your business, attract followers, and convert them into loyal customers.
Why Pinterest Should Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy
Before diving into the specifics of Pinterest marketing, it’s important to understand why the platform is worth your time and effort. Pinterest is a visually-driven search engine, which means people use it to search for ideas, products, and inspiration. Unlike social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, where content is primarily consumed for entertainment or social connection, Pinterest users are actively looking to make decisions—whether it’s planning a trip, redecorating their home, or purchasing a product.
Here are some compelling reasons why Pinterest should be part of your marketing strategy:
High Purchase Intent: Studies show that 87% of Pinterest users have purchased a product or service after seeing a brand’s content on the platform. This makes Pinterest an ideal space for businesses to showcase products, build brand awareness, and drive sales.
Organic Reach: Pinterest’s algorithm favors content that is evergreen, meaning it has the potential to keep showing up in searches for months or even years after being posted. This gives your content a longer lifespan compared to posts on other platforms, where the reach tends to drop quickly.
Targeted Audience: Pinterest is highly visual, and users tend to search for specific things based on their interests. This allows businesses to target highly segmented audiences with relevant content, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Increased Website Traffic: Pinterest acts as a visual search engine that can drive significant traffic to your website. By linking your pins to blog posts, product pages, or landing pages, you can generate leads and sales with minimal ongoing effort.
Now that you understand why Pinterest is important for your business, let’s dive into how to create a successful Pinterest marketing strategy.
1. Set Clear Goals for Pinterest Marketing
The first step in creating any marketing strategy is to define your goals. Before jumping into Pinterest marketing, ask yourself: What do you want to achieve with Pinterest? Your goals will help you measure success and shape your content strategy. Here are some common goals businesses pursue on Pinterest:
Increase Website Traffic: Use Pinterest to drive visitors to your website by linking your pins to blog posts, landing pages, and product pages.
Generate Leads and Sales: Create compelling pins that encourage users to take action, such as signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase.
Build Brand Awareness: Show off your products, services, or expertise to attract new followers and potential customers.
Boost Engagement: Focus on getting users to interact with your pins by saving, liking, and commenting on them.
Setting clear goals will guide your Pinterest marketing efforts and ensure you’re on the right track to achieving measurable results.
2. Optimize Your Pinterest Profile
Your Pinterest profile is the foundation of your marketing strategy, and optimizing it is crucial to ensure you’re making a strong first impression. Follow these steps to optimize your Pinterest profile:
a) Set Up a Business Account
If you haven’t already, switch to a business account. Business accounts on Pinterest have access to analytics, promoted pins, and other valuable features to help you grow your brand on the platform.
b) Complete Your Profile
Ensure that your profile is complete with a professional photo or logo, a clear description of your business, and your website URL. Your description should be optimized with relevant keywords to help people find your profile when searching.
c) Create Boards that Reflect Your Brand
Boards are how you organize your pins, and they should align with your business’s goals. Consider creating boards based on topics related to your products or services. For example, if you sell fitness gear, you might create boards for “Home Workouts,” “Healthy Recipes,” and “Fitness Tips.”
d) Use Keywords in Your Bio and Board Descriptions
Pinterest operates like a search engine, so using relevant keywords in your bio, board titles, and descriptions will help users find your content. Think about what your ideal customer is searching for and include those terms in your profile.
3. Develop a Content Strategy
Content is king on Pinterest, and your strategy will revolve around creating visually appealing pins that resonate with your target audience. To develop a successful content strategy, consider the following:
a) Design Stunning Pins
The visual aspect of Pinterest is key to attracting engagement. High-quality, eye-catching images are more likely to be pinned and shared. Use high-resolution photos, bold colors, and clean designs that reflect your brand’s aesthetic. Tools like Canva and Adobe Spark can help you create professional-looking pins without a designer.
Here are some tips for designing successful pins:
Use Vertical Images: Pinterest favors vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 x 1500 pixels).
Add Text Overlay: Incorporate clear, easy-to-read text over your images to communicate the value or message.
Brand Consistency: Stick to a consistent color scheme and typography to ensure your pins are easily recognizable.
b) Pin Regularly
Consistency is key to growing your presence on Pinterest. Aim to pin frequently, especially when you’re starting out. Pinterest rewards active users, so try to post at least 10–15 pins per day. This doesn’t mean creating original pins every time, as you can repin content from other users, but make sure your pins reflect your brand and target audience.
c) Create a Content Calendar
To stay organized, create a content calendar that outlines your pinning schedule, themes, and goals. Plan your content around key events, seasons, or product launches to maximize engagement.
4. Leverage Pinterest SEO
Pinterest is a search engine, so optimizing your content for search is essential. Here’s how to implement Pinterest SEO in your strategy:
a) Use Relevant Keywords
Think about the terms your audience might be searching for and use them strategically in your pin descriptions, board titles, and profiles. Focus on both broad and niche keywords to increase your discoverability.
b) Craft Compelling Pin Descriptions
A good pin description should provide context and include relevant keywords without feeling forced. Aim to make your descriptions informative and actionable, helping users understand why they should click on your pin.
c) Optimize Board Titles and Descriptions
Just like your pins, your boards need to be optimized for search. Use specific, keyword-rich board titles that reflect the content you’ll pin. For example, instead of naming a board “Fitness,” consider “Home Workout Routines for Beginners.”
d) Use Hashtags
Hashtags can help your pins reach a broader audience. Use a few relevant hashtags in your pin descriptions to improve your chances of appearing in search results.
5. Analyze Your Pinterest Performance
Finally, tracking and analyzing your performance is critical to improving your Pinterest marketing strategy over time. Pinterest offers built-in analytics for business accounts that give you insights into how your pins are performing.
Here are some key metrics to track:
- Impressions: The number of times your pin was seen.
- Engagements: The number of times people interacted with your pins, such as clicking, saving, or commenting.
- Website Clicks: The number of clicks your pins received that led to your website.
- Repins: The number of times other users saved your pin to their boards.
Use this data to identify what type of content is resonating with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if you notice that certain types of pins are getting more engagement, you can create similar content to continue driving traffic.
6. Promote Your Pins with Ads
Once you have a solid organic strategy in place, consider running promoted pins to amplify your reach. Pinterest ads allow you to target specific audiences based on their interests, keywords, and demographics. By promoting your best-performing pins, you can increase your visibility and drive more traffic to your website.
a) Choose Your Campaign Objective
Pinterest offers various campaign objectives, including brand awareness, website traffic, and conversions. Select the objective that aligns with your business goals.
b) Set a Budget and Bid Strategy
Pinterest ads work on a bidding system, so you’ll need to set a daily or lifetime budget and bid for each click or impression. Start small and increase your budget once you see positive results.
c) Monitor Ad Performance
Just like with organic content, it’s important to track the performance of your ads and make adjustments as needed. Test different pin designs, headlines, and targeting options to find what works best.
Pinterest is a unique and powerful platform that can significantly boost your marketing efforts. By developing a comprehensive Pinterest marketing strategy—setting clear goals, optimizing your profile, creating engaging content, leveraging SEO, analyzing performance, and using promoted pins—you can build a strong presence on Pinterest and drive measurable results for your business.
With its visually-driven, search-engine-based format, Pinterest offers businesses the opportunity to attract a highly engaged audience, increase website traffic, and convert followers into loyal customers. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to mastering Pinterest marketing and reaping its many benefits.
