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1. Create captivating content
Visuals speak volumes on Pinterest. In fact, in a Pinterest study, 85% of Pinners place more importance on visuals than text. But that doesn't mean you should slack on your copy. Your pins should be designed to deliver on all fronts.
What makes a good pin?
Vertical imagery. Exactly 85% of Pinners are on mobile. Shoot for a 2:3 aspect ratio so your image doesn't get truncated, and aim for the highest quality.
Descriptive copy. Tell people what they're seeing, and entice them to want to learn more.
Text overlay. Consider including a headline that reinforces your message.
Tasteful branding. Include your logo your brand doesn't get lost in the RePin shuffle.
Good storytelling. Once you hook people in, show your brand in action. That way Pinners can imagine themselves as customers.
2. Pin consistently
Pinterest recommends to pin something once per day. This is more effective than creating a board and filling it up at once. Pinning regularly ensures your content will reach a wider audience.
You can schedule Pins on Pinterest or Hootsuite to ensure your account remains consistent. Take advantage of Audience Insights to determine when your content gets the most engagement. It's always best to post when the bulk of your audience is online.
3. Plan ahead for seasonal content
Pinners like to plan ahead. Way ahead. That means brands have to be even better planners. Pinterest recommends sharing seasonal content 30-45 days in advance.
Seasons and holidays are big opportunities for brands. More than 56 million searches were made in 2018 for Valentine's Day, 227 million for Halloween, and 321 million for December holidays.
Unsurprisingly, content that is timely sees a corresponding holiday boost. According to Pinterest, promoted pins that align with life moments and holidays see a 22% lift in online sales.
Look through Pinterest's Seasonal Insights planner for inspiration. Pick holidays that your brand can create content around, and make sure to use the right keywords.
Pinterest's Holiday Shopping Gift Guide board
Tim Hortons, Valentine's Day
Soda Stream, Christmas
Oreo, Thanksgiving
4. Use boards to connect with Pinners
Give Pinners a reason to follow your Pinterest Board. Create a series of tutorials or DIYs. Or curate a board filled with customers using your products.
On its Pinterest profile, cosmetic brand Glossier has separate boards for lip, brow, and other makeup ideas. There's also a board filled with more than 150 makeup ideas. But it's most popular board by far is a group board called BEAUTYCHAT.
As the company explains in its description, this board is a curated space for influencers and partners to share their beauty content. Rules for participation are clearly stated, including a limit on how many pins can be added per day.
The board now has more than half a million follows and more than 2,500 pins—over six times the amount of any other board.
Also, Pinterest recently rolled out new group board features, so you can easily react to posts group members share.
5. Optimize for Pinterest SEO
Pinterest is a visual search engine after all.
Just like any search engine, keywords are the basis for content discovery on Pinterest. This is why it's important to use them in your company, board, and pin names and descriptions. Hashtags are also useful, especially since Pinners can follow the ones they're interested in.
Beyond doing good keyword research, there are several things you can do to optimize for SEO on Pinterest. From pinning content from your website to boosting engagement, we provide the top ways to rank with Pinterest SEO.
6. Create a content strategy that delivers
Almost all Pinterest searches are non-branded. Some 97%, in fact. That means there's lots of opportunity for brands to get discovered—especially when strong content and SEO strategies are in place.
Exposure is important, but a good content strategy needs to follow through. As Pinterest recommends, marketers should, "Build a strategy that takes consumers from awareness to purchase." Once a Pinner shows interest, your content should take them through the marketing funnel, from interest to decision to action.
social media sales funnel
On Pinterest, brands should reconnect with engaged Pinners quickly. Findings from a recent Oracle Data Cloud study show that, when it comes to consumer packaged goods, Pinners were more likely to try a new product within 10 months of its launch.
The takeaway? "'Heavy up' on media at the beginning of the campaign," says Pinterest.
7. Target the right Pinners with ads
Another effective way to follow through on Pinterest is with ads. Pinterest allows advertisers to target ads around keywords, interests, location, age, and other demographics.
Meanwhile, audience targeting lets advertisers reach the following groups:
A customer lists, such as newsletter subscribers
People who have visited your website
People who have engaged with your Pins
People who have engaged with similar content
Actalike audiences can also be created to help marketers find people similar to their customers. Just choose an existing audience as a source, and Pinterest will find like-minded Pinners for you.
Learn everything you need to know about Pinterest advertising.
8. Make it easy for Pinners to shop
Pinners, as we know, like to shop. So, make it easy for them.
One way to do this is with Shop the Look pins. These pins streamline the online retail process by allowing people to click on the specific home decor or fashion item that interests them. Links take them directly to the product page so that they can buy something immediately if they wish.
Pinterest also recently introduced a Shop tab for business profiles. This dedicated tab allows Pinners to shop a company's products directly from their profile. While it's still new, it shows promise to be an effective point-of-sale for businesses.
Macy's shop tab with 10 Pins of various clothing items
a Shop the Look Pin on mobile and desktop
Remember, all your efforts on Pinterest can be improved by paying close attention to Pinterest Analytics. Stay on top of Audience Insights so you can plan and refine your work.
