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Less like a traditional social media platform and more like a digital vision board, Pinterest is a powerful place for small businesses and solopreneurs to generate organic traffic, boost brand awareness, and generate leads.
With 445 million users, this powerful social network has more users than Twitter, Quora, and Reddit. More impressively, a whopping 85% of Pinterest users (aka “pinners”) have bought something they have saved (aka “pinned”) on Pinterest. Your time and work spent on Pinterest also go a lot further.
Pinterest posts (aka “pins”) have a much longer lifespan than posts on other social networks. In fact, a quality pin can continue to get engagement for more than a year, and the average pin’s lifetime is around four months. Compared to Facebook posts (three hours), Tweets (18 minutes), and Instagram (two days), that’s a whole lot more bang for your buck.
However, the platform can be a bit intimidating if you’ve never used it. It’s also not right for every business. So, in this article, we’ll share everything you need to know to start marketing on Pinterest, including determining whether the platform is right for your goals.
Before you consider using Pinterest for your business, it’s important to determine whether the network is right for what you hope to achieve. Unlike other social networks, Pinterest isn’t incredibly diverse. Its main users are women from the United States.
While the number of men using Pinterest is growing, 76.3% of Pinterest users are women. And when it comes to the age makeup of the platform’s user base, 46.5% of those women are between 18 and 34 years old, and 38% are between 50 and 65 years old. However, the amount of Gen-Z users is growing exponentially year after year.
The user income data is also worth noting. 45% of Pinterest users make more than $100K per year. It’s part of the reason why Pinterest users spend 80% more than users on other platforms.
Pinterest serves a wide variety of niches and interests. However, the ten categories experts expect to be most popular in 2023 include:
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t market on Pinterest if you’re outside these categories. It just means you’ll want to do some research inside the platform before going all in to ensure your target audience is thriving on Pinterest already.
Generally speaking, Pinterest is a terrific place to market if your target demographic is high-income women. However, if your target audience falls outside of this – that’s okay, too. You’ll just want to do some research beforehand to ensure the platform is worth your time and energy.
Here are the nine steps to start marketing your business or brand on Pinterest.
Pinterest has some terms you must know to market there effectively. If you’re already familiar with Pinterest, you may not need this information and can skip right to step two. However, if you’re new to the platform, here’s a quick Pinterest Glossary to get you started.
Pinterest also allows users to do many of the same things you can do on other social networks, including:
Once you have a handle on how Pinterest works, you can move on to the next step.
Like other social media accounts, Pinterest has personal and business account options. While both can be advantageous, having a business account allows you to unlock amazing features like:
The Pinterest Business Hub
If you want to use Pinterest to market your business, you’ll want a business account.
Your profile should be an extension of your brand persona. As such, you want to ensure it looks great and represents your brand accurately. So, take the time to:
Your profile quality will play a huge role in your overall success on the platform.
At its core, Pinterest is a visual search engine. As a result, you’ll need to employ Search Engine Optimization techniques in everything you do on the platform. In other words, you must incorporate keywords into all your boards and pins.
The best way to find which keywords to use on Pinterest is to use Pinteres’s search bar autocomplete feature. Start by typing root keywords in the search bar, and Pinterest will provide you with a list of related keywords. You can also use Pinterest Trends to uncover what’s currently trending on the platform.
Once you have a strong keyword list, be sure you put them in your bio, board titles, board descriptions, pin titles, and pin descriptions to optimize everything you do on the platform. Other Pinterest ranking factors include:
So, keep those things in mind when marketing on Pinterest.
Much like Instagram, Pinterest is a visual-first platform. Consequently, your Pinterest boards and pins must be visually appealing to get meaningful engagement.
Think about your boards in terms of categories. For instance, what different categories will you create pins for? Will you make each of your boards target a different Pinterest keyword? Alternatively, you might sell several products or service multiple industries. In that case, you might create separate boards for each product or industry.
Pins are the bread and butter of Pinterest. They’re what people will re-pin and how they’ll find your website. Make sure all your pins are high-quality images that link back to your website or product page. There are several pin types, including:
(For more info on pin types and dimensions, check out this quick guide from Pinterest).
To create pins and board covers, consider using a free option like Canva or these Pinterest templates from HubSpot to get you started.
Like every other social media platform, you’ll want to establish a consistent posting (or pinning) schedule. Pinterest recommends you create fresh pins once a week. However, experts agree that if you really want to see results, you should aim for 1-4 pins each day.
Find a reasonable amount and stick to it. However, be sure not to pin everything all at once. If you’re pinning multiple pins in a day, use a scheduler to pin them at different times throughout the day.
It’s important to engage with Pinners. You shouldn’t just post and expect people to follow or engage with your brand. Instead, take the time to re-pin relevant pins, comment, react, and like other Pinner’s boards and pins.
When people interact with your pins, it’s important to engage back. Take the time to comment and have conversations with the people interacting with your brand.
Finally, be sure to take time to follow and engage the other bigger players in your niche. Doing so might encourage them to re-pin your pins, exposing them to a larger audience.
To grow your following, invite pinners to your group boards, add the “pin it” button to your website, and encourage your followers on other networks to join you on Pinterest. And be sure to join other group boards yourself to collaborate with other brands and expand your reach.
From analytics to ads, Pinterest has much to offer a growing brand and business. Once you have a handle on Pinterest, be sure to check out their tools and test them out. To understand performance, Pinterest Analytics gives you key insights like:
Additionally, Pinterest Ads lets you level up your efforts with several different ad types. Like Facebook Ads, the Pinterest Ads Manager allows you to target relevant audiences and precise demographics.
As a bonus, Pinterest offers lots of free educational resources, including Pinterest Academy, Webinars, and more to help you level up your Pinterest strategy.
Pinterest has a lot to offer small businesses and solopreneurs. With a high-income user base and incredible conversion statistics, Pinterest is worth the time investment – especially if your target audience is within one of Pinterest’s established categories.
If you take the time to learn the platform and follow the steps above, you’ll be well on your way to marketing your business on Pinterest like a pro.
If you aren’t sure Pinterest is right for you, check out our guide on selecting the best social media network for your business here.
Marketing.biz is your source for all marketing education and resources.