How to Use Pinterest to Your Advantage

With over 70 million users, Pinterest has become one of the fastest growing content sharing sites in the world. Hailed as an online scrapbook, Pinterest generates 27% more revenue per click than Facebook and four times that of Twitter making it a worthwhile addition to your existing social media marketing plan.
In this article we consider six ways to increase traffic and drive sales using this humble sharing site.
blogging writing social media

1.Build a Business Account

Just like LinkedIn and Facebook, Pinterest offers the opportunity to convert your Pinterest personal page to a business one. Although there seems to be no obvious difference in appearance to the user it does provide you with an added analytics feature to help you keep track of number of repins and visits to your site. Through careful analysis this kind of data can really help you identify where you’re going wrong (or right!) and work on the aspects that are failing.

2. Make it an Extension of Your Website

It’s important to think of your social media pages as an extension of your website, and ultimately your brand. Keeping the same graphic used on your other sites as your profile picture and remembering to register yourself by your organisation’s name are really important in keeping it recognisable to customers. Modify your business type (e.g. ‘retailer’, ‘media’, ‘professional’, etc) and provide ‘About’ information and a link your website.
The Pinterest verify feature not only makes you look trusted but also enables your users to see the full URL of your company website on your profile and in search results. The more available this information is made the more likely users are to take a look if they enjoy your content.
Your Pinterest account shouldn’t just be redirecting your users to your main webpage though, why not integrate Pinterest share buttons onto your blog, homepage or other social media pages to drive traffic there? It’ll be surprising how many of your existing customers already use Pinterest.

3. Use Rich Pins

The term ‘rich pins’ refers to content that includes extra information on the pin itself. The ability to include maps and contact information, headlines and descriptions for articles, as well as real time pricing and availability are all really great for increasing traffic and engagement. Food MosaicTo apply for approval for these specific pins you will need to prep your website with appropriate Meta tags and validate them. Don’t be put off by this technology-based stuff because rich pins get a lot more overall clicks and really increase the visibility of your profile. Pinterest have a great tutorial for creating rich pins on their site.

4. Provide Great Content

The whole point of Pinterest is for users to upload and share interesting and exciting content. The great thing about using this particular site in your social media marketing is that you are forced to think in a visual manner. Although certain industries may be more image-friendly than others (think restaurants or car hire firms) you probably have a lot more to hand that you initially thought. Take advantage of your brand’s existing image assets, your white papers, web page graphics, staff and corporate event photographs or charts.
Don’t just share original, company-specific images. Take inspiration from the Starbucks Pinterest Page and think about pinning other inspirational, maybe even comical, content that other users will repin. These pages aren’t just for self-promotion.

5.Don’t Underestimate the Power of Image Descriptions

When uploading your own, unique content, whether it’s a company graphic or promotion advertisement it is important to remember to include a concise, readable image description. Adding keywords is a sure fire way to optimise your pins for search and maximise traffic. Remember to give context to your content so that people want to take a look and share it themselves, with only a 500 character limit it’ll need to remain as concise as you can make it but that’s not a bad thing!
 

Web Traffic6. Interact with Customers

Social media marketing isn’t just about securing sales but securing customers that will return again and again. Just like Facebook and Twitter, engagement levels make a real difference to the overall success of your marketing. When a customer comments on one of your pins, reply as quickly as you can and make sure to tag them in it so that they can see your reply. Follow other users or businesses that share your interests and like or repin content that you find interesting.

To Wrap Up…

Pinterest is one of the most ecommerce-friendly social media sites available and with a growing user-base is perfect for driving traffic to a company website. Keeping a balance between company-specific and exciting content is key to building a Pinterest profile that users return to again and again.  

Do you use Pinterest as part of your social media marketing? How do you attract customers? Please leave your comments below….

MORE ARTICLES

What Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and How Does it Work

27 Apr 2023

What Is Search Engine Optimization? Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing websites or online content to increase its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). SEO is an integral component of digital marketing as it attracts more traffic to websites, increases brand recognition, and boosts conversion rates. In this article, we’ll review […]

READ MORE

5 Frightful B2B Halloween Marketing Strategies

28 Oct 2022

This Halloween, it’s time to face your marketing fears. Creating a frighteningly fresh approach to B2B marketing strategies takes blood, guts and insight into the digital marketing industry as a whole.  Here at Pinnacle Internet Marketing, B2B marketing is our bread and butter. We offer SEO, social media and web development to businesses worldwide. We’re […]

READ MORE

Q4 Planning: How to Get your Business Ready for Q4 and Finish the Year Strong

14 Oct 2022

What is Q4 Planning, and Why is it Important? ‘Q4’ Planning is the term businesses use to refer to the fourth quarter of the financial year. It starts on the 1st of October and ends on December 31st, before the start of the new financial year. For consumers, it may be a time to wind […]

READ MORE