Essentially, Pinterest is the modern-day equivalent of browsing catalogues and scrapbooking to collect ideas and inspiration. As a social platform, Pinterest is driven by products and its marketing potential for brands and businesses is incredibly significant.

Pinterest currently has over 300 million users - also known as ‘Pinners’ - who use the visual search engine and productivity tool for ‘Pinspiration’. For each Pinner, the platform generates ‘Pins’, which are personalised visual recommendations based on taste and interests. Pinners visit the platform with the intent to pro-actively find and discover. So, when it comes to interacting with content, Pinners are generally very receptive; the reason being that they find the content helpful.

As the world’s largest discovery platform, Pinterest offers a game-changing advantage for businesses to increase brand awareness and generate sales opportunities. When comparing Pinterest to other platforms, its features and functionalities are unique which, in turn, means that its marketing capabilities are also distinctive. If used correctly, businesses can leverage Pinterest to connect with new audiences and achieve new business potential.

Why is Pinterest’s Sales Potential Unique?

The primary reason Pinterest is such a powerful marketing tool for businesses is user intent and motive. Commercial content from brands is central to Pinterest; the majority of Pins saved on the platform are from businesses. What’s unique about ad content on Pinterest is the fact that it’s native and therefore, doesn’t impede what Pinners want to see. The non-interruption marketing opportunity Pinterest enables is mutually beneficial for brands and Pinners alike. On Pinterest, for the most part, ads are no longer regarded as a distraction or an inconvenience as they are on other social platforms.

When Pinners arrive on the platform, they are actively looking for content, and Pinterest facilitates the entire discovery journey. For brands, this means a readily available marketing opportunity to demonstrate how your products and services, solve the problem or action Pinners are looking to achieve, at every stage of the buyer’s journey. From awareness and consideration right through to the point of decision, you can create content to appeal to Pinners at every stage and therefore increase the likelihood of closing sales.

Pinterest also enables brands to showcase products and services in a creative environment. According to Pinterest, the inspiration Pinners experience on the platform, make Pinterest an especially effective environment for brands to develop an emotional connection with potential customers. As a result, Pinterest is an invaluable brand-building tool. 68% of Pinners say that they have discovered a new brand or product on Pinterest.

What’s more, Pinterest content is permanent, and unlike other platforms, doesn’t have a shelf-life. The platform hosts a Boards feature where Pinners can save Pins to personal Boards - private and public options are available - which they can come back to at a later date. Pinterest has over 175 billion pins.

Getting Started with Pinterest

We’ve covered the why’s of Pinterest’s unique selling points, now let’s discuss the how’s of getting started on Pinterest.

1. Activate your Pinterest Business Account

With a Pinterest for Business Account, you can access all of the platform’s marketing tools such as Analytics and a verified Business Profile. As with any form of marketing, it’s important to monitor the metrics to figure out what’s working and what’s not, so the Analytics tool will prove invaluable. With a Business Account, you also have increased control over branding and content attribution.

2. Add Widgets

Kickstart engagement with your Pins by adding Pinterest Widgets to your website or app. Incorporate a Save button to enable people viewing your website to save what they like to their own Pinterest Boards, or encourage people to follow you on Pinterest by adding a simple Follow button. With Widgets, there’s also scope to embed Pins or Boards within your website to feature selected Pinterest content.

3. Get Ad Ready

Businesses opting to advertise on the platform will need to add the Pinterest Tag to personal sites. With the Pinterest Tag, you can track how successfully your ads generate website traffic, including conversions, campaign performance, and new audience list building capabilities.

4. Quality Content is Key

The secret to effective content is to create visually appealing Pins that embody your business’ mission and catch the attention of users. Keep your audience in mind and create high-quality, consistent content. To achieve a professional aesthetic, take the time to check out Pinterest’s product specifications to use as a guide when you’re creating content. Always strive to improve content and ensure that your Pins are relevant - Pinterest Analytics is a great tool to help you determine the effectiveness of content. Powerful Pinterest content generates increased following, brand awareness and most importantly, website traffic growth and sales.

5. Don’t Forget the Extras

Be sure to include a full-text description alongside your Pin and make it informative. You have up to 500 characters to add context and a call to action. This is a prime opportunity to reinforce your branding and showcase how your products and services can help the Pinners find a solution to their query.

Hashtags are also an important asset to include in your description to improve discoverability. Hashtags are searchable and often used to identify trending topics. Carefully select a few hashtags to help users to find your Pins. If you’re in need of hashtag ideas, use the autocomplete suggestions tool available when you search your topic on Pinterest.

Let's Go

For product-based businesses, Pinterest’s marketing potential for increased sales is unparalleled. The platform is an incredibly beneficial tool for any business looking to gain brand awareness or accelerate sales. Is your brand looking to achieve this? Contact us at Digital Stand for a further discussion on how we can help you achieve your Pinterest goals.