How to Use Pinterest to Market Your Business: A Complete Guide

1. What is Pinterest and why you might need it
2. How to set up a Pinterest business account
3. How to use Pinterest for business promotion

83% of Pinterest users have made a purchase based on content they saw on Pinterest. Seeing such an impressive statistic, you should consider incorporating Pinterest into your marketing strategy! From this guide, you’ll find out how Pinterest works, what companies benefit from it most, and what content drives most traffic to your site. 

What is Pinterest and why you might need it 

While Pinterest is considered a social network, it rather resembles a search engine which focuses on graphic content. People are using Pinterest to search for inspiring photos, images, and illustrations for their businesses. 

On Pinterest, users (Pinners) add photo and video content (Pins) to thematic dashboards. Here are some of the examples of pinboards: Christmas Decoration Ideas, Easter Recipes, Casual Summer Outfits, etc. If you follow a specific board, you’ll be seeing new pins from it in your feed.   

To search for a specific image, users type one or several keywords into the search field. You can link your pin to any platform, whether it’s your website, blog or online store. It’s a great way to boost traffic and sales. For example, the user is searching for pajamas. They type “silk pajamas” into the search field, see attractive photos of pajamas, click the link to learn more about the product, and eventually buy it.  

Still on the fence as to whether or not you need Pinterest for your company? Look at these amazing stats which showcase the benefits of using Pinterest for small and medium businesses:

• 97% of search queries on Pinterest are unbranded;
• 77% of pinners discover a new brand or product on Pinterest every week;
• 98% of pinners have tried new products they found on Pinterest;
• 83% of pinners have made a purchase based on content they saw on Pinterest.

Over the past year, number of monthly active users on Pinterest have increased by 37% and reached 442 mln people. “More than ever before, people are coming to Pinterest to get inspiration for their lives — everything from planning early for a socially distant Halloween to creating great home schools for their kids,” says Ben Silbermann, CEO and co-founder of Pinterest.

Women make up more than 60% of the Pinterest global audience. Each year, the numbers of male audience and Gen Z  users grow by 50%. For Gen Y users, the annual increase amounts to 35%. The top popular topics on the platform include fashion, beauty, food, handmade items, travel, and holidays.

How to set up a Pinterest business account

To be able to promote your company on Pinterest, you need a Business Account.  If you’re already signed up for Pinterest, you can convert your Personal account to a Business one in your settings. Alternatively, you can create a new business account from scratch. Let’s see how you do that.

Step 1. Go to pinterest.com. Enter your email address and password. Click “Create Account”. 

Step 2. Enter your business name. Choose the description of what your business does. Add a link to your website. Also, it might be beneficial to connect your company pages on Instagram, YouTube and Etsy to your Pinterest account. 

Step 3. Click the Pencil icon beside your business name and start building your Pinterest profile. Tell your audience about your company using the keywords related to your business. Your Pinterest account will be given a default name based on your email address. You can change your profile name if you want to. 

Step 4. As your profile picture, use your company logo. It’s a good way to make your Pinterest page more memorable and eye-catching. The minimum size for a Pinterest profile picture is 165х165 pixels. Don’t have a logo yet? Use the ZenBusiness logo maker to create a professional emblem in minutes!

Step 5. Upload a cover photo. Also, you need to add a link to your company website to be able to track website analytics. Go to the “Claim” tab, enter your website URL, and click “Claim”.

How to use Pinterest for business promotion

Tapping into the marketing opportunities offered by Pinterest requires concentrating on two fundamental things. First, you need to link your pins to your company website. Second, you need to make your website appealing to users from Pinterest.

Create engaging content

85% of Pinterest users prefer visual content over text information. With that in mind, focus on creating high-quality, informative and inspiring photos of your products and services.   

• Use compelling photos to showcase the advantages and strengths of your products. Pins spotlighting your products and services in action are 67% more likely to drive offline sales.
• Share useful information related to your products, e.g. furniture assembly instructions, master class on gift packing, recipe for a delicious pie, curious facts about your industry, etc. 
• Inspire your audience to craft beautiful and useful things of their own. Share original ideas for Halloween or Christmas decorations, striking prom looks, travel photos from exotic places, etc.
• Systemize your content by creating an individual board for each product, service or topic. For example, if you’re selling makeup products, you’ll need separate boards for mascaras, bronzers, lipsticks, makeup storage tips, makeup techniques, etc.  

Make your Pinterest profile look good

Pinterest is all about visual aesthetics. Put extra effort into making your photos and illustrations unique and appealing.

• To avoid Pinterest cropping your photos, upload vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g.,1000 x 1500 pixels).
• Only upload photos in HD. Using images in your corporate colors is a great way to highlight your brand personality. 
• Add descriptions (maximum 500 characters) to your photos to make it easier for your target audience to search for your products by keywords. If you want your audience to find your products by entering “women’s homewear”, be sure to include these words into your description. Since users will only see the first 50-60 characters of your text descriptions in their feed, be sure to include the most important information into the opening lines. 
• Brand your graphic content with your company logo. This will boost your brand recognition and make your visual identity stick with potential customers. Also, invest time into coming up with catchy headlines. Tell your audience what they’ll get after clicking the pin. It can be a free checklist, master class, tutorial, detailed product specifications, etc. 

Add videos

Alongside with photos, Pinterest also lets its users post short videos. This will give additional value to your boards. Below we’ve shared a few quick tips on how to make the most of your Pinterest videos.

• Short 20-second videos perform best on Pinterest.
• Make sure your video has a clear storyline. Avoid using worn-out techniques, e.g. stitching photos together as a video file. According to statistics, people watch videos with engaging storylines 32% longer. 
• Your task is to pique your audience’s curiosity from the first seconds of your video. Make your viewers gasp with surprise. Inspire them. Make them wonder about things. Do anything to make them want to continue watching your video. 
• Integrate your product into your videos. For example, if you’re selling groceries, make an engaging video recipe of a carrot pie. If you’re selling women’s purses, show smart techniques for combining them with other accessories. Another crucial thing is to brand your video content with your company name and logo.    

Plan your content

For a bigger outreach, Pinterest recommends adding new pins one by one, instead of uploading all your content in one batch. Also, be sure to make a content plan:

• Utilize the information on trends and user preferences provided by Pinterest Analytics.
• Focus on major holidays, such as Halloween, Easter, Mother’s Day, etc. Pinterest is the first online platform where users go in the search for creative ideas. Make a list of holidays and start posting pertinent content 30-45 days before each event.  

Link to your site

To drive traffic to your website, do the following:

• Add the “Pin It” button to all photos in your online store or blog. Your visitors will be able to save your images to their Pinterest boards, exposing them to more users. 
• Use Rich Pins. The beautiful thing about Rich Pins is that they automatically synchronize information from your website to your pins. If a Rich Pin features a product, it will also display prices and availability. If it’s a recipe, viewers will see the list of ingredients. If it’s an article, your audience will also see the headline, brief description, and author’s name. 
• Make sure your pins are connected to the right pages of your website. For example, a photo of a dress must lead to the purchase page, while a photo from a workshop must be connected to the signup page.

Engage your audience

Like on any social platform, you need to forge and nurture a relationship with your audience.

• In addition to your own pins, your boards must also display other users’ content related to your brand. The Pinterest algorithms prioritize accounts containing images from different sites. 
• Keep tabs on popular boards within your industry. Study hot trends, look for smart ideas, borrow clever practices, etc. 
• Communicate with your followers. Comment on pins from other users’ boards and react to comments left to your own posts.  
• Join group boards on Pinterest. Create your own group board and invite your followers to participate by adding pins onto it. It’s a great way to grow your outreach.
• Promote your Pinterest account among your clients. Add the Pinterest icon to your website, email signature, and other social media pages.  

Launch ads

Advertisements make for another effective method to put your Pinterest account out there. Pinterest offers a variety of parameters to target your audience with ads, e.g. keywords, geographic location, age, interests, etc. Also, you can target a specific category of users who are subscribed to your newsletter or have visited your online store before. For more information on setting up targeted ad campaigns on Pinterest, click here.

Track stats

This tip applies to both your Pinterest account and website. Log into your Pinterest account and click the Analytics tab to see which of your pins got the most impressions and click-throughs. Google Analytics is yet another powerful source of vital metrics. Click the Traffic Sources tab to find out how much traffic your Pinterest account has driven to your site and which pins performed best in that regard. 

Wrapping up

Although Pinterest is not quite like other socials, it boasts a huge promotion potential. Let’s sum up the main tips for advancing your business on Pinterest: 

• Don’t push sales too hard.Your task is to inspire your audience and give them extra value.
• Post high-quality photo and video content.
• Link your Pinterest account to your website to drive traffic.
• Interact with other Pinterest users by joining groups and leaving feedback.