Why Pinterest should be part of your marketing strategy

Marketers everywhere are leveraging the power of social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to connect with audiences and promote their brand.

While the aforementioned platforms are rife in a marketers strategy, there is less hype around the marketing potential of Pinterest, an online pinboard for collecting visual pieces of multimedia.

While it may not be as popular as the social media behemoth that is Facebook, with its 200 million monthly users, this social platform has deep penetration invaluable demographics.

In fact, half of all US millennials are using Pinterest. But it’s not just the young folk using the platform; 68 percent of US women between the ages of 25 and 54 are active users. The app also garners attention from both a male (30 percent) and female audience (70 percent).

These users (or “Pinners” as they are known in the Pinterest community) are all using the platform to discover helpful and inspiring ideas. They’re using Pinterest to plan what’s important in their lives, from what to cook for dinner to inspiration for their home renovation.

What does this mean for your brand?

Pinterest is a network people flock to for inspiration- including looking for ideas about new products to buy.

People on Pinterest are ready to act; 61 percent of users say they’ve discovered new brands or products on the platform, 72 percent say Pinterest helps them find ideas for everyday life, and one out of two Pinners have made a purchase after seeing a Promoted Pin.

According to eMarketer, only Facebook outranks Pinterest in terms of influencing US social media users’ purchasing decisions.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at how exactly this platform can help you reach your business goals.

Increase brand awareness

With a truckload of users using Pinterest to discover new ideas and products, it represents a fresh vehicle to showcase your brands’ offerings.

Pinterest enables you to set up a business account, which comes with valuable features such as ads, analytics, and regular email updates.

The key to success on Pinterest is to create great, engaging content. Since it’s a platform targeted at visual content, you should ensure you are using compelling images which capture the eye of the scrolling user.

Users may not take the time to read the description, so getting the image right is crucial. Take note that lifestyle images are often more successful at grabbing attention than standard product shots.

People love to discover new and unusual ideas on Pinterest. So, be sure to create content that highlight elements of novelty or fresh ideas in order to get people excited and more likely to share.

Furthremore, you should ensure your website is “Pinterest friendly”, allowing visitors to save the content they like from your site onto Pinterest.

Integrating the Save button onto your own website will boost your brand’s presence on Pinterest, as once a visitor saves an image- other Pinners can see the content also.

Increase website traffic

Each day, Pinterest search drives millions of visits to other sites through referral traffic. It is a fantastic way to send Pinners to your blog or online store.

Each time someone saves your pin, your followers will see it too, exposing it to an even wider audience with similar interests.

Showcasing your logo via a small watermark on your pins will also help guide users to your brand easily and unobtrusively.

The Promoted Pins feature which allows you to pay extra to have your pin seen by more people. According to the platform, this can lead to five times more in-store sales.

Grow your business through Pinterest insights

With a business account and Pinterest analytics, you have valuable insights at your fingertips. You can see what Pins people like, what products they are saving from your website, and how much traffic your site gets.

You’ll also be able to uncover metrics about Pinners who are engaging with your business as well as their interests.

Leveraging the power of analytics will enable you to refine and tweak your Pinterest strategy in order to get more impressions, clicks and saves for your business.

So, what’re you waiting for? It’s time to get creative and unlock the growth opportunities of Pinterest for your business.