Pinterest is a visual discovery and bookmarking platform that allows users to save and share images and videos on virtual pinboards. With over 450 million monthly active users, Pinterest offers a huge opportunity for ecommerce businesses to increase their visibility, drive traffic to their website, and boost sales.
In this guide, we’ll explore the ways in which ecommerce businesses can leverage Pinterest to market their products effectively. We’ll cover everything from setting up a Pinterest business account to creating engaging pins, optimizing your content, and measuring your success. Along the way, we’ll provide plenty of examples and best practices to help you get the most out of your Pinterest marketing efforts.
Set Up a Pinterest Business Account
The first step to using Pinterest for ecommerce marketing is to create a business account. Here’s how to do it:
- Step 1: Go to Pinterest for Business and click “Join as a Business.”
- Step 2: Fill out the form with your business name, website, and email address.
- Step 3: Follow the prompts to set up your account and verify your website.
Once your account is set up, you can start creating boards and pins to showcase your products
Create Boards That Showcase Your Products
Pinterest is all about discovery, so it’s important to create boards that appeal to your target audience and showcase your products in an engaging way. Here are a few tips for creating effective boards:
- Tip 1: Keep it organized. Create boards that are organized by theme or category, and use descriptive titles and descriptions that make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for.
- Tip 2: Show your products in context. Create boards that showcase your products in a real-world context, such as in use or in a specific setting.
- Tip 3: Use high-quality images. Pinterest is a visual platform, so make sure your images are high-quality and showcase your products in the best possible light.
- Tip 4: Use keywords. Use relevant keywords in your board titles and descriptions to help your content get discovered in search.
Here are a few examples of effective boards:
Example 1: West Elm
West Elm is a furniture and home decor retailer that uses Pinterest to showcase its products in a variety of settings. Its boards are organized by theme, such as “Bedroom Ideas” and “Living Room Ideas,” and feature high-quality images that showcase its products in use.
Example 2: Lululemon
Lululemon is a fitness apparel retailer that uses Pinterest to showcase its products in action. Its boards feature images of people exercising in Lululemon gear, as well as tips and advice for staying active.
Create Engaging Pins
Once you’ve created your boards, it’s time to start creating pins that showcase your products. Here are a few tips for creating engaging pins:
- Tip 1: Use high-quality images. As mentioned earlier, Pinterest is a visual platform, so it’s important to use high-quality images that showcase your products in the best possible light.
- Tip 2: Make it eye-catching. Use bold colors, interesting patterns, and eye-catching designs to make your pins stand out in the Pinterest feed.
- Tip 3: Use text overlays. Adding text overlays to your pins can help convey important information about your product, such as its features, benefits, and price.
- Tip 4: Add a call to action. Encourage users to take action by adding a call to action to your pins, such as “Shop Now” or “Learn More.”
Here are a few examples of engaging pins:
Example:
Sephora is a beauty retailer that uses Pinterest to showcase its products in a variety of ways. Its pins feature high-quality images of its products, as well as text overlays that highlight their features and benefits.
Optimize Your Content for Search
To get the most out of your Pinterest marketing efforts, it’s important to optimize your content for search. Here are a few tips for doing so:
- Tip 1: Use keywords. Use relevant keywords in your board titles, descriptions, and pin descriptions to help your content get discovered in search.
- Tip 2: Use hashtags. Use relevant hashtags in your pin descriptions to help your content get discovered in search.
- Tip 3: Add rich pins. Rich pins provide additional information about your products, such as pricing and availability, and can help improve their visibility in search
- Tip 4: Keep your content fresh. Regularly add new content to your boards to keep your content fresh and relevant.
Here are a few examples of optimized content:
Example 1: Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace that uses Pinterest to showcase its products. Its pins feature high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and relevant hashtags to help them get discovered in search.
Example 2: Wayfair
Wayfair is a furniture and home decor retailer that uses rich pins to provide additional information about its products, such as pricing and availability. Its pins also feature relevant keywords and hashtags to help them get discovered in search.
Engage with Your Audience
Engaging with your audience is an important part of using Pinterest for ecommerce marketing. Here are a few tips for doing so:
- Tip 1: Follow other users. Follow other users in your industry or niche to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and engage with their content.
- Tip 2: Repin and like other users’ content. Repinning and liking other users’ content can help build relationships and encourage them to engage with your content in return.
- Tip 3: Respond to comments. Respond to comments on your pins and engage with users who have taken the time to interact with your content.
- Tip 4: Collaborate with influencers. Collaborating with influencers can help you reach a wider audience and build credibility for your brand.
Here are a few examples of engaging with your audience:
Example 1: Birchbox
Birchbox is a beauty subscription service that uses Pinterest to engage with its audience. Its pins feature user-generated content, such as customer photos and reviews, and its boards feature content curated by its team of experts.
Example 2: Lowe’s
Lowe’s is a home improvement retailer that uses Pinterest to engage with its audience. Its boards feature user-generated content, such as customer photos and DIY projects, and it regularly engages with its followers by responding to comments and sharing their content.
Measure Your Success
Finally, it’s important to measure the success of your Pinterest marketing efforts. Here are a few metrics to track:
- Metric 1: Impressions. Impressions measure the number of times your content has been seen on Pinterest.
- Metric 2: Saves. Saves measure the number of times your content has been saved by users.
- Metric 3: Clicks. Clicks measure the number of times users have clicked through to your website from Pinterest.
- Metric 4: Conversions. Conversions measure the number of users who have completed a desired action, such as making a purchase, after clicking through to your website from Pinterest.
Here are a few examples of measuring success:
Example 1: Nordstrom
Nordstrom is a fashion retailer that uses Pinterest to drive traffic to its website and measure the success of its Pinterest marketing efforts. It regularly tracks its impressions, saves, clicks, and conversions to gauge the effectiveness of its content.
Example 2: H&M
H&M is a fashion retailer that uses Pinterest to measure the success of its Pinterest marketing efforts. It regularly tracks its impressions, saves, clicks, and conversions to identify trends and optimize its content.
Pinterest can be a powerful tool for ecommerce marketing. By creating high-quality content, optimizing it for search, engaging with your audience, and measuring your success, you can build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, and increase sales.
However, it’s important to remember that Pinterest is just one part of your overall ecommerce marketing strategy. To get the most out of your efforts, be sure to integrate Pinterest with your other marketing channels, such as social media, email, and advertising.
