The Top Ways Businesses and Influencers Can Use Pinterest

When you think about creative ways to grow your business or brand, employing Pinterest may not be the first tactic or social media network that comes to mind. But if that’s the case, you may want to reconsider, because Pinterest offers more than meets the eye. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to use Pinterest for business and how to use Pinterest as an influencer. 

The popular social bookmarking site allows members to visually share information with their target audience, making it in fact, an essential addition to your digital marketing strategy. Furthermore, Pinterest was the fastest site in history to reach 10 million unique monthly visitors, and as of the second quarter of 2021, boasted 454 million monthly active users worldwide.

Pinterest is known for being underrated in relation to other social media platforms. But, what many fail to realize is that it’s more than just a social network—it’s a visual search engine and a productivity tool. It offers businesses a unique way to market themselves and expose customers to their brand. According to Hubspot: “66% of Pinterest users make a purchase after seeing a brand’s Pins.” 

It’s also the home to a large number of dedicated and active influencers. In fact, many brands are keen to partner with Pinterest influencers to help increase their brand awareness and sales. Pinterest provides a powerful marketing opportunity to get your products in front of consumers who are ready to purchase, and it can also drive more traffic to your website. 

How to use Pinterest for business

Pinterest marketing can help you reach new audiences and grow awareness of your brand. In fact, Pinterest Business provides both creator resources and tools that you can use to help you reach your goals. 

Start by creating a Pinterest account if you don’t already have one. Then you can add a separate business profile or convert your personal account into a business account. In order to create a profile from scratch go to pinterest.com/business/create.

Next, you’ll want to create a marketing strategy, just like you would for any other social media platform. When setting your goals, try applying SMART Goals to ensure that your goals are clear and attainable. The letters in “SMART” stand for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. 

Finally, research the audience and demographic that will be most likely to use Pinterest in order to determine who your target audience will be. Take a look at what your competitors are posting, so that you can build a strategy that will help differentiate your brand. 

Once you’ve established your goals and built a content marketing strategy for Pinterest, you’ll be ready to grow your business. The following ten tips will help you get started:                                                                                                                            

1. Share your products.

Since Pinterest is a visual platform, be sure to share engaging and captivating content. You can also add a “Pin it” option to your blog posts and photos on your business website. This way visitors can easily share your products on Pinterest with just a single click. Pro tip: Consistent pinning is key. 

2. Create themed boards

Pinterest boards are where you save, collect, and organize your pins. By creating themed boards, your target audience will be able to more easily find the products they are looking for. For example, you may want to consider promoting a product collection on a single board. 

3. Include a link to your website

Adding a link to your website on your Pinterest homepage provides customers with a quick and easy way to find you on the web. 

4. Use high-quality images

Pinterest is visual, so it’s critical that you use high-quality images. People will be much more likely to like or share your pins if your photographs are professional, so be sure that your photos are crisp and clear. 

5. Add descriptive copy

Although your images are of the utmost importance, you don’t want to forget about the copy. Add simple but descriptive copy that will add value to your image. Typically you’ll want this to be casual but also concise when describing a photo. 

6. Optimize for SEO

Just like with any other digital marketing strategy, SEO matters. Pinterest SEO includes keyword targets for each board and incorporates those keywords into both the board’s description and the pin’s description. Optimizing your pins will help you drive quality traffic to your website. 

7. Create rich pins.

Rich pins are a type of organic pin that automatically sync information from your website to your pins. These pins include information about the product or service on the pin itself such as pricing or availability, for example. This way, consumers won’t have to do additional research when they are interested in a product. Note: You need to apply for rich pins. When your site has been approved, all content from web pages that have the correct meta tags will appear as rich pins when you create a pin. 

8. Set up buyable pins.

Buyable pins allow users to purchase products directly from pins. Buyable pins feature a “blue price” and an “Add to Bag” button, making them easy to spot on Pinterest. These pins work on both mobile and web and let customers seamlessly buy your products without ever leaving Pinterest. 

9. Engage your followers.

You can engage with your followers on Pinterest, just like on other social media platforms. One way to do this is by re-pinning, liking their pins, and following their accounts. You can also respond directly when customers ask questions about your products. Try asking a question or incorporating a poll into the comments section of your pin to get the conversation flowing. 

10. Connect with influencers. 

Connecting and partnering with influencers is a great way to build brand awareness, gain followers, and increase traffic. There are a number of ways to find influencers such as following public boards and searching “suggested” accounts. 

All kinds of brands are employing Pinterest influencers, but due to its visual nature, it’s no surprise that some of the leading industries finding success include DIY, travel, fashion, fitness, and interior design. 

Ready to grow your business on Pinterest? This video will teach you how to use Pinterest for Business in just 10 steps.

How to use Pinterest as an influencer‍

‍Social media influencers are becoming more and more prevalent and Pinterest is no exception to the rule. Affectionately known as a “Pinfluencer,” Pinterest influencers are paid to post photos of a brand’s products with links back to the company’s website, and to create content using a company’s products. 

It’s all about building a substantial following and having more eyes on your content. Ultimately, your followers will then share that content, which will help grow your online presence and make you influential. The following are three key strategies that you can implement into your Pinterest marketing to be recognized as an influencer and yield the best results:

1. Follow key pinners

The trick here is to research and follow key pinners that fall within your “niche” product or service category. When you follow someone on Pinterest, they are notified and most people will click to see who you are and what you are all about. Then they’ll decide if they want to follow you back. Remember, first impressions are everything, so be sure that your profile is complete with the following: 

• A bio describing what you do
• A clear and high-quality profile picture or logo
• Top boards located in the first row

2. Create a group board

Consider opening up one of your more popular boards to other niche contributors. This will help you grow your following and your Pinterest ranking. When you rank higher, you will be more likely to show up in the “Smart Feed” and get more “repins.” Once you’ve established your group board, you can use the invite tab to search for other influencers in your niche to pin to your board. 

3. Regularly pin new content

In order to be a successful influencer on Pinterest, you must create new content as frequently as possible. If you’re seeking new and engaging content to pin, and need some inspiration, start by following key blogs and influencers in your niche. That way you can see what others are posting and determine what content would be of the most value to your audience. 

Among the list of top Pinterest influencers is Louise Meyers, a social media graphic designer and key opinion leader. Louise’s niche is providing small business owners and bloggers with social media and digital marketing tips. She has over 63K followers on Pinterest and boasts 2.7 million views across her 36 boards. 

Pinterest from the eyes of a performer

As a singer, actress, and dancer, I’ve always found Pinterest to be a perfect source for all kinds of ideas—especially when it comes to hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I even created a board titled “Hollywood” that features all of my favorite actors, musicians, TV shows, movies, and more. 

As a performer, Pinterest is also a great platform to market yourself and network with other artists. You can share your favorite looks, wigs, stage makeup, costumes, and more. Among my personal favorite boards is Buzz Feed—a one-stop-shop for all things news and entertainment.

As a theater aficionado, I love this pin because it promotes engagement among like-minded individuals and tests your knowledge as to how many Broadway shows you can name. It’s a great way to meet and interact with colleagues in the industry and help each other cross-promote. 

But, over the years, my favorite way to use Pinterest has been to obtain ideas and inspiration for my costumes on stage. In many cases, my costumes have been provided for shows, but occasionally, I’ve been asked to find something on my own that truly speaks to me and my character. 

This is precisely what happened when I was cast in the role of Sally Brown in the musical, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. I really wanted to find a costume that would not only resonate with me, but also with the audience—namely because most everyone is familiar with the beloved Charlie Brown characters. I wanted to truly bring Sally Brown to life. 

So, I turned to Pinterest and found the perfect Sally Brown dress—just like the one in the image—pink with black polka dots, complete with a ruffled collar. I found an Etsy designer that made the dress to fit my size requirements, added a blonde wig, and voila—it was a hit!

Ready to pin? 

As we have shown, both businesses and influencers alike can benefit from using Pinterest to promote their brand. When marketers employ digital price tags and add outbound links, it helps increase conversion and drive more web traffic. And every industry that benefits from visual content can generate significant ROI from Pinterest influencers, specifically when an influencer showcases a product.

Pinterest offers businesses of all sizes a unique way to market themselves—as a visual search engine and is also great for exposing new potential customers to your brand. Pinners come to the platform for inspiration because they want to try new things, discover new ideas, and oftentimes get inspired to make their next purchase. 

Get inspired with Pinterest today!

Pinterest is meant to be a source of inspiration and encourages users to go out and do that thing.” — Ben Silbermann, Co-founder and CEO of Pinterest                                                                                                                  

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UNUM is your best tool for planning and creating visually engaging social pins and boards on Pinterest. Visit UNUM for Pinterest to learn more.

[Header image by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash]