Pinterest is not your typical social media platform. Once known as a source for recipes and crafts, it has grown into a well established ‘visual search engine’ and become a source of inspiration for anything you may want to find.
Although its user base of 250 million is considerably smaller than its counterparts (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), it has exceptional selling power to its user base. Users are actively searching for inspiration rather than passively scrolling through content.
- 98% of people report trying new things they discover on Pinterest.
- 93% of Pinners have used Pinterest to plan for, research, or make purchases.
- More than half of Pinners (Pinterest users) have purchased after seeing a Promoted Pin.
- 40% of users have a household income of more than $100k US per year, giving them substantial spending power.
Who uses Pinterest?
The businesses that tend to do well are those with physical stores and products that photograph well. Like most social media, your success also depends on if your audience uses that platform. The predominant users of Pinterest are female (70%), though in recent years there’s been a surge in male audiences.
It’s always a good idea to do your research before investing time and money into a platform. It’s not necessary to use all of them, just the ones where your target demographic is present.
How to get started with Pinterest
1. Setting up your profile
To make an effective Pinterest profile you want to set it up right the first time. Ensure you pick a business account to get access to analytics and advertising tools. When creating the profile ensure your branding (name, logo, description) is consistent with your other social media accounts and brands site.
After you set up your account there will be an option to add “Featured Boards”. Choose boards with important content that you wish to highlight. These will show up above the rest of your content and give structure to your profile
You will now want to organise your broads into niche subsections, this allows you to optimise for keywords and to target niche interests of your target audience.
2. What content to share
Various content performs well on Pinterest but each pin must contain a visual component and link to a relevant page. As Pinners tend to use the site to research buying decisions, it is a good idea to optimise for different keywords in each pin. Hashtags are also a useful tool to target keywords.
- Product Pins
- Blog posts and content
- Infographics
- Videos
3. How to get your pins to stand out
How your pin looks will determine its success. Here’s our best practice tips to ensure maximum engagement on your pins:
Colours:
- Images with multiple dominant, contrasting colours perform better than those with a single dominant colour.
- Images that are very light or very dark aren’t repinned often. It’s best to aim for medium brightness and saturation.
- Red-toned images do better than blue-toned images.
Types of content:
- Images with 30% whitespace perform better than others.
- Images without faces receive 23% more repins than those with them.
- Text should be minimal and contrast well with the rest of the image.
- Multiple images in a pin are accepted but should be stacked vertically and should include no more than four images.
Size and dimensions:
- Taller pins are recommended.
- Maximum aspect ratio 1:2.8.
Description:
- Should include keywords so your pin can be found.
- Avoid keyword stuffing, use natural language.
- Front-load important content as only the first 75-100 characters will be seen before it’s clicked.
- Give additional product information that isn’t communicated through images, such as sustainable production or unique features.
Timing:
- Drop pins based on the habits of your target audience.
- Average pinning best times are 2 pm-4 pm and 8 pm-1 am.
Frequency:
- To maximise follower potential you should post between 5-30 times a day.
- Pins should be a mix of original content and repinning of other people’s content.
- Share content throughout the day, not all at one time.
Pinterest Ads
Pinterest Ads are like any other pins, except they have been sponsored to receive extra exposure. They are targeted by demographics such as age and location, and also categories and interests, so you can reach the right audience for your brand.
Type of campaigns
The campaigns are divided into objectives. The type you choose will determine what ad formats are available and how you bid at auction. The campaign objectives are broken into several categories by Pinterest:
- Brand Awareness
- Video Views
- Traffic
- Conversions
- Catalogues sales
Types of Ads
Pinterest offers several ad formats to help you meet your specific campaign goals. Each ad format is designed to meet these objectives. The five types of ads are:
- Promoted Pins: Similar to regular pins except they are boosted and targeted to deliver more reach.
- Carousel Ads: Carousel ads are similar to Standard Pins, except they allow users to swipe through multiple images or videos (known as “cards”) in a single Pin.
- Video Pin Ads: Video Pins work like standard pins but are a lot more effective for conversions. They are a great way to share stronger stories with audiences.
- Shopping Pins: Pinterest’s Shopping Pins allow you to upload products from your catalogue and turn them into pins that work to reach people when they’re deciding what to buy.
- App Install Pins: App Install Pins are action-oriented ads you can use to drive app downloads.
New to Pinterest?
Although it can be intimidating to start marketing on a new social media platform, Pinterest has proven to be an effective marketing tool. Its smaller audience are more engaged and are actively seeking products and inspiration. So, take the first step and sign up for a business account. There are many in-depth guides online available to you. But if you need further help, our Omni Online team will happily guide you through to Pinterest success!
