Pinterest is the platform for inspiration, aesthetically pleasing content and discovery
Do you want to get the most out of Pinterest but are not quite sure where to start?
First things first, let’s cover why Pinterest is such a valuable social media platform…
With 431 million monthly active users* Pinterest is not a platform to be ignored. It is a hub of inspirational content that runs like a search engine.
Pinterest’s home feed is tailored to users based on the content they have recently searched for and interacted with. This offers an opportunity for brands to reach, and inspire, high-intent audiences who are already interested in and searching for topics related to their products and offerings.
Pinterest’s USP is “moment planning”. Unlike other social platforms, planning and buying on Pinterest happens months before the actual event and Pinterest is used to build inspiration and discover new brands and ideas before these events occur, e.g. Christmas is searched for in August, Halloween in July and Valentine’s Day in January**. But it’s not just seasonal moments we should be mindful of. It’s the “lifestyle moments” such as new baby’s arrival, moving house, weddings and birthdays, brunches and date nights.
Brands have a valuable opportunity to inspire and influence purchase decisions by showing up early. So here is a guide on how to get started with organic and paid strategies:
- Claim your website
First things first, make sure you claim your website as this will allow you to receive analytics from the pins you publish. Also, do not forget to add your website to your Pinterest profile to let people know where they can find more ideas.
- Conduct Keyword Research
As Pinterest operates as a search engine, it’s important to conduct keyword research to help reach as many new people as possible. This can be easily done by utilising the search function on Pinterest to search for key terms related to your content, and business. Create a list of these keywords and look to implement them in your content (headlines and description) moving forwards.
- Develop a strong content strategy
***84% of Pinners say that Pinterest helps them learn new things, so when planning content, try creating content that the audience will gain value from eg. by learning something new or by leaving them feeling inspired. https://trends.pinterest.com/ is a great place to visit to help you gather content ideas that users want to see.
As Pinterest is a highly visual platform, make sure to focus on posting a mix of inspirational, high-quality lifestyle as well as branded images and videos. Ensure that all of your pins link back to your website as this will help drive traffic and increase sales!
- Track your performance
Use the analytics section of your Pinterest profile to look at what pins have been most successful, this will give you an idea of which types of content are resonating the most with your audience.
Adding Pinterest into a paid media plan is ideal for any B2C brand looking to build brand and product awareness and drive meaningful engagements with their audience. With Pinterest being used to plan key moments and events in people’s lives, it allows brands to get in front of their audience when it matters the most.
- Early exposure to ads during the moment-planning journey drives incremental sales.
Does your brand sell products that have typical peak selling times e.g. beach towels, Christmas decorations, BBQs? Advertise those products at least a month before they’re needed and use the Pinterest moment equation to ensure your ads are relevant.
- Use inspiration as the theme of your ad creative
Lifestyle and product focused ads should have an element of inspiration as this is the main purpose of Pinterest. Ads should be visually appealing, relevant, positive, original and actionable.
- Consider an always-on strategy for the Life-moments
Life moments are personal events or celebrations that happen throughout the year. These evergreen moments, such as birthdays, holidays etc. are always-on opportunities for brands. Consider optimising towards traffic to build up an engaged audience ready to retarget for conversions later down the line
- Match your targeted keywords to your content
Think of Pinterest keyword targeting like SEO. Pinterest found that 97% of searches won’t be branded, so using the right keyword targeting will directly influence how you appear to your target audience. Matching the keywords to your ad’s theme will help play an important role in your campaign’s success. It’s important to highlight some of these keywords in your headline and description to add relevancy and the likelihood of your ads appearing in your Pinner’s search results.
- Track your performance
Like all activities, use the in-platform analytics to understand which ads/keywords were most successful and use these learnings to determine strategies for future campaigns.
If you’re interested in how we can help your brand on Pinterest, drop us a line at hello@agencyuk.com
*https://blog.hootsuite.com/pinterest-statistics-for-business/
** UK 2022 Pinterest Moments Annual Planner
