Pinterest for Businesses
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a social network that allows users to share and discover ideas, images, videos, blogs, recipes, etc. Users can then “pin” posts to their personal “boards” saving them as a reminder for later. It also allows users to follow one another if they have an interest in their posts. Based on your search results and previous pins, Pinterest will customize a feed of posts you may be interested in. As you continue to pin posts to your individual boards, they will continue to suggest more relevant posts.
Why Should Businesses Be On Pinterest?
Not only is Pinterest a platform to showcase your offerings and reach the appropriate audience, but when you look at Pinterest from an overhead perspective, it is primarily used for planning purposes. Whether that be how you should style your hair for your wedding, what appetizers should you make for your guests, or how you should decorate your new home, users go to Pinterest for inspiration. What better time to reach your audience than when they are in-market?
Sales Funnel:
The sales funnel is all about finding your target market and reaching them in the right stage at the right time. The sales funnel consists of 4 major stages – 1. Awareness 2. Interest 3. Decision 4. Action. Whereas many platforms also utilize the sales funnel, Pinterest is one step ahead. Pinterest already knows who is searching for your products or services. The difficult part is done! They have already determined who your target market is, all you have to do is grab their attention and hook them!
“Hook Them?” How Do I Do That?
There are two important steps to grabbing a user’s attention. The first way is to identify keywords that could trigger your post to show up when searched. If you are a landscaping company and want to advertise your water feature designs, put yourself in the clients’ shoes. Ask yourself “If I were a homeowner looking to redesign my outdoor living space, what would I search for as inspiration?” Some may search “backyard design”, “outdoor water feature”, or “backyard pond”. Once you identify those keywords, be sure to include them in your descriptions and captions as this will increase your SEO or chances of appearing at the top of the search results.
The second way to hook a user is by choosing an enticing image. When posts appear, an image accompanies them. Oftentimes, users will pin posts simply because of the image. If you are in the candy store business, and you are looking to advertise your holiday gift packages, choosing a mouthwatering image of your products, along with the items included, might sell a user to pin that post to their “Christmas Gifts” board, reminding them to place an order as the holiday approaches.
Then What?
Once you have grabbed the users’ attention and they have pinned your post, now you should continue to post relevant content on a consistent basis, so your content will appear on their feed. The more relevant content they see from you, the more likely they are to follow your board. Once you have built that customer loyalty, the sales should follow.
Is Pinterest Right For Me?
A common question that business owners ask is if Pinterest is right for their specific industry. This is a good question for any industry regarding all platforms. The answer varies across platforms, however, if you search for a topic in your industry, the search results on Pinterest could give you a good idea if this is a popular topic. Doing a little background research could also provide you with insight. Here is a chart from Statista, highlighting the most popular categories in 2017.
Wrap-up
Just like any social media platform, Pinterest can provide great marketing value to businesses for free. As you start at the top of the sales funnel, Pinterest helps you reach those customers that are already in-market. They serve your ideas and posts to those who are specifically looking for them. The time spent finding those people can now be spent building and maintaining those relationships, ultimately leading to a sale.
Organically or paid, if you are looking to get your business on Pinterest let us know! We would love to help!