In this article, we will explore why use Pinterest to market your business.

You can utilize this platform whether you have a service or a product to sell. Let’s discover how.

What is Pinterest?

Contrary to common belief, Pinterest is not a social media platform but rather a search engine, specifically, a visual search engine.

Here are some Pinterest statistics. Source: Blog.Hotsuite.com

• Pinterest has 498 million users worldwide.
• There are over five billion searches every month on Pinterest.
• More than one million videos are viewed on Pinterest.
• 85% of Pinners (people who use Pinterest) use it for projects.
• 97% of searches on Pinterest do not have a brand attached.
• 80% of Pinners have discovered a brand or a new product on Pinterest.
• 8 out of 10 Pinterest users say this platform makes them feel positive.

Now, let’s go through the steps to understand the journey you, as a user, take and what your potential customer could do on Pinterest.

What is a Pin and how important is it?

A Pin is simply an image or video you find on Pinterest for each search you conduct.

Step 1: Platform Search

When you open the Pinterest app, you’re likely searching for something that interests you, to find inspiration. For example, you might be looking for a particular recipe, or ideas to decorate a part of your home, or even tutorials to learn how to create something yourself.

Step 2: Saving

Once you find what you’re looking for, you save the Pins to your boards (which function as folders) so that you can find that content whenever you need it.

Step 3: Clicking on the Pin

Imagine a Pin catches your attention, and you’re genuinely interested in that topic. Besides saving it, you click on it for more information. What happens next? You’re directed, for example, to a website, an e-commerce platform, or a YouTube video. Perhaps you haven’t thought about it, but at that moment, you’re driving traffic and visibility to that business.

Pinterest is a marketing tool

For the same reason you’re seeking an idea or a solution, your potential customer finds your pins on the platform and consequently finds you and your business with the products and services you have to offer.

Pinterest for business is still largely utilized organically, without paying for any sponsored content, and it has been exponentially growing in Italy in recent years.

Which channels does Pinterest drive traffic to?

• Website
• Blog
• YouTube channel
• Newsletter
• E-commerce platform
• Podcast

And how does traffic flow to your business exactly?

Simply through the link you embed within your Pin, whether it’s an image or a video. Easy, isn’t it?

You can receive more traffic across all these channels without investing your time in interactions with other users, as you would have to do on Facebook or Instagram. Did I mention it’s not a social network, right?

How Pinterest drives traffic to your sales channels

In each Pin, there is the option to insert an external link that can lead to your website, your blog, or your product sold on an e-commerce platform.

Unlike other social platforms, Pinterest does not aim to keep the user within the platform for extended periods. Instead, it serves as a powerful means, I would define it as a bridge, between the service/product you offer and your customer.

How to Use Pinterest for Your Business

To effectively use Pinterest for your business, like any platform, you must adhere to certain rules to use it correctly and achieve better results.

Let’s see together what you should do to optimize your profile.

Make sure to:

• Have a Pinterest Business Account and not a personal account (this allows you to access analytics to structure an appropriate marketing strategy).
• Connect your business account to your channels (currently, only your website can be connected).
• Validate your website so you can understand from the analytics how much traffic Pinterest brings to your website.

Now you can start optimizing it:

• Create perfect and eye-catching pins that attract your ideal audience.
• Use keywords.
• Have a pin scheduling tool to speed up your work (e.g. Tailwind).

The Importance of Keywords on Pinterest

As a visual search engine, it’s crucial to use keywords to optimize your content and ensure that your pins are found on the platform.

Let’s see where to include keywords:

• In the profile bio.
• In the pin description.
• In the board title.
• In the board description.

It is also important to use keywords in the graphic part of the pin. Pinterest’s algorithm reads keywords in the graphic text as well. Moreover, you want to make it clear to your users what your content is about.

Let’s give a practical example: If you’re a travel blogger and your blog post is about “5 Must-See Itineraries in Venice,” and this is also written in the visual part of your pin, you’ll generate more curiosity and have a better chance that your pin will be clicked, driving traffic to your blog post. Conversely, if you only post a beautiful picture of Venice, the pinner (person who saves pins) will likely save the picture to their boards but won’t visit your site because they won’t understand the topic of your article.

How to Make Your Brand Known Through Pinterest

Through pins, you can make your brand known by customizing graphics, fonts, and colour palettes, and including your logo or website. By maintaining consistency in pin creation, over time your pins will be recognized among thousands of others.

Pinterest SEO Strategy

Pinterest strategy is comparable to an SEO strategy and should be seen as a marathon, or as it’s said in English, a long-term game.

To achieve significant results, it usually takes 3 to 6 months. Consistency is the key to success on this platform.

Pinning/saving pins to boards every day is more effective than doing it once a week in a massive way and then abandoning the platform for weeks.

Certainly, you wouldn’t want to spend every day saving your pins, which is why I suggest using Tailwind. It’s a tool that allows you to schedule your pins in advance (even months ahead).

Benefits of Using Pinterest for Your Business

As mentioned earlier, being a search engine, it will take some time for your content to rank on the platform, but your pins will remain on the platform forever and can bring traffic to your sales channels even months or sometimes years later if indexed well.

When considering the notably shorter content viewing times on other social media platforms, I believe it’s worthwhile to exercise patience while awaiting the desired results.