Why Pinterest Should Be Part of Your Social Strategy

Since Pinterest entered the social media scene back in 2010, it has seen an exponential rise in the number of its users. Now a network bursting with endless ideas and creativity, Pinterest draws in more than 250 million ‘Pinners’ every month, who are all looking to discover and share interests through ‘pinning’ images or videos to their boards. Even celebrities like Emma Stone are self-proclaimed ‘Pinners’ and she describes the platform as ‘basically a mood board online, where you can look on different sections and build your dream life.’ Couldn’t sum it up better myself, Emma.

Haven’t thought about including Pinterest in your brand strategy? Perhaps it’s time to rethink, given that 59% of millennials have discovered products on Pinterest and a staggering 90% of weekly ‘Pinners’ use the platform to make purchase decisions.

Although it’s true that Pinterest still hasn’t quite made a name for itself when we compare it to the likes of Facebook or Instagram, it’s power as a platform is certainly not to be underestimated. A refreshingly different type of social media network, developers are now trying to ‘encourage users to transition from the site’s pinboard-based inspiration, to a position further down the funnel closer to purchase decisions.’ This transition could be key for brands and businesses looking to boost sales via social platforms, since Pinterest drives 3.8 times more sales than any other online platform, and is the most effective site in terms of steering traffic back to a website.

Better still, Pinterest is still a very open playing field for brands looking to establish themselves on the site, and its developers are constantly rolling out new features and tools to improve the experience for official accounts.

Let’s look at what Pinterest can offer and why the platform could be ideal for your brand.

Useful tools specifically for business accounts

In July this year, Pinterest rolled out new video content features, which lets creators and brands upload videos directly, store them all in one tab and track content views.

The introduction of new, video-based features is an invaluable development for official accounts on the website, since ‘Pinners are 54% more likely to say they’re inspired to action by videos on Pinterest compared to videos on other media platforms.’

Thanks to the launch of a new analytics metric, official accounts can now gain a more detailed insight into the performance of their videos and how they are being received. Better still, Pinterest recognises that videos posted on the site tend to have a longer shelf life in comparison to other media platforms (posts last for 4 months, whereas Tweets have a lifespan of around 18 minutes). This is why the new video analytics are ‘lifelong’, allowing businesses and brands to analyse performance over a long period of time.

Finally, the new ‘Pin Scheduler’ tool means that official accounts on Pinterest can schedule video content in advance. This is beneficial for brands, which can establish their optimal time for posts and plan in advance, to ensure that pins are seen by target audiences regularly and at the right times.

Introduction of more ‘exciting’ features to improve user reach

Pinterest has also been working hard at developing some more exciting features, which are all helping to facilitate the transition of the site from a ‘visual social network’ to a ‘visual search tool’.

The most popular feature is certainly the ‘Lens Your Look’ tool, which allows ‘Pinners’ to ‘discover anything you point your Pinterest camera at’. The tool’s goal brings a whole new meaning to ‘visual searching’, and helps users discover online what they come across in the offline world. This innovative step for Pinterest brings together text and image searches into one query, and ‘Pinners’ can discover anything from a Thai green curry recipe to a funky denim jacket they saw in a blog post. The feature has been a huge success for Pinterest, who saw a surge in “visual searching” from 250m in February 2017 to 600m in February 2018.

This is ideal for brands on Pinterest, as not only does it improve search results and directs potential customers to the products they are interested in, it also helps retailers strengthen their customers’ journey between the online and offline world.

Pinterest has also introduced 'Product Pins' to improve the in-app shopping experience. These ‘Pins’ make products readily available to customers by presenting current pricing and stock information, as well as directly linking products to a landing page where they can be purchased. This is one of the main reasons why you should be including Pinterest in your brand’s strategy, as it is a vital platform for boosting sales thanks to its power in driving traffic to a website. In fact, its 33% better at directing people to shopping sites than Facebook.

A perfect platform for targeting niche audiences

If we’ve just about convinced to get your brand on Pinterest, you may be thinking, ‘But where do I begin?’

First things first, targeting a specific audience is an integral part of Pinterest success, since many ‘Pinners’ create incredibly niche boards ranging from 'lime-green plastic tableware' to 'crochet inspired by Japanese flowers'.

As a brand on Pinterest, you can focus your time and energy into targeting a specific audience which best aligns with the purpose of your brand. Unlike on Facebook and Instagram where audience-targeting tends to be more generic, concentrating on ‘Pinners’ with niche interests makes it easier to appeal to those who will be more receptive to what you can offer as a brand.

Take a look at Bounty. No, not the tasty coconut-filled chocolate treat, but the kitchen roll company. You may be thinking, ‘How is a paper towel company succeeding on a website like Pinterest?’

Well, Bounty is a perfect example of how the platform can be used to target a specific audience, whilst promoting its own brand to ‘Pinners’. By creating boards which typically generate mess such as baking and cooking, Bounty are inadvertently encouraging users to purchase their cleaning product. A personal favourite is the ‘Lifehacks’ board, which shows ‘Pinners’ how much can actually be done with a sheet of kitchen roll. Clever, eh?

By focusing on niche interests on Pinterest, your brand can build and publish user-friendly and valuable content, which in turn, can help establish a ‘feel’ for who you are and show off your imagination and creativity.

But beyond organic reach, Pinterest also offers the opportunity for official accounts to increase user engagement with ‘Promoted Pins’. These pins appear where certain users are most likely to notice them and appeal to those who are most receptive to your brand i.e. based on gender, location, age, job etc. The figures say it all, as boosting traffic and driving online actions with audience-targeting campaigns on Pinterest can lead to a 28% increase in engagement rate, and 50% of ‘Pinners’ purchase a product after seeing a Promoted Pin.

Well, what are you waiting for? If you’re trying to think of new ways for your brand to reach a bigger audience and boost sales on social media, Pinterest could be your answer. Get your creative thinking caps on and devise how you can use the platform to appeal to ‘Pinners’ with particular interests to drive them towards your brand.

Feeling ‘Pinterested’ and but not sure how you can make your brand stand out? Slide into our DMs and see how we can help you!