At its most basic, Pinterest is a social media site that lets people share things that they find interesting. Users organize images, called “pins,” on different “boards,” which are categorized by theme.
They can discover new pins by following other users or searching for specific keywords. Anything visual can be pinned, from clothing to illustrations to cityscapes. Most people use it to discover new recipes, find funny cat photos, or get fun crafting ideas, but the possibilities are endless, especially when it comes to digital marketing and building brand awareness.
In the three years since the site’s launch in March 2010, Pinterest has blown up in popularity. It is now the 4th most popular social networking site behind Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and has 70 million users worldwide.
Interestingly, 82% of Pinterest users are women with the majority falling into the 25-34 age demographic. Even more intriguing, 28% of users have an annual household income over $100,000. That’s a lot of spending cash. In fact, Pinterest buyers spend more and make more purchases than those on any other top 5 social media sites.
Challenger Brand marketers have taken note. With the advent of Pinterest for Business, more and more companies have created dedicated accounts. So far, the site has proven extremely useful for showcasing products, increasing lead generation, and building brand awareness.
Additionally, each pin can be linked to a website, creating an easy opportunity for Challenger Brands to acquire a large amount of linkbacks and increase their site’s SEO value.
Setting up a business account on Pinterest is easy. Just sign up, verify and brand your account by uploading your logo and writing a short description. The hard part is consistently pinning quality content and amassing an engaged following. With some time, ongoing effort, and the following six tips, you can create a successful presence on Pinterest.
Use high quality images – Make sure you have enough images and that they’re high resolution. Also make sure you keep your descriptions short and simple.
Optimize your boards – Create a range of boards that showcase your brand’s personality and taste, and make sure each board has enough pins to make it feel substantial. At least 5 pins per board is a good start.
Make it eye-catching – Be creative, choose compelling images for your cover pin, and consider organizing your boards by themes. Research has shown that bright, saturated images get repinned more often.
Use rich pins – To make your pins more useful add information like pricing, availability, reviews and where to buy. Always use keywords in your pin descriptions, and make sure each original pin is linked back to your website to increase SEO value.
Add “pin it” button – Pinterest widgets allow you to encourage more pinning by making it easy to pin from your website, blog and email marketing. Add “pin it” buttons to all your web pages with just a few lines of code.
Learn from pinners – Use Pinterest Analytics to see which pins are most popular, what’s driving traffic, and on which boards your pins appear for invaluable marketing information and insights.
For more facts and figures, view the full infographic by clicking on the image below.
