What Ecommerce Merchants Need To Know About Pinterest Marketing

Looking for a new ecommerce marketing strategy?

Is your ecommerce store not quite getting the sales you expected and you want to try a new marketing strategy? Maybe you’ve heard about Pinterest for ecommerce and you want to see what all the fuss is about? Whatever your situation, now is the time for you to immerse yourself in one of the most creative social media platforms out there. With this simple guide on everything you need to know about Pinterest, you’ll be well on your way to growing your online store tenfold.

Why should I use Pinterest?

Did you know?

• Pinterest has around 200 million monthly users.
• The average amount spent per order through Pinterest is $50 higher than through other social media platforms.
• Around 2/3rd of all Pins are from a business.

Originally launched in 2010, Pinterest has gone from just a small site where users could upload, bookmark, and categorize images, to one of the most popular social media channels out there. As Pinterest has grown, so too has the number of brands who are active on the site. These businesses are taking advantage of the platform’s various benefits to reach a wider audience in a creative, organic way. A presence on social media is just one of the features your online business needs, and Pinterest should be part of that.

A presence on social media is just one of the features your online business needs, and Pinterest should be part of that.

How can I grow my online store with Pinterest?

Pinterest offers a variety of ways for you to grow and sell your product. The nature of the platform means brands need to get inventive to make good pins that stand out. Your Pinterest ecommerce strategy will need to be attractive, useful, entertaining, and creative…

Image quality is key

Obviously, Pinterest places great emphasis on how stuff looks. You need to make sure your photo quality is on point. This means thinking about what you’re snapping and how it’s arranged, right down to using the right camera. While your iPhone will be fine most of the time, it’s worth investing in a half-decent model for your business.

Take the time to learn how to take good photos. It’s not just better for your Pinterest, it’s a useful skill to have for parties and events as well!

The perfect platform for visual products

What does your online store sell? If you mostly stock craft and hobby items, flowers, drinks and gifts, or clothing, then Pinterest is the perfect medium for you. Visual content is key, so it’s a great way to showcase attractive or interesting products in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Check out these crazy hoodies from Spot Deal Store, a clothing shop listed on the Exchange marketplace:

Spot Deal Store

Loud, striking, and very visual, these hoodies make for perfect Pins. With the right model and the right look, it would be hard for anyone to pass these by, and you can do the same for your products too.

SEO for a visual search engine

Pinterest is essentially a search engine… for images. If you already know a thing or two about SEO for your online store, then you’ll see where we’re going with this. A focus on keywords in your Pins will drive them higher in potential customers’ searches. Be sure to use words and phrases that are both descriptive and calculated. For example, if you’re selling a vintage cable-knit cardigan, make sure you use that phrase in the Pin description. Check out the example below:

Use your marketing phrases in the description.

Simple, but optimized. It’s also worth knowing that, just like Google, Pinterest also ranks sites based on the image file name itself. Save your photos with the relevant keyword in the name to further boost your rankings.

Create boards around product categories

For all those organization-fiends out there, Pinterest is an online mecca. Users organize their boards by theme, season, mood — the possibilities are endless. And that means opportunities for your brand too. Why not organize your Pins to direct your customers to specific products? For example:

• Christmas gift ideas
• Seasonal fashion trends
• Perfect cocktails for the summer

Curating boards around themes, products or ideas creates a one-stop shop for your customers’ interests. Create an attractive, useful board and people will follow it and share Pins from it, getting your brand viral with relative ease.

Get stuck into group boards

Another great feature (and amazing opportunity for your online store) of Pinterest is group boards. These are boards owned by a single individual, but where other users can add their own Pins. You can join a group board upon request, but you’ll need an invitation before you can contribute your own Pins.

So how can this be leveraged for your online store? Due to their collaborative nature, group boards can be seen by a wealth of people. For your brand, this means you can share your own Pins with a potentially huge audience at the click of a button.

Group boards.

Coming soon! Buyable pins

Selling on Pinterest is about to get a whole lot bigger with Buyable Pins. Currently only available to a selected pool of retail partners and US merchants with Pinterest business accounts, these are Pins with an Add To Bag button attached. This links back to your ecommerce store, and lets users buy a product without ever having to leave Pinterest. This will let your market your goods organically and seamlessly, without interrupting the customer’s social media experience. When the rollout is complete, it is well worth considering — plus it’s free!

Pinterest for business is a revenue stream worth considering. From curated and group boards to SEO-powered organic searches, it provides small businesses with a wealth of opportunity to expand and reach new audiences. With future innovations for the site including Pincodes, Shop The Look, and more, Pinterest is only set to grow, and so too will its options for ecommerce businesses. So get pinning!