As an ecommerce brand, one of your challenges is getting as many eyes on your products as possible. And one of the most effective ways to promote your products is through social media marketing.
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One social network that’s great for referral traffic (and therefore, offers a solid return on your investment) is Pinterest. With 200 million monthly active users and more than 50 billion pins, Pinterest is an expansive platform that provides fantastic discoverability for products and a highly engaged global audience.
With all the opportunities that Pinterest presents for ecommerce brands, it’s important to have a comprehensive strategy in place for the platform. Using tactics ad hoc can leave you without the traffic or conversions you need to make your efforts worthwhile.
That’s why we consulted with Anna Sullivan, co-founder of social media marketing agency The Creative Exchange. She offers her expertise to help ecommerce sellers compile a cohesive strategy for Pinterest.
But before we dive into specific tactics to get you started, let’s tackle the specific benefits ecommerce brands can reap with Pinterest.
The Benefits of Pinterest for Business
Products do well in Pinterest
Ecommerce brands that market directly to consumers can benefit most from Pinterest for business.
According to research from Marketing Supply Co., Pinterest users visit the platform with the intention to make purchases. Almost all users (93%) use Pinterest to plan purchases. Because Pinterest is a visual platform, it’s an ideal place for product discover for consumers. And 72% of Pinners use it for precisely that purpose.
93% of people on Pinterest use the platform to plan purchases.
Pinners are also 39% more likely to be active retail shoppers — and when they shop, they spend 29% more than people who don’t use Pinterest, according to a joint study conducted from Oracle Data Cloud and Pinterest.
Pinterest offers a great return on investment
Compared to other social media platforms, Pinterest offers the best bang for your marketing bucks. It’s worth investing time and effort into building a social commerce strategy for Pinterest, primarily because the platform can pay you back in spades.
Pinterest specifically sees very high conversion rates and ROI for sales, compared to other social media channels.
— Anna Sullivan, co-founder of The Creative Exchange”
Data tells the same story. For example, an eMarketer study shows that only Facebook beat Pinterest in terms of influencing purchase decisions social media users’ purchasing decisions.
Sullivan also says that brands don’t need to spend their entire budget on Pinterest advertising either.
“Not only paid pins, but organic pins can garner great results when a strategy is behind your pinning and a very engaged/active account,” she says.
The numbers don’t lie. Using the platform can bring big results for brands, including an average increase of 20–30% in traffic.
According to research and campaign data, brands also typically see more than a lift in sales; they see strong campaign ROI, too. When Analytic Partners studied Pinterest campaigns in the context of total marketing spend, Pinterest delivered $2 in profit for every $1 the advertiser spent on Pinterest. That outperformed all other categories, including digital as a whole, TV, and channels like print or out of home. Although Pinterest doesn’t make sense for every brand, the platform can be a huge boon for ecommerce sellers that tick a few boxes. “It’s important to remember the audience and top categories of Pinterest as this will help when determining where you should use your time and allocate your ad dollars,” advises Sullivan. Pinterest might be a good fit for your brand if: If you’re sold on building a social commerce strategy for Pinterest, let’s tackle some tactics to begin compiling your plan. The first step in your journey to Pinterest success is to set up a Pinterest Business page. Unlike a regular user profile, these pages are specifically designed with businesses in mind, including ecommerce brands. This makes it simpler for businesses to engage with their target customers and promote their products. Pinterest Business pages also have a couple of layers of verification so that your customers know this is really your page. Simply claim your Pinterest Business page and follow the prompts to add a description, your website and other vital profile information. To move forward, you’ll also need to take a hard look at the images on your ecommerce site and determine whether they’re optimize for Pinterest. Ensure you’re using large, high-resolution images on your product pages and all other parts of your ecommerce site. To encourage your site’s visitors to pin your gorgeous, high-res images, install social sharing buttons. Depending on how your site is hosted (i.e. WordPress, Shopify), you can install a widget or plugin that helps you create social sharing buttons. Hubspot also offers a handy cheat sheet that allows you to create individual buttons yourself. Also consider creating and installing Pinterest-specific buttons. The platform allows you to embed buttons for following and saving images. When you have the basics set up, consider Rich Pins. As in this example, Rich Pins stick out from others in your followers’ feed. These enhanced pins include up-to-date pricing information and a direct link to the product page on your ecommerce site. To set up Rich Pins for your site, follow these in-depth instructions. (Just a note: You may want to loop in your web developer, because this process is a bit complicated for the average web user.) Now that you’ve installed all your Pinterest buttons and amped up your photo game on your ecommerce site, it’s time to start pinning. But before you dive in and start pinning every image in sight, set yourself up by creating great pins. There are a few ways to increase the likelihood that users will engage with your pins, including:
Once you’re all set up with a Pinterest Business page and have optimized your images, it’s time to grow your following. While there’s no set way to build a loyal following for your profile or boards, there are several tactics that many brands have found success with in the past. Some of the most-effective tactics include: While analytics may not be top of mind when you’re executing your strategy, you’ll need to tie your efforts back to specific goals when planning your campaigns. The metrics for success will vary depending on your overarching business goals, but there are some common analytics to follow: Sullivan suggests choosing the metrics that are tied closely to your business goals and to focus tracking those. Ecommerce brands can use a number of tools to track all this data effectively. However, Sullivan recommended several of her top tools, including: Now that you understand the many advantages of Pinterest, you can take the appropriate steps to build your own social commerce strategy. Using the outlined steps above, you can work to create a successful plan to get the most from your Pinterest efforts.
Pinterest delivers $2 in profit for every advertising dollar.
Which Ecommerce Brands Benefit Most from Pinterest
Pinterest Strategies for Ecommerce Brands
Create a Pinterest Business Page
Make Pinning Easy on Your Ecommerce Site
Write Next-Level Pin Descriptions
Pins with a CTA drive nearly 80% more engagement.
Build Your Following
Measure and Track Your Performance
Moving Forward With Your Ecommerce Pinterest Strategy
