Everything You Need to Know about Selling on Pinterest

With the rise of digital marketing, social media has become a thriving marketplace for small business owners. But these platforms, particularly Pinterest, can be a hit or a miss without having a solid strategy in place. 📌

Pinterest users are 90% more likely to shop than users on other social networks. So, instead of craning your neck to find ways to grow your business everywhere, all at once, you’re likely to hit — and not miss — by focusing on this sales-rich platform instead. If you haven't seen or experienced the power of pinning yet, you’re in for a treat.

Pinterest opens up several opportunities for small business owners like you. In this article, we’ll help you learn how this social media network can boost your sales while helping you build a devoted community.

4 reasons you should be using Pinterest for your business

Pinterest is an ideal platform for small businesses – from startups to established ones – to scale their branding and marketing strategies. And it’s free. Having a Pinterest business account provides the following benefits.

1. Appeal to a wide niche audience

In the first quarter of 2022, Pinterest had 433 million monthly active users worldwide of different ages. This means, you can use the platform to reach young adults (18 years) to senior Pinterest users (65+ years) in the US, as well as anyone else searching for inspiration.

2. Boost search engine rankings of your website

Pinterest does not have a direct impact on search rankings, but it can assist Google in determining the reliability and usefulness of your content. As more people share your pins, you'll receive more organic backlinks, increasing your overall visibility on Google.

3. Share content easily

Sharing content directly on Pinterest (from your website or other social media accounts) can be done easily, in the click of a button. It also saves you time from having to re-upload, copy links, or publish content manually.

4. Adapt quickly to changing consumer needs and behaviors

Pinterest offers cutting-edge analytics and innovative solutions that small businesses can use to grow in the future. For instance, the AR Try On feature for home decor and beauty products lets users try different products virtually, which can prompt them to make a purchase.

Pinterest offers all these benefits with little to no expenditure. It's a great place to keep up with the latest trends while bolstering your customer base. If you're new to the platform and don't know where to start, refer to the steps and strategies listed below.

Pinterest 101 for SMBs: 7 strategies to promote and sell your products on Pinterest

Pinterest strategies work differently for each business, but a common backbone is necessary to give the effort some direction. Set your specific goals, such as building awareness, boosting traffic, or increasing sales, and use the following strategies to achieve better results.

1. Define your ideal customer avatar

This step maximizes your efforts and ensures that you're selling to the right people on the platform, thus improving your odds of a higher conversion rate. To sift through these users and find your ICA, define your target buyers’ demographics and interests. You can then monitor the type of content they re-pin the most, the hashtags and keywords they use, and the brands they interact with.

Benefit Cosmetics’ Pinterest page demonstrates why this is important. Despite only having 87.7K followers, the brand has managed to reach a total of 9.6M monthly views by consistently publishing content that speaks to its ICA.

Following this first tactic lays the groundwork for the remaining 7 strategies. So, before you start selling on Pinterest, first know who you're selling to.

2. Set up your Pinterest business account

Setting up a business account on Pinterest is the same as creating an account on any other social media site. Go to the business account sign-up page and fill out the necessary info. If you already have a personal account, you can switch to a business one.

When completing your business profile, choose the responses that best describe your brand, goals, and plans. This information will help Pinterest tailor the experience to your needs.

Unlike a personal account, a business account lets you access analytics and ads. Once your account is set up, you can start showcasing your products and using these special features.

3. Know the basic tools at your disposal

Pinterest has some great built-in shopping tools available: Product Pins and Catalogs.

Product Pins provide product titles, descriptions, real-time pricing, and availability info from your website. They can help retailers increase traffic by up to 2.3X if done right. If your Pin becomes one of the most purchased items within a product category (e.g., home decor, fashion, beauty, etc.), it may be awarded the Bestseller badge, further boosting exposure.

To see how you can take advantage of product Pins, let’s look at fashion brand Everlane’s Pinterest strategy. In a single Pin, Everlane promotes and links multiple products.

Catalogs are browsable sections of in-stock Product Pins from a specific category. You can think of them as scrollable, clickable, and shareable brochures. If you have a Shopify store, you can upload your entire catalog in a few clicks using the Shopify app. Just connect your Pinterest account, and it will automatically set up the Pinterest tag and Shop tab on your Pinterest profile.

Let’s use Everlane’s Pinterest Shop again for your reference. By creating catalogs, Everlane's business profile will always display the most recent prices and offers.

4. Implement a Pinterest SEO strategy

Without an SEO strategy, visually appealing and worthwhile content won't make much of a difference. Optimizing your profile and content increases your searchability and allows your target audience to find what you're putting out there.

As a first step, figure out what keywords Pinterest users will likely use to discover your profile and Pins. The best keywords are the product you sell or a niche topic related to your business. You can also try to peep at what your competitors are using. A jewelry shop, for example, might use keywords like “rings,” “engagement rings,” “gold,” “diamond,” and so on.

As a sustainable packaging brand, noissue uses the keywords “packaging,” “circular,” “sustainable,” and “customizable” in their bio and pin key fields. By doing so, anyone who searches for these keywords may be able to find our profile easily.

Aside from your bio, Pin titles, and Pin descriptions, make sure you incorporate your keywords into your board names. Here’s another example from Forever Dolled Up, a fashion store for women of all sizes, that shows them using specific clothing-related keywords in their bio and board names.

Strengthen your Pinterest SEO strategy further and attract more traffic by creating unique content that distinguishes you from the competition.

5. Incorporate your branding

Pinterest is a scrolling platform, so distinguishable, scroll-stopping posts are essential to capture people’s attention. Strong brand visuals can help you achieve this. The use of unique fonts, color palettes, layouts, and photography can create a cohesive and consistent branding for your Pins, making them more recognizable, even to those who aren't warm leads.

Go back to the ideal client avatar you brainstormed in the first step. What type of content may resonate with them? Consider these examples and try to picture how you can use the same strategy for your products.

• Crawoo, a unique handmade decor shop, often posts about home decor ideas, such as this living room inspo on a budget.

• NaturallyCurly, home to curly hair products, published this handy infographic on how to flop curly hair using a t-shirt.

• Delineate Your Dwelling, a home improvement + DIY shop, shared this aesthetic ring yarn art, that redirects to the actual DIY article.

Knowing your target buyers and their pain points can help you curate compelling and valuable content. By branding your Pins consistently, you can differentiate yourself from the sea of Pinterest posts.

6. Show off your products with video Pins

Video Pins tell a more in-depth story about your brand and products. They bring more value and engagement than plain images, boosting your Pins in future search results. And yet, they save you tons of time since you can repurpose the video content you create.

Take the opportunity to build trust and credibility with your audience using video Pins You can share product hacks, tutorials, or behind-the-scene videos to be more transparent and win more sales. Try to make your clips as satisfying and engrossing as possible to immerse viewers in an on-brand experience.

You can also repurpose your TikTok videos and Instagram Reels as video Pins. Check out how noissue reshared The Wild Woven Collection’s Reel on their Pinterest account. Thus, more online viewers can learn how to improve their brand design while also learning about the noissue brand.

7. Take advantage of Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest Analytics helps you understand your overall presence and engagement on the platform, so you can further improve your strategies. To find Pinterest Analytics, go to your Pinterest business account and click Analytics on the top left of the page.

The Analytics overview summarizes the impressions, engagements, and audience for each Pin on any specific date range you want to analyze.

With the Audience insights tab, you can see the traffic and demographics by age, gender, location, and device. The data can be exported as a CSV file and uploaded to other eCommerce and marketing platforms you’re using.

The insights from these reports can identify the products, topics, and type of content your audience is most likely to engage with. With these insights, you can refine your strategy, so that your target Pinterest audience can continue to save, like, and share your Pins, thus boosting your traffic and conversions.

🎁 Wrapping it up

Pinterest can make or break your small business. But with the right tools and strategies, you can stop wasting your marketing budget and secure substantial returns on your investments.

Venture into the visual world of Pinterest with a firm foundation and a strong brand. Build up your branding by showing off the beauty of your products in and out.

Ready to make a difference? Switch to circular packaging today and start making beautiful unboxing video Pins that grab people’s attention and help you boost sales.