For years, Facebook and Twitter have been the go-to social media channels for digital advertising campaigns. While they still remain as relevant today as they did in the past, they’re no longer considered the pack leaders. That title now belongs to Pinterest. With pins that are more trendy than tweets and more shareable than posts, this social media service is increasingly becoming popular amongst various demographics. It has become the new hot ticket for online marketing. And it isn’t hard to understand why: with an increase of nearly thirty percent of accounts in this channel from Fortune 500 entities such as Apple and Wal-Mart and over four hundred million active users monthly, it presents businesses with a unique opportunity to expand their reach and – through the assistance of a reliable social media agency Seattle – create enough exposure for their offerings to generate sales. And in this guide, we’ll talk about how beginners can get started in leveraging Pinterest for their marketing efforts.
1. It Starts with a Business Account
Unlike any other social media platform, an account is necessary to take advantage of Pinterest’s marketing potential. However, not just any account will do; a business account is required. With it comes the following:
- Different Terms & Conditions. The terms and conditions of a business account from a personal one are different. The primary variance is that the account will be used for commercial purposes. There are several policies for both pin etiquette and acceptable use. Still, there are also some commercial account guidelines such as requesting people to participate and comment, promoting spam, running contests and promotions frequently and making false suggestions of the platform endorsing the business. And it’s well worth familiarizing yourself with all of this before you begin.
- Educational Materials. One of the things that separate Pinterest from other social channels is that they provide educational materials to help businesses maximize the platform’s ability to market their products and services. From webinars and blogs to the Pinstitute, which is a workshop that connects different Pinners together, taking the time to check these resources can make a difference in helping a company reach the full advertising potential of Pinterest.
- One of the more recent additions and an incredibly useful feature for business accounts, Pinterest Analytics, provides users with vital tracking information to help them understand the results of the strategies utilized and how to improve upon their marketing techniques.
2. Pin Generation
Pinterest pins are essentially the counterpart to Twitter’s tweets. And with the correct execution, a business can achieve better engagement with its use. The platform has been defined as a visual type of search engine. And similar to writing articles for a blog or uploading images on Instagram, it’s imperative that the content remains searchable. If it isn’t, then it’s unlikely that it’ll get the desired attention and exposure. So before pinning, it’s crucial to understand the culture within this digital channel and what the target audience is after to create trendy pins.
- Choose the Most Popular & Relevant Categories. Understanding the most popular categories on Pinterest will aid a company get a much better idea of the boards that will best suit its business. For example, if the organization deals with DIY materials and equipment, choosing a popular board relevant to it will make it more visible on the platform.
- The Images Matter. A quick look at Pinterest will show that it’s a visual-driven website. With its emphasis on aesthetic appeal, the images that businesses choose to use will be the cornerstones for the pins they decide to share. And by choosing clear and high-resolution pictures, the company will have a better chance to get more repins than it would’ve otherwise.
The Optimization of Pins
Creating fantastic pins is one thing. However, making them shareable is an entirely different story. And there’s little chance that your pins will be found if they aren’t optimized for user engagement. And apart from hiring the services of a social media agency, there are a few things that you can do. And listed below are a few tips that should help you out.
- Timing is Essential. Timing is a lot more important than it’s generally given credit for when it comes to pin optimization. And because of this, it’s crucial to pin at the right time. The ideal time to do so will depend on a number of factors, such as the habits of the target market. But generally speaking, the best time to start posting is usually from 2 PM to 4 PM and 8 PM to 1 AM EST.
- Link the Pins to the Business Site. There’s a reason why many businesses add the Pin-it button to their images: this allows companies to direct their audience towards their websites, lead visitors to their Pinterest pages, or link them to their respective accounts. And in doing so, they effectively increase user interaction.
- Connect with other Social Media Accounts. One of the best things about social media marketing is that you don’t necessarily need to start over from scratch whenever an account is created on a brand new platform. And when it comes to Pinterest, it’s fairly easy to link other channels to it. Not only will this allow the business to increase its followers, but it’ll also help it spread all of the content that it produces across every platform.
- Search Engine Optimization. Anyone familiar with digital marketing has probably heard of the term search engine optimization and most likely has an existing SEO campaign ongoing. And to improve SEO through Pinterest, all it takes is to do a little research on popular keywords relevant to the business and add them to the pin’s titles, descriptions, and filenames.
No matter what field or trade a business is in, using Pinterest can be advantageous in its advertising efforts. And by following the fundamental strategies in this guide and investing in the services of a reputable social media agency Seattle, there’s little doubt that a company can elevate its presence online, reach its target market, and generate a lot of sales.
