Pinterest Marketing For Small Business Owners
Pinterest has a huge following in the U.S. and internationally. Approximately 28% of U.S. adults use Pinterest and 22% of the entire adult population according to Pew Research. Pinterest is well-known for being a women-dominated social platform, but men are growing in numbers. Can small businesses capitalize on the potential marketing power Pinterest has to offer?
The Bad News
Pinterest’s paid advertising program is rolling out slowly. In October 2013, Pinterest launched Promoted Pins, its paid advertising service, for large businesses only. Then in July of 2014, DIY Promoted Pins became available to small businesses. This strategy enables small businesses to connect with more Pinterest users by promote Pins in the search and category feeds, which should increase reach, increase click-through and possibly drive more traffic to their sites. The Pins work on a cost-per-click basis, and are currently in beta testing. In January 2015, Pinterest announced testing ads in different places, including the home feed, for U.S. pinners. Small businesses will be able to promote and target any pin based on location or sex and specific tags or topics. For example, Kraft foods can suggestion a recipe pin in the context of similar recipes in the discover section. The goal is to provide the right content to the right people at the right time. Small business owners can currently join the waitlist for promoted pins at ads.pinterest.com. Currently, the process on the site is:1 | Pick a pin2 | Decide who sees it3 | Pay for visits4 | Track what’s working
The Good News
By using some best practices, your pins can gain organic attention. Pinterest can be used to create original content, link to existing content such as blog posts and videos, feature products and more. Small businesses usually have built-in expertise, so using this to create a niche in the platform is a good strategy. For example, if your business focuses on career advice, pinning images with links to blog posts and pinning inspirational quotes can be interest areas in which your business is active. Creating a Pinterest marketing strategy before having a paid advertising plan is a good start because when you have access to promoted Pins, you will be able to promote your popular content when you have the capability.
Some Pinterest Best Practices include:
1. Images, images, images.
Putting the Pin It button on images in a way that is prominent and easy to use is important. When the users click “Pin It,” they should be provided a well-optimized, clean, high resolution image. Lighter, taller images tend to do better. The description with the image should also be well written, concise and optimized, with relevant hashtags and key product data, including price if appropriate. 200-300 characters is generally a good description length. Including a call-to-action can increase engagement. The appropriate landing page and tracking info should be automatically linked to each pin when shared from your site.
2. Know your audience.
This rule is important in all of content marketing, but in Pinterest especially because while most Pinterest users are women, men are the largest growing demographic. Therefore, focusing on both your current and target audiences with strategic Boards and repins is imperative to your Pinterest plan.
3. Create user-centric content.
Don’t just use your Pinterest to promote what you are trying to sell. Create Pins with the consumer in mind. Look at other Pinners and Boards for inspiration and to see what Pins are successful for those brands.
4. Organization.
Create meaningful, well-organized boards that reflect your brand’s content by type and interest.
5. Interaction.
As with other social media platforms, interaction with existing Pinners increases your traction and visibility. Highlighting clients and colleagues on Pinterest along with users can create to greater traffic to your page in the long run. Each social media has its purpose. Facebook is where all your friends are, Twitter is your newsfeed, Tumblr is your blog, Instagram is your photo album, LinkedIn is for business connections, etc. The function of Pinterest in the social media sphere for users is to create a collection of things you want to buy or make or do, which makes Pinterest naturally conducive to advertising. A lot of Pinterest content is inspirational; content that helps users better themselves. Being aware of the overall purpose of Pinterest is essential to creating an organic Pinterest strategy that will cross over to promoted Pins once they are available widespread. Small businesses that relate to self-improvement or inspirational goals have a better chance of being more naturally suited to Pinterest; however, any image-based content has Pinterest potential. What are you waiting for? Get started!
Have you found success using Pinterest for your small business? Tell us in the comments below!
FOR MORE ON THIS TOPIC, check out our ultimate Pinterest For Business checklist/series, right here:Part IandPart II