Pinterest 101: Developing a Successful Organic Strategy

There’s a new top dog when it comes to profitable, traffic-driving social platforms — and its name is Pinterest. Never considered this platform as a valuable part of your social marketing strategy? Well, here are a few 2020 Pinterest stats that may change your mind.

Check out the rest of the stats from Pinterest here.

A succinct plan for tackling the beast that is Pinterest can take your brand to the next level, and get your products and services in front of the right eyes at the right time. But first, what even is it?

What is Pinterest?

Not only is Pinterest an intensely popular platform that enables users to discover, ideate, and create - it also facilitates search and discovery to drive traffic with an audience that is primed for purchase.

Pinterest is a search engine, inspiration hub, and online store. Think Google search meets your website meets Instagram (but vertical - we’ll get into that later).

Got a question? Pinterest can answer it, plus ten more you never knew you had. You can also get ample information for planning your next trip, DIY home project, art piece — anything under the sun.

If this wasn’t enough, Pinterest can also seamlessly integrate with your eCommerce site with Rich Pins, product ads, and conversion-driving creative.

Optimized Pins

Maximizing your organic Pinterest strategy begins with your pins. It’s incredibly important to optimize your brand’s pins to take full advantage of the algorithm for optimal reach, engagement, and website clicks.

Here’s what every perfect pin should include:

Don’t forget — Pinterest plays by a different set of rules when it comes to creative.

Abandon traditional ad rules when crafting your pins - play with typographic design, text overlay, and in-use product imagery, and ALWAYS use vertical content.

Keep your message simple and succinct, and make sure the assets you create are made for Pinterest, not resized for Pinterest. Check out the examples below from the Pinterest team.

*images sourced from Pinterest Academy

Organic Pinterest Best Practices

Now that you’ve got the pin part down, here are some other important notes to keep in mind.

• Pinterest Boards: Make sure your brand is keeping approximately 20 active, up-to-date, optimized boards. Create boards that answer the unique, diverse needs of your target demographic. Ensure that board titles are clear and concise, not keyword-stuffed.

• Images: Use hi-res, compelling imagery that is clean and visually-striking. Lifestyle imagery performs better than product imagery on Pinterest, so be sure to keep this in mind when sourcing creative. Include tasteful branding on created pins to foster brand awareness, and integrate keywords to your file naming conventions.

• Integrate eCommerce: Rich pins, site save buttons and the Pinterest tag can all make or break a successful pin strategy.

Use Pinterest to Support your eCommerce

Now that we’ve got the organic side down, let’s dive into eComm integrations. There are three big ways to ensure that your site is primed for Pinterest:

1. Install the Save Button

Enable your eCommerce traffic to create pins on your behalf. Install the Pinterest save button on your site so your visitors can add their wishlist straight to their favorite boards.

2. Enable Rich Pins

Featuring product information including price, descriptions, mark-downs and more, Rich Pins are the perfect way to add conversion value to your organic strategy. Set up product-specific Rich Pins to enable shoppable product pins within the platform.

3. Install the Pinterest Tag

Similar to the Facebook Pixel, the Pinterest Tag tracks consumer behavior on your site. Consisting of a base code + event code, track what your consumers do after clicking on promoted pins and entering the site - ie. where they go, what they click and what they buy. The Pinterest team supplies installation instructions and support.

We could talk the ins and outs of Pinterest ALL day. The platform is unique, useful, fun and absolutely perfect for brands.

Not only can you create and implement a successful organic Pinterest strategy, but your business can also implement paid strategy to promote and expand to other audiences.

Ready to get started with Pinterest and tap into your target audience?
We’re here to help. Send us a message, we’d love to chat next steps with you.