“Pinterest Marketing” is a term you have hardly heard of! Do you want your brand or your name to be known by every third person in the world? If your answer is yes, then today I am going to tell you the method by which you can achieve this goal and the pleasure is that you do not have to spend any money to do so.
Think about how your brand should be known by everyone in the world. Without wasting much time, let us start the journey of making you as a brand.
PINTEREST MARKETING:
One such tool for you is Pinterest, which will help your brand grow worldwide. If you think that Facebook and twitter are just social media marketing tools, then think again because you probably don’t know about “Pinterest Marketing”.
Pinterest Pins spread 100 times more than a Tweet, with the retweet averaging only 1.4%. And, for Facebook, the half-life of a Pin is 1,6000 times longer than that of a Facebook Post. And according to DMR, Pinterest has 459 million active monthly users in total and 98 million active users are from US.
Since Facebook recently purchased Instagram, Pinterest has become a Hot Ticket Item for Business Marketing.
And that is for good reason. If there has been a 27% growth in the Pinterest accounts of Fortune 500 companies over the past year (including Exxon Mobile, Wal-Mart and Apple), isn’t it a hint that your business should be among 250 million users?
In addition to this, the real strength of Pinterest is the integrated features of their Business Accounts. Join 500,000 businesses with Pinterest for Business Accounts, and you’ll have marketing facilities to quickly grow your brand and promote on one of the popular Social Media Platforms.
PINTEREST FOR BUSINESS IS DIFFERENT FROM YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS:
If you do not already have an account, or your account is personal, then you will have to create or convert it to a Business Account to know the full potential of Pinterest’s Marketing Potency. So, you need to sign up for Pinterest first. With your Pinterest Business Accounts, you get:
Pinterest Analytics:
Pinterest analytics is one of the newest and best features tool of Pinterest Business Accounts. When you create your account, you get access to important tracking information. You will be able to see what strategies and content you can work on so that you can continuously improve your marketing strategies.
Rich Pins:
There are five different types of Rich Pins, all loaded with more information than your average Pin for serious selling power. They include the current time price and stock update, direct link to your site, and interactive map locations.
Promising New Tools:
Pinterest has promised some new tools for business accounts in the future. As of now including Promoted Pin, Pin It Button and Widget Builder. As new tools are being added, you can stay updated by connecting with Pinterest Newsletter.
HOW TO MAKE POPULAR PINTEREST PINS:
If you edit pins correctly then your pins can get a large engagement and make wonders for your business.
Pinterest has been described as a visible search engine. Therefore, in the same way when you are writing articles on your blog or posting on your business’s Instagram account, you want your content to be available on the search engine.
If it is not eligible to appear on the search engine, then you will not see it as a result on the search engine.
So, before you grab the mouse to start Pinning, you have to understand the Pinterest culture, what your followers search for, and learn to make Popular Pin.
Most Popular Categories:
If you know what the most popular Pinterest categories are, then you have a better idea which boards will work for your business.
University of Minnesota’s Pinterest study showed the most popular categories by Gender, yes, while 80% of users are female, male are starting to catch the Pinterest bug. In the past year, there has been a 2x growth in the number of male users, making them the fastest growing demographic of Pinterest.
If your business has nothing to do with DIY crafts, there is no specific board for the art of glue-gunning. Choose the most relevant and popular!
Images that work!
As we have discussed in previous sections that Pinterest is a visual search engine. Pinterest algorithm is now even more smart that is never before!
Pinterest algorithm is now able to recognize the text written on a Pinterest Pin image. So here it is advisable here to add some text on Pinterest Pin images so that the Pinterest search engine can understand what the Pin is all about. Try to make it catchy so that it can draw the attention of most of your Pinterest followers.
Optimal Pin Size:
Pinterest recommend a pin size of 2:3 ratio such as 1000 pixel wide and 1500 pixel tall (or larger) is a perfect size for a Pinterest Pin. To design a Pinterest Pin, you can use a free and an awesome tool Canva with lots of designs and features.
Instructographics:
Sometimes it is good to take advantage of long length allotment. The term instructographic was given by Pinterest, and is an another name for infographic. These are popular due to their DIY (do it yourself), How-To Nature, which we know is the second most popular category!
HOW TO GET AND SHARE YOUR PIN ON PINTEREST:
Optimization of your PIN:
It’s one thing to make a great Pin, but it’s another game to watch and share. If you do not choose it for engagement, no one will find your PIN.
Best Time to Pin:
The best time to pin depends on the habits of your targeted audience, so you should always test for your specific optimal posting time. But, for your general information, according to SocialFresh, the best time to post is 2 PM – 4 PM EST and 8 PM – 1 AM EST. And, Hubspot‘s experiment says that Saturday morning is the best time to publish Pinterest posts.
Make it Easy to Pin Content with Your Sites:
Add a widget Pin this Button to any image on your website or any of your phone applications directly through Pinterest. Or, if you’re using WordPress, then you can use a plugin — Pinterest Pin it Hover Button.
These simple-to-integrate buttons redirect your site visitors to either check your Pinterest account or pin content of your site. If you do not have these buttons, there is very little chance that your site will bring a result with your Pinterest Account.
Share Pin in Your Pinterest Newsletter:
Get people out of the problem to find your PIN by sending a pin directly to them! Your Newsletter is the right place to put your latest pins and a pair of specific customers in your Pinterest account. Use it!
LEARN TO DO SEO FOR PINTEREST:
You have to do some SEO techniques to get the pin searched by your targeted audience. But, don’t worry, it doesn’t take too much time to optimize your PIN with respect to finding Pinterest. Just follow these steps:
- Research Keyword: Use a tool like Google AdWords Keyword Planner to find the popular Keyword related to your business and your PIN.
- Add your keyword to your Top Pins.
- Add your keyword in your Pin descriptions.
- Add your keyword to your Pin Image File names.
- Use Pinterest keyword suggestions.
For instance, if you search for healthy eating on Pinterest, it suggests different keywords that are mostly searched by Pinterest users. So by using theses suggestions you can make your Pinterest Pin title “Healthy Eating To Loose Weight”.
Use Call-to-Pin:
Similarly, when you use Call-to-Action in your ad copy, Call-to-pin will greatly increase the engagement of your Pin. In fact, you will get 80% more engagement with CTP. In your PIN description, add something like this:
Tip – “Repin your own Inspirational Board.”
Stay Engaged to Build Relationships and Get New Followers:
Now that you know which types of pins are popular and how to get your pins, the next step in Pinterest marketing is to use your pins to build relationships with followers and influencers that will increase your reach.
As we all know, more reach = more success.
Knowing what users see when analyzing other accounts will allow you to give them what they want and in return, increase your following. No one ever likes to study with a little heart.
Minnesota University’s Pinterest study found that the 3 main factors that Pinterest users take into account in the I-follow-or-not decision process are:
a) How many accounts are you following?
b) How many pins do you have?
c) How many boards do you have?
To be on the title of those factors and build a relationship to increase your reach, you need to do the following:
Post Frequently:
To get more Pinterest followers, you should post between 5-30 new pins every day. Make sure that you are not only repeating the content of others, but also putting your own unique PIN with your own content.
Warning! Avoid the major Pinterest faux pas: Do not pin all 30 new pins in a span of 5 minutes. Spread your pinning throughout the day.
You can even schedule your Pins throughout the day.
Engage With Followers, Reply to Their Comments:
Just like you respond to Tweet, Facebook Post and Instagram Post, likewise by answering their questions and answering their comments directly with your followers. Go to the extra mile and address them directly, using their names to really take your customer service to the next level.
Make Comments On The Pins of Your Followers:
Engagement is a two-way street. You also need to access your followers’ boards. Comment on their pins so that they feel some love. Their followers will also see your brand!
Follow and Engage With Popular Boards:
The best way to see a successful Pinterest strategy in action is to follow and engage with the popular boards. You can learn a lot from big accounts. See what kind of pins they put, what kind of boards they have, and how attractive they are. Your goal is to achieve that level!
If you are commenting on these popular Boards, your brand name will be seen by the huge number of people who see those boards.
Tip! It is a good idea to follow the popular Boards because they are relevant to your industry and business “just because” they are most popular. If your business literally has nothing to do with the wedding fashion, then you can do yourself a favor and follow the boards that are close to you. They are the people you want to relate to in some way.
Invite Others to Pin Your Boards:
Another good board feature for marketing is Open Board! Which gives users access to contribute their own PIN. All you have to do is give them Pinning Access by adding your name or e-mail. Certainly, as an administrator, you have full Veto Power, and are not able to change the name or description of your Contributors Board.
This is great for facility marketing because you involve your community personally.
If you can get industry experts and leaders to contribute to your board, then invite your followers and get big rights.
Build Relationships with Influencers:
Reach the wider audience and gain as many followers as possible by reaching influencers in your area.
Start following their Boards, repin their Pins and make attractive comments on their Pins. Once you drop your name like this, you can start a big collaboration.
Ask if they will post on one of your boards, or contribute to one of your boards. Offer ideas for their Boards and show that you’re familiar with their content when you start contributing, and you’ll be closer to the “yes” you’re looking for.
Find Friends from Other Social Media Platforms:
You know that when you create a new account with Instagram or any other social media platform, they ask if you want to “find friends” using your phone contacts or Facebook friends.
Well, to save time and get a solid start of followers, Pinterest also has a “Find Friends” option! Do not waste all the Twitter and Facebook contacts you have made. Follow them, and they will follow you back!
The Find Friends Button will be in the upper-right corner of your Pinterest main page.
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PROMOTE YOUR BRAND: PINTEREST MARKETING STRATEGIES
Collect Rich Pins:
My friends, I would like to introduce you to Rich Pins. And, trust me, they have earned their name.
Brands who take advantage of Rich Pin get their growth with an average of 82% in their Repin / Pin ratio. You will see big brands like Target and Wal-Mart taking advantage of Rich Pins… And, you should do it too!
I am not guaranteeing that you will jump into a pile of money with just a few Rich Pins, but there is a reason why they are called “Rich Pins”. They are full of valuable, traffic generating information; and, right now, they are the best strategy to increase your sales in the Pinterest area.
Rich Pins fall into 5 different sections: film, recipe, article, product and place, all filled with their own set of completely valuable facilities that will boost your engagement and direct traffic to your site.
Perks of Rich Pins:
When you apply for Rich Pins, you will get real-time information automatically updated on your PIN and people will find more ways to redirect to your site because your site will be linked to your Rich Pin. No problem, only leads will be found.
This example, from Urban Outfiters (the second most popular Retailer on Pinterest), shows the features of the “product” pin at work. You have got an official link for the store’s site, as well as updates live price and stock availability information.
“Article” pins are also valuable in that they can promote your blog post and redirect Pinterest users to your blog. Article Pin comes with a call-to-action at the bottom with your brand’s logo, description, and direct link to your main site.
How to Collect Rich Pin:
For any of your Rich Pin’s ability to redirect traffic to your site, you need to validate them on the Pinterest site itself. (If you don’t know the most technical things, you probably want some help from your web developer… this includes Meta Tag.) Here’s how:
a) Go to this page.
b) Decide what kind of Rich Pin (product, recipe, film, article, or place) you want to apply for.
c) Read the documentation for your Rich Pin type.
d) Add appropriate Meta Tag to your Site.
f) Apply your Rich Pins and make validation to approve them.
Once your Rich Pins are approved by Pinterest, they will leave the entire Pinterest world to see, repin, and redirect to your site!
I am not telling you that you should think about using Rich Pins because it will help in your business. If you want to remain in the world of crazy social media marketing, then I am telling you that you need Rich Pins.
Rich pins are still quite new, so especially if your business is small and growing, they will set you apart from this competition and Fortune 500 companies like GM, Apple, and Procter and Gamble all use Rich Pins. Follow the big people, and you will have some serious growth potential.
Mix Up Your Content:
The rules for all social media is that you mix your content or else you will lose the interests of your followers and lose the possibility of getting any new follower if your content is static and not diverse.
Therefore, whatever you do, please do not post Product Images. Do you remember that study done by Minnesota University? Well, the diversity of PIN was the 8th most important factor when users were deciding whether to follow an account or not. Therefore, in some other Boards that add value to your followers to avoid getting additional sales.
Add A Direct Link to Your Site:
Not all of your Pin’s come as Rich Pin. (Product images, incidents and articles benefit from the information provided with Rich Pins, but not all of your content.)
It is all about the recap.
When you are pinning images in your “Brand Inspiration” Board, you do not need Rich Pin. Examples relevant to your business will certainly not appear for a Rich Pin.
But, there is a piece of information that comes with Rich Pins, so your other “simple” Pins are also needed: a Direct Link for your Site.
Even your inspirational pin requires a link to your site, because if you changed a photo posted last Tuesday in the life of your followers, they would like to check your brand. If you have a link to take them to your site, they don’t need to search for information, and you increase the chances of redirecting them to your site.
Just include link in your Pin Description, and you will continue to move forward.
Put Your Most Popular Boards on Top:
Over time, you will be able to see which boards are more popular and get more engagement. Put your best pins forward and take these Boards to the top of your page so that when users come to your page, they will see your best content.
Keep it Seasonal and Relevant:
Another way to keep your content fresh is through holidays, seasons and incidents. Like Nike Women’s “Fall ’14 Style Guide”, more specific boards add more relevance and attract attention as they make those products even more relevant and instill a sense of urgency. Take advantage of that!
Just Create A Board for Blog Post:
Grab all those Rich-Pins, and add them to your own board! You put this board on the title of your page so that your followers will see it for the first time. This will help attract traffic to your site and will make it easier for users to find your content as it is all in an easy-to-find board. They will thank you!
TRACK SUCCESS AND LEARN THE STRATEGIES THAT WORK WITH ANALYTICS:
One of the business facilities on Pinterest is the super helpful Pinterest Analytics. This facility is only for Business Accounts and allows you to see:
- Which Pin and Board people like the most from your profile.
- What do people like to save from your website.
- Who are your Pinterest Viewers, including their Gender, place and other interests.
- When they are pinning your goods, what products do people use?
- Referral Traffic comes from Pinterest by adding Pin it Button to your website.
Why are these figures important to you? Because they will help in increasing your account and your reach.
The information gathered from your Pinterest Analytics shows which strategies work and which do not. Knowing this, you will be able to create your future Pinterest strategy based on hard facts. The strategies that work are proven, because you have proved them.
And, another reason to verify your account is a good idea. This will help you to gain authority and build trust. When Pinterest users see that little red Check Mark next to your website, they know that you are verified.
You can verify your website in the Settings section by adding Meta Tag. This will get you a verified badge, and you will be the authority. If you choose not to verify your site, you can still include a link to your site on your page, but you will not be able to use Pinterest Analytics.