When it comes to social media platforms, the ones that businesses favour are clear; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin. They have huge numbers of monthly active users, useful advertising platforms and a great mix of visuals and text. But let us not forget about Pinterest.
With 250 million monthly active users, up from 150 million 2 years ago, Pinterest is a rapidly growing platform with a largely untapped-in-to audience. So how come brands aren’t making the most of it? Well, the simplest and quickest answer is probably that they don’t know how to. Pinterest is such a different platform that it involves being able to adapt in order to succeed.
The way that it differs from the likes of Instagram or Twitter can be summed up in one simple sentence; it’s about idea saving, not idea sharing. So from a brand perspective, you can’t rely on tapping into influential users, or collaborating with brands to get your message seen by the many. In order to do well on Pinterest, you have to appeal to the many, individually.
Success on Pinterest is about getting saves, not shares, but it’s still very much a commercially viable audience. 70% of users go to Pinterest to discover new products, while 72% say it actually encourages them to shop.
The key to seeing those results is to make sure your advert is camouflaged into its surroundings. Users go to Pinterest for highly aesthetic imagery, travel inspiration, new recipes and innovative ideas on crafts or homeware. If you start adding pins of your products using the standard website images, it’s not likely to get you very far. Focus on the platform. Take photos of your products in use or against pretty backdrops and avoid anything that looks too much like an advert (“buy it now” posts won’t cut it on Pinterest”).
Once you’ve got the aesthetic nailed, you need to make sure that your pins are valuable. On Instagram, users like to look at what you’re posting. Whereas on Pinterest, users want to know where to buy it, who made it, what the recipe is, where in the world it is and so on and so on. Remember to optimise your descriptions and add links wherever possible to ensure you’re not just getting those clicks and saves, but also hopefully sales leads.