Pinterest Marketing Strategy: Lay the Foundation for Solid Organic Business Growth Now

1. What is Pinterest Marketing?
2. Pinterest Marketing Strategy
3. Step-by-Step Guide for Your Pinterest Concept
4. How can you link Pinterest and SEO?
5. Conclusion

Lay the foundation for solid organic business growth with a Pinterest marketing strategy. In this article, you'll learn how to position your content and, most importantly, why you should pay more attention to Pinterest. Our guest author, Juliette Oppel, gives you an insight!

What is Pinterest Marketing?

Many of you probably already have the Pinterest app pre-installed on your phone. Some of you may even use Pinterest to look for recipes, research DIY ideas, or get inspired by trendy interior trends. But have you ever thought of using Pinterest as a marketing tool for your own business and how does Pinterest actually work?

Your marketing mix probably includes several social media channels to easily and inexpensively draw attention to you or your product. And Pinterest is part of that. Strictly speaking, Pinterest is not a social network, but a search engine. And a visual one at that. That's what makes it special and a perfect opportunity for marketing.

Pinterest combines the SEO aspects of Google with interest-based search queries on Social Media. Sometimes potential customers can't properly put their wishes into words, but they know what they're looking for as soon as they see a suitable picture.

The brain can process images much faster than text. You probably know it - when you make a search query on Google, you usually only scroll to the end of the first page. On Pinterest, users scroll through up to 60 pins. Your business could be linked behind each of these pins.

The goal is for your potential customers to get from the Pinterest pin to your website. It's not like social media, where users should stay in the app as long as possible and especially exclusively. Instead, Pinterest itself advertises that everything is different on Pinterest: "It's different here" is their motto. It's important to them to guide interested parties to a target page that answers their search query as accurately as possible.

Just like a search engine should. The pins and thus the link to your website have a lifespan of several months. Whereas a Post on Instagram is only relevant between 24 and 72 hours. Therefore, Pinterest marketing is an incredibly sustainable strategy in the marketing mix. And with almost 20 million users in Germany alone, your content is guaranteed to be found by the right target group, as the distribution of generations is quite balanced.

Pinterest Marketing Strategy

Basically, you want your customers to come to your home. So, to your homepage. Only there can you really control 100% what visitors can see when and how. However, we are all becoming more and more dependent on social media and create good content that unfortunately disappears too quickly. Of course, Pinterest is not a replacement for another marketing channel. It's the mix that counts! And besides all the fast-paced Social Media Platforms Pinterest is more like the mom who keeps everything a bit together.

Because you can of course highlight all your other online marketing channels with your pins. You can link to your Instagram accounts, to your YouTube channel, to your Etsy shop, or to your podcast. The list is long and you can help all these channels gain more visibility. Which Pinterest marketing strategy you choose is up to you. The trial-and-error principle is recommended. You then use Pinterest Analytics or other analysis tools to see which pins brought you the most traffic.

For example, if you have an Etsy shop, but also your own online shop on your website, it is of course recommended to choose the Pinterest strategy in such a way that customers land directly in your shop and not linked to Etsy. But if you are still far away from your own online shop, it's worth starting with Pinterest now, leading to the external shop first and then back to you via the pin. The customer journey in the background doesn't matter at first because they want to buy your product and as soon as they land on a page where they can get their desired product through the pin, they are satisfied.

Pinterest is really stepping up in the field of online shopping. When users enter their search term, they used to be able to choose between "Discover" and "Profiles". Now the option "Shopping" appears and products matching the search term are displayed directly. Even the pin for an item is set up differently from a standard pin. Because with the article pin, prices and quantities incl. a product description can be seen immediately.

If the pin is provide with meta-data, then price and quantity or even product name, for example, will update automatically as soon as you change these values in your shop. Since June 2022, there is an API (programming interface) for shops. Entire catalogs can now be uploaded and managed on Pinterest. Those who work with Shopifyor WooCommerce have it particularly easy, because the two shop systems work closely with Pinterest. You can see that Pinterest is a must-have for all online shop owners.

But don't be scared off if you don't have a physical product to market. Pinterest is also an absolute traffic booster for all service providers. Pinterest users want long-term inspiration and information. According to Pinterest, 67% of users say that they research on Pinterest, BEFORE they start a new project. They then remember a few pins on the relevant topic and either click further right away or return to their pinboards at a later time to read more.

Thus, linked blog posts, how-to lists or service offers provide the optimal benefit for interested parties to inform themselves. Thematically, anyone can see their business here. Whether couple therapists, wedding blogs, business tips, vegan dog nutrition, winter holidays for large families, or financial tips - everything is searched.

If you don't get a real idea of how you can fine-tune your own Pinterest marketing strategy, the in-house oracle will probably help you. At the end of the year, Pinterest always releases the Pinterest Predicts report.

Pinterest Predicts 2023

It lists the suspected trends for the coming year including suggested keywords that are expected to be used for this. Here you will surely smile sometimes at what is supposed to be in trend. But the hit rate of the last years was 80%. So of 10 predicted trends, 8 actually developed that way.

Examples for the Pinterest trends 2023:

1. Pool pawties: Generation X and the boomers will increasingly hold pool parties for pets next year. Of course, they need the right equipment and the right decor. The following keywords are probably relevant in this context ...

• DIY dog areas in the garden
• DIY dog pool
• Dog birthday party ideas deco
• Mini pool ideas

Pool-Pawties-Pins

2. Rusty wedding: or also "Rust Married". Millennial couples are expected to say yes to orange. The expectation is that the decor, flower arrangements, and bridesmaid dresses will have a rust-orange look. These longtail keywords will probably be important ...

• Terracotta dress bridesmaid
• Copper Sari
• Orange wedding outfit

Rust-married-Pins

3. Mush-Rooms: This is about interior design with pictures and decoration of mushrooms (mushrooms) and psychedelic colors that one rather associates with mushroom consumption. Generation Z and the boomers are setting up their retreats with flashy decor and fantasy pictures. Everything is allowed, just not ordinary. The following keywords will be entered ...

• Fantasy mushroom Art
• Vintage mushroom decor
• Funky house decor
• Crazy bedroom decor
• DIY mushroom decor

Mushroom-Pins

Now you might think: "How should I incorporate that into my Pinterest strategy? I can't offer anything from that." But thinking a bit outside the box is worthwhile. If you sell posters, for example, or are photographers, sell your own pictures and know that the topic of mushrooms for interior design will be trendy next year, it makes sense to include one or the other product in that direction. Or to write a blog post about psychedelic color perception. Or to adjust photographs that already exist in corresponding colors. You don't have to change your complete product range, but with the Pinterest Predicts trends you get some clues where the journey could go. Likewise, a bridal outfitter does not necessarily have to offer everything in orange, but perhaps it is enough to make the pins a little rustier to raise awareness or to sell a "Rust Married" sign.

What's important for your Pinterest concept is that nothing is set in stone. You can try out and simply see which pins your target group likes.

Step-by-Step Guide for Your Pinterest Concept

1st Step: Create a Business Account

Creating a business account on Pinterest is completely free of charge. If you already have a private account, you can also switch to a business account. After creation, you should also verify the account. This opens up further possibilities for you, such as the featured logo function. Additionally, with your business account you have access to the Pinterest analysis tool, which helps you to optimize your Pinterest marketing strategy in the long run.

Step 2: Create a Pin (or several)

There are many different pin formats and Pinterest has a vivid overview on this. Here is a brief summary of the most important pins:

• Standard Pins: Portrait formats, 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g. 1000 x 1500 pixels), product or service should be highlighted more than abstract lifestyle images, place logo on the pin, be sure to work with text overlays and choose short texts
• Video Pins: Aspect ratio for standard videos 1:1 (square) or 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 (vertical), recommended length 15-60 seconds, for ads 6-15 seconds, use text overlays or subtitles, as many users watch videos without sound, meaningful cover image
• Idea Pins: 9:16 aspect ratio recommended, multi-page pins (up to 20 pages) where you can tell a story (similar Instagram Stories), videos recommended, at least on the first page of the pin, build the whole pin like a story, with beginning, middle and end, perfect for step-by-step instructions, under details extra ingredients, consumables or notes can be added
• Rich Pins: Automatically sync data with your website by adding meta tags, have extra info at the top and bottom of the pin, there are three types of rich pins

Own Chart from Rich Pins create | Pinterest for business - Help

Other pin formats are Carousel Pins, Giraffe Pins, Collection Pins and Square Pins as well as Max.-width Pins.

Tip: To create the pins, you can perfectly work with the graphic tool Canva Pro. Even the free version provides you with enough creative elements to quickly and easily design appealing pins.

Step 3: Create Pinboards

Pinboards or also called boards, are created for different topics. If you have created a private Pinterest account, for example, you were asked at the beginning which topics interest you in general. You will then be suggested pins according to this. If you find a pin interesting and want to remember it, you were asked what the pinboard where you want to save this pin should be called.

With your business account, you plan the pinboards in advance - at least some of them. The pin boards in your company profile show users what topics they can find pins on your account. You post the created pins on selected pin boards. A pin can also appear on multiple pin boards. For example, if you wrote a blog article on the topic of Pinterest marketing strategy, this could appear on the following pin boards:

• Sustainable Marketing
• Growth for your business
• Marketing mix 2023

At the beginning, a maximum of ten different pin boards are recommended. Please don't post the pin about the article "Pinterest Marketing Strategy" on all 10 boards, but really only on the most relevant ones.

In addition to your own pin boards, there are also group boards. Here, several people post their pins on the corresponding topic. It is definitely advisable to participate in group boards. However, the main focus remains on your own pin boards. There you can also pin pins from other providers to offer a wide variety of information to your target group. The ratio should not exceed 70:30 though. So 70% own pins and 30% foreign pins.

Step 4: Plan Your Pins

You have a business account, you have designed pins and created pin boards. So you can start pinning. Of course, you can simply upload the pin and that's it. Pinterest recommends pinning at least once a week. But if you actually use Pinterest as a marketing channel for more visibility and traffic, it is advisable to pin 3-5 times a day. The planning tool Tailwind is perfect for this.

By the way: Here you can, for example, also plan your Instagram posts. Tailwind is an official partner of Pinterest and therefore very helpful because Tailwind knows what Pinterest wants and will also always remind you if you forgot something. So if you now have all the pins in the start holes, you can plan the coming week or even the next four weeks. Especially for seasonal products or topics, it is important to pin the right pins at the right time.

For example, if you want to cover the Easter topic, you can already design the pins for it now and start stocking your Easter pin boards for the coming weeks on Tailwind. The best thing about a planning tool is that you can also choose the times exactly and therefore don't have to get active three times a day at a certain time. For example, if you sell baby accessories, you might expect mothers to scroll through the pins more in the evening or very early in the morning. If you inform about business topics, the pin can also be played well during the lunch break.

Tip: Tailwind also has a free version. If you initially use the free version, you won't be able to plan several pins per day at once, but you can have a look at the tool and try it out. After a short time, you will get discount offers on the paid versions, some of which include up to 50% discount.

Step 5: Pinterest Analytics

As mentioned at the beginning, you should try things out. The Pinterest Analytics show you very clearly which pins work well and which don’t. So you can refine your Pinterest strategy gradually and concentrate on creating the pins that appeal to your potential customers most.

The Idea Pins have not been around for long. This new format is being extremely pushed by Pinterest. Therefore, of course, it is advisable to work a lot with this pin variant. To slowly get a feel for it, you can of course start with the standard pin first, then try out the video pins and then move on to the Idea Pins.

Because the algorithm at Pinterest works like this: You pin your pin. Someone interested in this pin remembers it on their own pinboard. He or she "re-pins" the pin. The more Re-Pins, the more relevant Pinterest considers the content and thus plays out the pin more and more often. Hence also the sustainability factor. The pin from today can still be re-pinned even in two months and thus always stays up-to-date and circulating. Pins do not expire. Even the pins that you post as an ad transition into organic content after their run. Pinterest itself describes this effect as "Evergreen" - never-dying, durable.

How can you link Pinterest and SEO?

If Pinterest is a search engine, then you should also be able to design your pins SEO-optimized, right? Correct. And more than that. But where should you best incorporate your keywords?

When creating a pin, you have 100 characters for the pin title and 500 characters for the pin description. And that's exactly where the keywords belong. But not just simply lined up (even if some do it that way), but already packed as a nice little SEO text. Research your Pinterest keywords using Pinterest's search function by simply entering a word on your topic and seeing which longtail keywords result from it. In addition, you can also use the ABC keyword search. It's also helpful to look at the Google search field in parallel and add more keywords from there.

These are just the obvious ways to find your keywords. Of course, there are some more, but all procedures for keyword research would cross the line here.

What is important is that you create a keyword list and use it extensively. Because besides the pins, you also have 100 characters for the title and 500 characters for the board descriptions in the boards. In the best case, you would pin the pin with the keywords XYZ on the pin board with the same keywords XYZ. And as the icing on the cake, your account's profile description also contains the most relevant keywords.

On the text overlays of the pins, you can also place your keywords. But keep in mind that most Users use their smartphone for internet activities. Therefore, the overlays should contain only short and easily readable texts.

Hashtags on Pinterest are no longer relevant by the way. You can use them to visually loosen up a 500-character description a bit or because it simply reads cool, but they don't have any added value.

Since the pins lead to your website, the most important keywords should also be present there and your website should be well prepared and optimized in general. So all links have to work and the message that is conveyed in the pin should also be found behind it (i.e. on the website). A pin that teases with seven steps to the perfect dog pool, for example, must not then lead to a site where you only sell blue plastic sand shells. Pinterest would not classify this pin as relevant then. Thinking a bit outside the box is okay, but Pinterest is about quality. So not only optimize your pins, but also the targets that the pins lead to.

Conclusion

Pinterest is the feel-good oasis of the Internet. Here it's not about bad vibes and hate comments, which can completely ruin some ideas on social media. Visitors here want to be inspired. They want to see beautiful pictures and get great input and then also implement all the ideas and impulses in real life.

You have a unique platform to make your business visible with Pinterest and benefit from the positive vibrations with which users go into the app. They want to be active, they want to buy, and they don't just want to scroll through dumbly to distract themselves for a short while. Pinterest is like no other platform and brings a completely different flair to your marketing concept. Pinterest is just fun. For users and for you! Pin your interest and and see what happens.