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“I love Pinterest because it makes me money,” wrote Charles Huff, author of How to Sell on Etsy with Pinterest, and he’s right; Pinterest users spend between $140 and $180 per order on average. Facebook and Twitter shoppers only spend $60 to $80. It’s clear that the future of social media marketing lies in visual platforms, and therefore marketing with Pinterest is vital. But marketing effectively with Pinterest is another story. Here are 6 ways you can effectively make money with Pinterest, while effectively marketing your business all along:
You’ve pinned an image with your brand. Viewers like the image and they re-pin it. Great, you’re getting your name out there. But what if you could actually increase the chances of turning those people who are merely just re-pinning into…customers? Adding a special “call-to-action button” on your pin will not only improve click through rates by 1,300% but will increase the chance of people taking a step closer to becoming a customer- whether its receiving a coupon, entering a contest, joining an email list, or showing them another one of your products. Here are 50 free customizable “Call-to-Action” templates.
You want people to be able to re-pin your content easily. By building in a “pin it” button or “follow” tab on your content, you make it so much easier for people to pin your content on their boards. This will help people interact and engage with your brand more easily. Pinterest teaches you how to build these buttons or widgets with very simple steps. You can also use the “hover pin,” which allows a “pin it” button to appear when your mouse hovers over the image.
If you want to use your pin to try and sell a product or tell someone the location of your store, use “rich pins.” They’re just pins with extra information. For example, “product pins” include information on where to buy the product, availability, and real time pricing- if there’s a drop in price, your pinners will be notified. Pinterest pins that include prices get 36% more likes than those that don’t have them. “Place pins” are equally effective. After taking a picture of your newly designed display window, wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could get a map to your store to come see the window (and of course, potentially buy products) in person? “Place pins” give pinners a map, address, and phone number of the pin. Learn how to use “rich pins” here.
You always hear “quality over quantity”- and that goes with Pinterest too. Pinning too often is not good for you or your brand. It risks annoying your followers, making your brand look weak and desperate for attention (you don’t want to be that brand). View the platform as a gallery where you upload significant products or cool pictures of your product. Keep the rest of your inventory images on your website.
True or False: Pins are for images only. False! You can pin videos, audio, podcasts, or slideshows as well. People consume a wide range of content these days- you can’t win with just pictures and text. Adding variety to the type of content you pin will allow a wider range of people to engage with your brand. As you know, online video is extremely popular these days- especially short videos with a lot of information in a short period of time. Podcasts are also a creative way to build relationships with your potential customers.
70% of brand engagement on Pinterest is generated by users- not brands. Therefore: You. Must. Get. That. Repin. It really gets the conversation going, involves users, and creates a following. While there is no “secret” formula to getting a repin (oops, sorry about the title!), here are some helpful tips on getting repins:
Of course, don’t get too caught up on trying to follow a systematic approach to getting repinned. You need to give your brand some personality too. Join the conversation and repin things yourself; follow, like, and comment on pins that are related to your industry. You want to always be engaging with other users- after all, it’s all about social marketing right?
How helpful is Pinterest for your business? Let us know in the comments!
Image Credits: 360b/Shutterstock, Twin Design/Shutterstock, Chones/Shutterstock
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