How to Use Pinterest for eCommerce to Increase Sales & Traffic?

You already know about the impact of social media on eCommerce. The eCommerce experts use it to reach out to a wider audience and foster deeper connections with the potential customers. Social media platforms can be a game-changer in boosting sales of your business. And one of the best platforms for that would be Pinterest.

Pinterest is basically a visual discovery engine. As a business owner, you can use it to reach more people and boost visibility. You can create visually appealing boards and pins in line with your brand image. It helps attract customers who need ideas or products like yours. You can drive traffic to your website by pinning product images with interesting descriptions.

In this blog, I’ll explain to you how to use Pinterest in eCommerce and what kind of benefits it presents. Let’s begin.

Why Use Pinterest for eCommerce?

While giants like Instagram and Facebook tend to dominate the social media space, experts say Pinterest can be a more influential platform for eCommerce. It offers a unique and powerful set of tools specifically designed to fuel your online sales. In fact, more than 44% of the millennials (around 25% of the global population) value Pinterest in their shopping decisions.

Need more reasons for this integration? Let me tell you why Pinterest deserves a prominent spot in your eCommerce strategy.

Visually Captivating: Pinterest thrives on aesthetics. It’s a platform where high-quality images and creative product presentations reign supreme. This aligns perfectly with the eCommerce world, where showcasing products in an enticing way is crucial.

Discovery Engine Powerhouse: Unlike fleeting social media feeds, Pins have a longer lifespan. They can be discovered by users searching for inspiration or specific products, driving traffic to your online store long after you post them.

Intentional Audience: Pinterest boasts a user base actively seeking ideas and planning purchases.  They’re not just scrolling passively – they’re primed to be captivated by your products and become potential customers.

Shoppable Inspiration: Gone are the days of simply admiring beautiful images. Pinterest’s “Buyable Pins” allow users to seamlessly transition from inspiration to purchase within the platform itself. This frictionless shopping experience can significantly boost your sales.

Targeted Marketing: Pinterest’s advertising tools allow you to reach a highly targeted audience based on demographics, interests, and even purchase behavior. This laser focus ensures your products are seen by the users most likely to convert into paying customers.

So, intrigued enough? Want to use Pinterest for your eCommerce business? Then you can either consult with a professional eCommerce development company or refer to the following process.

How to Use Pinterest in eCommerce?

Pinterest can be an excellent platform for driving traffic, increasing brand visibility, and ultimately boosting sales. Integrating it within eCommerce is a little different from the likes of Instagram and Facebook. Here’s how the process goes.

Identify your Goals

First step of the process is to identify what you are looking for. Here’s what you need to consider for the same.

• Increase brand awareness: If you’re a new brand or want to reach a wider audience, Pinterest can be a great way to get your name out there. Create Pins that showcase your brand personality and values, and use relevant hashtags to help people discover your content.
• Drive traffic to your website: Pinterest is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. By creating Pins that link to your product pages or blog posts, you can encourage people to visit your site and learn more about your business.
• Generate leads or sales: Pinterest can also be used to generate leads and sales. Create Pins that promote your products or services, and include clear calls to action to encourage people to take the next step, such as signing up for your email list or visiting your website to make a purchase.

Ultimately, your goals will determine your Pinterest strategy. Once you know what you want to achieve, you can start creating content and boards that are tailored to your target audience.

Create a Business Account

You need a business account to use Pinterest for your eCommerce business. It offers a range of features and tools specifically designed to support marketing efforts and drive sales. Here’s how the process goes:

Step 1: Sign Up or Convert: If you already have a personal Pinterest account, you can easily convert it into a business account. Simply go to the Pinterest business website and click on “Convert now.” If you’re new to Pinterest, you can sign up directly for a business account.

Step 2: Complete Profile Information: Fill out your business profile information thoroughly. That includes adding your business name and a profile picture (such as your logo). Also include a brief description of your business and a link to your website.

Step 3: Verify Your Website: Follow the instructions provided by Pinterest to verify your website. It usually involves adding a snippet of code to your website’s header or verifying via an HTML file. It provides access to Pinterest Analytics and additional credibility for your profile.

Step 4: Enable Rich Pins: Rich Pins provide additional information like product details, recipe ingredients, or article metadata. Enabling Rich Pins for your eCommerce products can enhance their visibility and engagement on Pinterest. To enable Rich Pins, you’ll need to add meta tags to your website. Pinterest will use them to pull in relevant info.

Step 5: Set Up Pinterest Tag: The Pinterest Tag is a piece of code that you place on your website. It helps track conversions, optimize ad campaigns, and build audiences for retargeting. Setting up the Pinterest Tag allows you to track the actions users take after clicking on your pins, such as making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter.

After setting up the Tag, you’ll have access to business tools like Pinterest Analytics. It provides insights into your audience demographics, top-performing pins, and website traffic driven by Pinterest. And you can access Pinterest Ads Manager to create and manage advertising campaigns.

Create Outstanding Pins

Captivating visuals are a key in social media platforms like Pinterest. High-quality visuals are key on Pinterest. Here are some tips for creating outstanding Pins:

• Use vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio. This is the aspect ratio that Pinterest favors in search results and takes up the most real estate on users’ screens.
• Showcase your products in a clear and appealing way. Use high-quality photos that show your products from different angles and in use. If you’re selling a service, use images that evoke the feeling or experience you provide.
• Include your logo or branding on each Pin. This will help people recognize your brand and remember you when they see your Pins in the future.
• Use clear and concise text overlays to highlight what your Pin is about. This could include the name of your product, its key features, or a benefit it provides. You can also use text overlays to create a sense of urgency or scarcity, or to direct people to take a specific action, such as visiting your website.
• Use bright and eye-catching colors. People are more likely to stop scrolling and pay attention to a Pin that uses bold and vibrant colors.
• Keep your text overlays short and sweet. People are scanning Pinterest, so they’re not going to read long paragraphs of text. Use bullet points, emojis, and strong verbs to get your message across quickly and effectively.

Pinterest offers a variety of Pin formats, including standard Pins, video Pins, Idea Pins, and Story Pins. Experiment with different formats to see what resonates most with your audience.

Build Organized Boards

Organized boards are the foundation of a strong Pinterest eCommerce presence. They help you categorize your products and showcase your brand aesthetic. So the potential customers can find what they’re looking for more easily. Here’s how you build organized boards:

• Categorize by Product: This is the most common approach. Create separate boards for each of your product categories (e.g., dresses, shoes, jewelry). This allows users who are interested in a specific product type to easily find all of your relevant Pins in one place.
• Theme by Style or Use: Go beyond just product categories and create boards based on themes, styles, or how your products are used. This is a great way to inspire users and showcase the versatility of your offerings. For example, you could create boards titled “Summer Outfits,” “Minimalist Home Decor,” or “Workout Essentials.”
• Target a Specific Audience: Create boards that cater to specific demographics or buyer personas. This allows you to tailor your content to their needs and interests. For example, you could create a board titled “Gifts for Mom” or “Tech Essentials for Students.”
• Mix of Product and Inspiration Pins: Don’t just stuff your boards with product Pins. Include inspirational Pins that showcase how your products can be used or styled. This will help users envision themselves using your products and make them more likely to click through to your website.
• High-quality Images: Maintain a consistent visual style across your boards. Use high-quality images that are aesthetically pleasing and relevant to the board’s theme.
• Clear Pin Titles and Descriptions: Use clear and concise titles and descriptions for your Pins. Include relevant keywords to help people find your boards in search results.
• Cover Pin: Choose a visually appealing Pin to be the cover image for each board. This will be the first thing users see, so make sure it accurately represents the board’s content.
• External Content: Don’t be afraid to include Pins from other sources that complement your own content. This can help add variety to your boards and provide users with a well-rounded resource.

Keep your boards fresh by adding new Pins regularly. This will keep users engaged and coming back for more.

Optimize the Pins for SEO

Pins are like neon signs to attract potential customers. So you need to optimize them for SEO, so the customers can find your products. Here’s how you optimize the Pins, so they appear in the Pinterest’s search results:

• Research Relevant Keywords: The first step is to identify relevant keywords that people are searching for on Pinterest. You can use Pinterest’s built-in search tool and tools like “[keyword tool]” to discover popular keywords related to your products or niche.
• Target a Mix of Broad and Long-Tail Keywords: Broad keywords are more general (e.g., “summer dresses”), while long-tail keywords are more specific (e.g., “floral maxi dress for summer vacation”). Include a mix of both in your Pin titles and descriptions to cast a wider net while also targeting users who are further along in the buying journey.
• Don’t Keyword Stuff: While including keywords is important, avoid keyword stuffing. Your titles and descriptions should still read naturally and be informative to users.
• Put Keywords in the First Half: People typically only see the first 50-60 characters of your Pin description in search results. Make sure to include your most important keywords towards the beginning of your title and description to maximize their impact.
• Write Clear and Concise Copy: Keep your titles and descriptions concise and informative. Use strong verbs and action words to grab attention and tell users what your Pin is about.
• Highlight Benefits and Features: Don’t just list the features of your product. Focus on the benefits it provides and how it will solve a problem for the user.
• Include a Call-to-Action (CTA): Tell users what you want them to do after seeing your Pin. This could be anything from visiting your website to learning more about a product to signing up for your email list.

Implementing SEO tactics on the Pins can help increase the chances of your Pins appearing in relevant search results. That helps attract a more targeted audience to your eCommerce content. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process. So keep track of what’s working and adjust your strategy as needed.

Publish Content Consistently

Consistency is key to building a successful presence on Pinterest, especially for eCommerce. It helps increase visibility, improve engagement, build trust and authority, and more. Here are a few tips for consistent posting on Pinterest:

• Develop a Content Calendar: Plan your Pins in advance using a content calendar. This will help you stay organized and ensure you’re consistently publishing high-quality content.
• Batch Create Content: Set aside dedicated time slots to create batches of Pins in advance. This will save you time in the long run and make it easier to maintain a consistent posting schedule.
• Repurpose Existing Content: Don’t reinvent the wheel every time. You can repurpose existing content from your blog, website, or social media channels into Pins.
• Utilize Scheduling Tools: Many Pinterest scheduling tools allow you to schedule Pins in advance for days or even weeks at a time. This can be a huge time-saver and help you maintain consistency.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should post on Pinterest. Experimenting is the only way to see what works best for your audience and resources. But aim for at least a few Pins per week. It would be a good starting point.

Leverage Pinterest Ads

Pinterest Ads allow you to target a highly engaged audience with laser precision. It helps drive significant traffic, leads, and sales to your website. Here’s a breakdown of what to consider for the Pinterest Ads:

• Brand Awareness: If you’re a new brand or want to reach a wider audience familiar with your products, brand awareness campaigns can help boost your visibility. Use captivating visuals and target users with broad interests related to your niche.
• Traffic: Drive targeted traffic to your website or product landing pages. This is a great option if you want to increase website visits and product awareness.
• Engagement: Increase engagement with your Pins through likes, comments, and saves. This can help build brand loyalty and spread the word about your products organically.
• Conversions: This objective is all about driving sales on your website. Use conversion tracking to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and optimize them for maximum return on investment (ROI).
• Demographics: Target users based on age, gender, location, household income, and even device type.
• Interests: Reach users based on their browsing habits and interests on Pinterest. This ensures your ads are shown to people who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.
• Keywords: Target users who are searching for specific keywords related to your products or niche.
• Lookalike Audiences: Create a lookalike audience based on your existing website visitors or customer list. This allows you to target users who share similar characteristics with your best customers.
• Customer List Targeting: Upload your customer email list to directly target your existing customers with relevant ads.

I suggest you consider A/B testing your ad variations for different elements, like visuals, headlines, and calls to action. It’s very important to understand what works best with your audience to maximize the impact of your campaign.

Track the Analytics and Optimize Accordingly

Finally, after integrating Pinterest with your eCommerce business, use the Pinterest Analytics. It offers a range of data about the Pins, boards, and overall account performance. Observe the following:

• Impressions: The number of times your Pins appear in users’ feeds or search results.
• Engagements: This metric combines saves, clicks, and close-ups (when users zoom in on your Pin for a closer look). It indicates how well your Pins are resonating with your audience.
• Outlink Clicks: The number of times users click through your Pins to visit your website or landing page. This is a crucial metric for driving traffic and potential sales.
• Saves: This metric indicates how many users are saving your Pins to their boards. Saves are a good sign of user interest and can lead to future engagement.
• Audience Insights: Gain valuable demographic information about your audience, such as age, gender, location, and interests. This helps you understand who you’re reaching and tailor your content accordingly.

After that, optimize the content and board, schedule the Pin, and identify the top performers. Experiment with different formats and identify any gaps in the content strategy.

Analysis and optimization is a continuous, on-going process. So keep monitoring, testing, and refining your approach to maximize your success on Pinterest. Or consult with opt for our eCommerce development services. We’ll incorporate Pinterest and other social media with your eCommerce business effectively.

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FAQs on Using Pinterest in eCommerce

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Conclusion

Using Pinterest can be an excellent move for eCommerce. You need to craft compelling visuals, optimize content, and interact with users for driving more traffic and sales.

To use Pinterest in eCommerce effectively,

1. Identify your Goals
2. Create a Business Account
3. Create Outstanding Pins
4. Build Organized Boards
5. Optimize the Pins for SEO
6. Publish Content Consistently
7. Leverage Pinterest Ads
8. Track the Analytics and Optimize Accordingly

For the best results in terms of sales and revenue through Pinterest, consult with our experts today!