Pinterest is often one of those misunderstood social channels that gets ignored in a social media marketing plan. Beliefs that Pinterest is just for Etsy sellers, bloggers and inspiring memes are stubbornly persistent, and yes, Pinterest has these things in abundance, but calling it a social channel is a bit of a misnomer.
It’s much more accurate to refer to Pinterest as “social SEO”.
Just look at how it works – you search what you’re looking for in the search box and hey presto! Pinterest fills your screen with relevant pins according to that keyword or phrase. That’s exactly how Google and other search engines work too (in fact, try a Google search today and you’ll spot many of the results come from Pinterest).
Pinterest is perfect for getting your product or service in front of your target audience who are actively searching for it, and while most of us dread the word “algorithm”, but with Pinterest it’s a good thing! Pinterest is brilliant at remembering what people have searched for and clicked through to and will use that information to recommend relevant pins on the user’s home feed (and they really are relevant!).
Millennials fans of Pinterest
When your startup is the “next big thing” you want to be sure that your marketing is targeted at an appreciating audience. 59% of millennials are actively using Pinterest which puts it on par with Instagram use. Visual based marketing is important and something that the more traditional forms of social media, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, struggle with.
There’s also the other notable statistic, that 90% of purchasing decisions comes from the information found on Pinterest.
Pinterest makes it even easier to sell online with buyable pins. Pinterest prefer to call them “shop the look” pins as they were originally designed to sell clothes, interior design items and similar products seen in the Pinterest image. With a handy “buy it now” button at the bottom of the pin, buyers can checkout without even having to leave Pinterest. Great for catching those spontaneous and last-minute buyers.
Pinterest drives more traffic to your website
SEO is about driving traffic to your website and converting them into paying customers, right? So, it might surprise you to hear that Pinterest drives 33% more traffic to your website than Facebook, and a startling 200% more than Twitter!
That’s because Pinterest is a search engine rather than a social media channel.
Sure, you can comment on Pins and re-pin them, but ultimately Pinterest works on a search results basis. So, when your audience are looking for products or services like yours, they will read the pin and click through to your website if it’s relevant.
Few people can search for what they want and find it on other social media channels.
You get a great return on investment when using Pinterest Ads
Pay per click marketing is great at promoting what you do to where your audience are, but sometimes the return on investment isn’t great. For other social media channels like Facebook, it can take time to build up a rapport before your advert is clicked on, even more so when you’re trying to reach a broad audience.
For every $1 you spend on ads with Pinterest, the average return is $2 profit.
Impressive, right?
In fact, out of the 5 measured channels in that study, Pinterest outperformed them all, so if paid advertising is your thing, Pinterest is definitely where you need to be investing your money.
It’s easy to see why when we look at the search engine side to Pinterest. Not only does your search term yield relevant results, when there’s an attractive image to go along with that enticing headline it’s so much easier to grab attention and convert into a web visitor. Something that traditional search engine PPC cannot do in most cases.
Do you now see Pinterest in a new light?
Pinterest is an easy to use platform that delivers the results you need as a startup, regardless of what you sell and to whom. You will find your target audience using the platform including men, who made up 50% of all new signups during 2018.
While it can be a little more time-consuming to create attractive pins and optimise the copy for Pinterest, doubling your return on investment and driving more traffic to your website makes it a must have platform for your startup.
Zoe Hughes is an experienced SEO copywriter and Pinterest manager. On her blog at Words by Zoe, you can discover helpful hints and tips on how you can use blogging, content writing and Pinterest to grow your brand and strengthen your startup.