It’s no secret that I love Pinterest marketing, but I love it most when people are using it correctly. I recently had the opportunity to share my Pinterest marketing philosophy on Business Insider, because I think that Pinterest is often overlooked as a driver for business success. Pinterest is such an amazing tool that simply needs to be part of your business’s digital marketing strategy.
But most people aren’t using Pinterest marketing correctly. Much of the time, they’re trying to treat it like social media (which it isn’t), and then they get frustrated when nothing happens and their strategy doesn’t work.
Understand How to Use Pinterest Marketing Successfully
These people are breaking the first rule of Pinterest marketing! To make Pinterest work for you, you need to understand what it is as a platform, how to use it, and who is using Pinterest– both who your audience is and who in the business community is using it successfully.
Once you understand what Pinterest is as a platform, it can become an invaluable resource. Pinterest can create a reliable sales funnel that has long-lasting benefits… So let me teach you how to use it!
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What Is Pinterest?
Pinterest is not social media. In reality, it’s a visual search engine with some social media capabilities. Accounts can gain audiences and followers, but that’s not where your post’s visibility really comes from.
“Pinterest is not social media. In reality, it’s a visual search engine.”
Instead, posts follow the same rules of SEO that you see with Google or Bing–they are ranked and linked to keywords, just like any other search engine. The platform isn’t a place to really make social connections. Instead, its users use it as a tool to find ideas: things to do, try, or buy.
How To Use Pinterest Marketing
Once you understand how Pinterest works, you can develop a strategy to turn your Pins into a long-term sales funnel. This is what I help business owners do:
- Develop a long-term strategy that doesn’t rely on hacks
- Use smart, sensible techniques to create Pins
- Lead you to the top ranks of search results
Keyword research is a super important part of Pinterest marketing success. The better matched your keywords and content are, the easier it is for the Pinterest algorithm to understand what your Pins are about. You want to use accurate information and keywords for your image title and description because that makes it easier for your ideal audience to find you.
Once you’ve found the keywords you want to rank for, it’s important to use them when creating things like:
- Your account profile and bio
- Pinterest board names
- Pin titles
- Pin descriptions
- In your images and any text overlay.
This is because Pinterest is so much less saturated than Google; if you optimize your keywords and use them consistently, your Pinterest posts will climb higher in the search rankings. This can have significant results for your business!
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How Pinterest is Similar to Google
Links are important, too. The Pinterest audience is used to clicking and leaving the platform, so everything you post should link to your website. When people find your Pins, they’ll click them and go to your main site. This is how Pins can drive traffic and show Google that your site is valuable.
Pinterest Pins themselves are also indexed by Google and other search engines. They show up frequently as top results for all kinds of searches. This means that your Pins will be visible to people who aren’t even on the platform if you optimize your Pinterest strategy correctly.
RELATED: How to Get Traffic to Your Website (Superfast!) Using Pinterest
Who Uses Pinterest and Why?
Pinterest has a huge, global audience. This means that unless you’re using targeted paid ads, your content is going to be served to people all over the world. If your business can serve customers from all over, then you’re probably a good fit for a Pinterest strategy.
I have learned that certain types of businesses are more likely to be immediately successful with Pinterest marketing. Primarily, these are businesses that sell directly to consumers. I’ve seen housing and home goods, home decor, DIY, and cosmetics businesses have incredible success and better reactions more quickly than services like business consulting. A lot of this has to do with how Pinterest pitches itself to its users.
Pinterest positions itself as a space for inspiration. This is a major part of their marketing strategy and comes up frequently in Pinterest’s own update information. This means that if you can offer valuable, inspirational, or creative content, you are likely to see positive results.
“If you can offer valuable, inspirational, or creative content, you are likely to see positive results.”
The Pinterest user base responds well to lots of content types, including video content and static images. Pinterest also has a suite of tools that let you sell directly on the platform, meaning that it can be a valuable part of your sales strategy as much as your marketing strategy.
RELATED: Why You Should Focus on Short Form Video
Becoming Successful on Pinterest
Building up a steady presence on Pinterest can take time, but with good keyword research and a smart Pinterest marketing strategy, you can harness this powerful platform for your business. You just need to know how it works.
P.S – Ready to get started on Pinterest? My FREE Pinterest Starting Guide can help you get started in 15 minutes or less! Download it here.
P.P.S – If you want a more supportive Pinterest marketing approach without hiring an expert, and having direct access to a Pinterest expert, join my exclusive Pin Power Society membership here.
P.P.P.S – 12 Digital expert marketers have come together to create the super juicy Online Business Growth Bundle packed full of amazing training content. (This is an affiliate link and I do receive a commission for any sales made through my link)
Want to chat with me about my services? Apply to work with me!