Why you should be using Pinterest for your business

Why you should be using Pinterest for your business

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Before I started listening to other podcasts about Pinterest, I would sometimes pin my blog posts and I noticed something- certain pins would get re-pinned for at least a year after I’d post it. I use Pinterest a lot for my own personal use, so I would design pins off what I would be drawn to and what would jump out. I didn’t really see it as a business tool at the time - but thought it would help me on my google seo if I was setting up seo (search engine optimization) up correctly and at the very least, couldn’t hurt and after I had spent hours on a blog post and maximizing images for SEO it was easy to just pin directly from my website and took hardly any time at all. Hundreds of pins and blog posts later, I started really learning more about this platform and then implementing what I’ve learned, and since then- I want to share a few things with YOU if you aren’t using it.

First of all I want to almost break a myth of what Pinterest is- yes technically it’s under the category of a social platform and as they change things- there are aspects that feel more like social media with some of the stories and ways you can pin but the truth is, it’s a search engine. People and your audience goes to Pinterest for a direct search, an answer, inspiration, and they are people ready to purchase or find their resource that will help the problem- unlike a lot of people on other social media platforms (not that they can’t look for you, but Pinterest is a place where you go to seriously look for something specific) which is great for your audience and being found organically. So start using it like a search engine- they are looking for what YOU have.

You may have noticed it’s harder now to get noticed on instagram, and there are tons of ways to still grow on there and other platforms, but there’s so many reasons I love Pinterest and one of the reasons is how long a pin/post lives. Unlike instagram and Facebook, if you post something and the engagement is down, more than likely- you will see a huge drop-off and then nothing in about 24 hours. But Pinterest pins live months and sometimes a year to bee able to searched and found. I still notice pins being re-pinned over a year later.

Did you know 444 million users use Pinterest every single day? And yes some of us DO scroll there too, but more people use it to FINd something. Resources and knowing this let’s you know.. your ideal client is on Pinterest. Because of it being more of a search engine tool that wants you to click on pins that are then directing OFF of the platform- the path to buying is more direct when your website is connected. Unlike instagram where they want you to stay ON that platform.

Even though my analytics for my website clump Pinterest in with instagram and Facebook as far as where my hits come from, every month 60-70% of my website clicks from social media alone come from Pinterest. And this is the platform I’m spending the least amount of time on, which MEANS I need to be investing a bit more time here. Of course that doesn’t mean that those are necessarily converting to clients. Of course I still get a lot of clients and customers from Facebook and instagram since my photography business is one that’s image heavy search and my business is normally one that takes time to purchase from but it means I should be paying attention to these clicks and ways to convert them to clients.

If I’m not talking just social media- most of my clicks come from direct or search. For instance this month direct clicks were 43 percent, search was 31 ash percent, social was only 21 percent and then referral and email came after that. Which is great information to have- it’s telling me that the years of me working on my website/blog/search engine optimization is worth the hard works since MOST of the way people find my website and click are through direct or search tools. This is important because so many think that website/seo/blogging is dead and although I’m not a 2x a week blogger, it has made a HUGE difference in how my business shows up on google or other search engines, so just a quick off topic- websites are NOT dead. And if I was spending even MORE time I could have those content pieces even more being pinned on Pinterest.

So back to social media only. Without fail, when I try to pin or not, Pinterest has been the highest click rate to my website for at least a year always crushing the other platforms. Again conversion rate might be lower- it’s something I’m specifically working on for my business, but I know those pins are living for months and being seen.

Pinterest has been a hot topic when I start to talk anything marketing and business with people around me and I thought I’d share a little about what I’ve learned in the past few years about this platform and why you should be on it as a business owner.

How to pin:

10-20 pieces of content (vertical, words, different color schemes still in your business design/ video/muiltiple images in a pin etc)

Use it like a user would- helps you use it like a Pinterest user (the more you use it for YOU the more your other pins are being found)

Be authentic to your brand

Alt text on images

Link to your website/product/service (dont’ just put a watermark on there or where to go. LINK.) and if it doesn’t or the link is broke, I’m done. I move on.

Go into the search bar and type a few of your search key words and see what pops up. People are there for a reason. So optimize your content for seo by seeing what people are writing when you try to find things you already are working on optimizing

I know, I KNOW it just seems like another thing to add to your tasks, another thing you don’t have time for, and another social media platform you can’t seem to fit into your schedule, but if you knew your ideal clients were looking specifically for what you have- your hard work on your website would be well used to pin those pieces of content.

Keep in mind you might not see a BUNCH of re-pins in one day or even for a few months, I’ve found for the most part (though not always) it works like a search engine, that piece of content is out there and then it starts to ramp up in popularity. Just like the more content I put out there for google- my rankings get higher over time, it’s not publish and see me on page one. This is something that IS fruitful but just takes patience.

And don’t forget, you might have similar content that you can repurpose- you don’t need brand new content every single day of the year for years- there are more specific strategies, but as I blog, I use that content about 10-20 pieces and name them that directly links back, as I update my website with new images across the whole thing- I also pin those- and you can also upload pins to direct to your website. You don’t always need brand new content, it’s easy to re-purpose what you have!

What’s different about Pinterest is, unless they already follow you- there isn’t the same connecting as social media- so you’re providing value just by them searching and stumbling on your piece of content, and you don’t need them to build trust before clicking- they click to your website and then build the trust.- they don’t always know everything about you unlike on other platforms where they watch, maybe follow, might like something and eventually purchase. Usually they’re looking to purchase.

It’s a fun way to experiment with content heavy and especially for those who dont’ want to be the face every single day (like me sitting in my pajamas still over here I’m the face of my business but Pinterest allows people to find me without first seeing my daily face.)

You can experiment with multiple pins, design, words, video all using the same piece of content and slightly changing things to direct to your website- it’s easy then to see which content IS working by watching what is being re-pinned and gives you an insight on how your ideal client is pinning and searching and connecting with your content.

What works for me, might not work for you- depending on your ideal client- but try those new features and just watch what gets pinned and how people interact! Also dont’ forget to add in the feature if you use a computer for website building so all images automatically can be pinned. Saves a TON of time.

When I first started listening to podcasts about Pinterest I sort of rolled my eyes, and then kindddd of listened realizing some of the things I’ve learned were true while I tried it out and paid more attention SOMETIMES, but I cannot recommend it enough for any kind of business you’re running and it’s an easier way to experiment with SEO and see what is working for you. I hope you start to use it as a business person too and soon notice a jump in website clicks and converting them to clients too!