Now who would have thought that a simple idea/application which started off as creating and sharing boards (image, text, infographic), could grow from having 5,000 users in 2010 to its current monthly user base of over 150 million?
Today, with 81% of users as Females, Pinterest boasts of having generated over 50 billion pins on its platform so far.
As for the guys, let’s not get too discouraged with the stats, because the latest trend shows 40% of new signups coming from the male counterparts.
Besides individuals, Pinterest also seems to work wonders for businesses and popular brands using the social channel to promote their products and establish their brand presence. Today we have popular brands like; L.L.Bean, Nordstrom, Lowe’s and Kraft Recipes, making it big with Pinterest.
Big brands like Apple and Walmart are also using Pinterest Marketing. And why wouldn’t they, when a pin is considered to be 100 times more ‘spreadable’ than a regular tweet and has a lifespan of at least a week; compared to that of 25 minutes for Twitter and 80 minutes for Facebook.
And whether you’re a budding startup, a small business, a unicorn, or a foodie enthusiast, if you’re looking to share, promote your brand or learn about your craft and increase your following, then check out these 4 easy tips to get started immediately:
1. The Pinterest Business Account
First thing you may want to do is to sign up for a Pinterest Business Account, which is free. If you already have one, you can convert your existing account to a business one.
Keep your username short within 5-15 characters to find a wider appeal and fill in the brief business description, which is limited to 200 characters, but you can make it as short and catchy as you like. This appears at the top of your page, so content that captures your brand’s essence is crucial. Here’s an example from Walmart:
You can also apply for Rich Pins, ones with more attributes than your regular pins. They come in different types such a;: movie, article, product, app, recipe, and place. Each of these pins comes with their unique pin upgrades, such as; ‘real-time pricing’ and ‘direct link’ to your site or blogs.
2. Adding ‘Pin it’ And ‘follow’ Button
Adding a ‘Pin It’ button on your website content will help to increase crossovers from your website to your Pinterest Account.
It's a neat trick to encourage your site visitors to connect with and share your content on Pinterest. As the pins have a ‘shelf life’ longer than any other social media content, every time a user pins your content, the life span of your pins increase even more, and the pins will be searchable for months after it has been posted.
Similarly a ‘follow’ Pinterest button on your content can divert valued traffic to your Pinterest page.
Here’s an example as showb below from www.diabeticlivingonline.com
As you hover on the image, the ‘pin it’ button or ‘Save’ button appears on the side of the image to nudge the users to pin the recipe to their personal boards and share it. You can also see how the site has placed various social media ‘follow buttons’ on the side bar, including the Pinterest button, to attract followers to further explore the content and increase engagement.
3. Creating ‘Pintastic’ Images
>The images that get ‘pinned’ the most are the ones that have been carefully crafted and optimised for maximum engagement. If you want your pins to become instantly ‘addictive’ and ‘pin-worthy’, then you may want to check out the following attributes of a ‘pintastic’ image:
a. What’s the Right size?
The size that works well with your audience is the one that looks good on smart phones. As 80% view Pinterest on their mobile devices, the images are more appreciated if they're more tall than wide. The images that have an aspect ratio of 2:3 or 4:5 should be the norm. If your width is 650 then the height should be 975. This helps as the pins take longer space on the feed, compelling the viewer to read through the content as they find it hard to pass.
b. Attributes of a ‘Stunning’ Image
As the science goes, for a perfect Pinterest photo, you need to make sure certain attributes come out right.
For instance, in the image above, from Paula Dean’s pin on cucumber, tomato and onion salad passes the ‘pintastic’ test with flying colours.
One clear attribute is the pin has no human faces, and pins without a human face are estimated to receive 23% more repins. The second attribute is to have multiple vibrant colours. Here, the colours limes, pinks, reds immediately attract the readers.
The other crucial attribute is the background. It's considered that rather than plain white background, a more contextual image is preferred. In the image, the salad bowl is placed on a wooden picnic table, which brings out the essence of a ‘story’ in the picture that makes sense to the viewers.
Besides that, a high quality, professional looking images with high-resolution will always add more credibility and authenticity to your brand image.
4. Accompanying Text for your Image
An immediate ‘attention grabber’ to your pins is the text that compliments your images or graphics.
Adding text gives your pin a more ‘professional’ feel, as it conveys exactly what your pin is all about, even at a quick glance:
The Pinterest feed above instantly invites the viewers to click through and browse, as the copy jumps out to speak with the image, making it more enticing and dynamic.
But the one below seems dull and more of a ‘lack luster’ attempt, which could actually go unnoticed, or the viewer can easily skim past them, without having to think twice to stop.
You can always look into free editing tools like Canva and PicMonkey and if you’d like to thoroughly learn the art, Photoshop is always the best option.
Finally…
Pinterest is a lot more than just a fun way to share some DIY projects or your favourite recipes. It has in fact proved its place as one of the fastest growing social media channels, and is a great platform to bolster your marketing efforts by connecting with customers, making more sales and spreading your brands’ messages and services to the world!
Call Andy Fox (me) on (03) 5249 5570 or email andy@element7digital.com.au
Our Website is element7digital.com.au
