When it comes to marketing and selling on social media, Pinterest can sometimes feel like the middle child – occasionally forgotten among traditional platforms like Facebook and fast-growing ones like TikTok.
But retailers shouldn’t underestimate the power of Pinterest, as its users outspend shoppers on other platforms by 40%. With over 445 million monthly active users, Pinterest is a key channel for brands to engage with and sell directly to consumers.
In fact, the company has had more positive earnings this year compared to most of the other social media players, growing by about 8% each quarter while companies like Meta and Snapchat saw declines. Pinterest’s sweet spot is that it offers both unique advertising and shopping opportunities, such as Collection Ads and Shopping Lists, in a space consumers visit for inspiration.
To maximize ROI on ad spend and drive the most sales on Pinterest Shopping, brands and retailers need to make sure their ads and pins are set up correctly. Consider the following best practices to make the most of social commerce on Pinterest.
4 tips for selling on Pinterest
1. Prioritize high-quality product images and videos
Pinterest is an extremely visual platform. In most cases, people save and click on pins based on the image or video used. To attract scrollers to your content, focus on creating compelling visuals that showcase your product and provide inspiration for its use. For instance, a shoe brand could inspire people to purchase a pair of performance shoes with an image of a runner at a marathon. But make sure the product you’re trying to promote is blatantly apparent as users scroll through feeds quickly. In the shoe brand example, users’ attention should immediately go to the shoes in the image.
Video is becoming increasingly important on Pinterest. More than one billion videos are viewed on the platform every day. Videos in pins can increase CTR by 158%, lower CPC by 42%, and lower CPA by 58%.
2. Approach it like a search engine
Unlike other social media platforms that were originally intended for entertainment and engaging with other users, Pinterest has the unique root purpose of providing inspiration. Because of this, many consumers go straight to the app to search for products instead of using traditional search engines. This makes SEO extremely important when creating content. Brands and retailers need to ensure they’re including the right keywords when setting up their ads and pins to increase their chances of appearing in results.
It’s also important to note that 97% of the top searches on Pinterest are unbranded, which means consumers are typically more open-minded about the brands they encounter. Instead of specifically searching for Hoka running shoes, consumers might search for “running shoes” or even something more general like “marathon tips”.
3. Know your audience
As more social media apps start to surface, we’re starting to see each platform attract a certain demographic. While Facebook tends to attract Gen X, Pinterest users are primarily women between the ages of 25 and 34 (29%) – although, Gen Z is its fastest-growing age demographic.
With this data in mind, businesses should select products geared toward younger female audiences to promote. Using the Pinterest Trends tool launched globally earlier this quarter, advertisers can access more insights into user behavior on the app to determine the best-performing pins, ads, and products.
4. Pay attention to trends
Another way Pinterest is unique to a lot of other social media sites is that it’s where product trends often first emerge. Product discovery frequently takes place on the platform, so following which products are gaining traction before they go mainstream can allow you to get ahead of trends. Reference the homepage widget on Pinterest to see what is currently trending with engaged users and followers in the last 90 days, and then tweak campaigns accordingly.
What’s next for social commerce on Pinterest?
From AR experiences, in-app checkout, and Pinterest Shops – which just recently rolled out in the US – Pinterest is pushing further and further into ecommerce. Stay up-to-date on these new shopping capabilities and more from Productsup’s Social Commerce on Pinterest guide.
