How to Use Pinterest for Business
Why use Pinterest for business?
These are some of the top reasons Pinterest marketing may be right for your company.
Pinterest is the fourth most popular social media platform in the United States.
It ranks ahead of Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, and Snapchat. Approximately 28% of US adults have a Pinterest account. That’s more than one in every four people, and one in two US millennials (according to proprietary user data from Pinterest).
Pinterest has a strong global footprint, too.
From 2021 to Q3 2021, the platform’s international base of monthly active users grew 38%, from 171 million to 235 million.
More people are using Pinterest than ever.
Since last year, the number of Pinners using Pinterest every month increased 28% to 322 million monthly active users.
Visual search is on the rise.
As a “visual discovery engine,” Pinterest is the only social media platform to offer visual search. That’s huge, since 62% of Gen Zers and millennials say they’d like to be able to search by image. According to the company, Pinterest Lens can now identify more than 2.5 billion home and fashion objects.
Pinterest is popular with women—especially moms.
More than two-thirds of Pinterest’s base is women. In the United States, 8 in every 10 moms is on the platform. And when it comes to buying household products and services, women are the primary decision makers.
People use Pinterest to shop.
Some 84% of weekly users use Pinterest to help decide what to buy. According to Pinterest, 55% of Pinners are specifically looking for products. And 83% of weekly users have made a purchase based on content they see from brands on Pinterest.
Pins boost brand exposure.
Pinners like to discover new products. In fact, 75% of Pinterest users say they’re “very interested” in new products, compared with 55% on other digital channels. And it works. Some 77% of weekly users regularly discover new brands and products on Pinterest.
Pinterest inspires people.
People use Pinterest to search for ideas and plan for special events. Some 95% of members say Pinterest inspires them, and 91% say Pinterest helps them achieve their goals.
On Pinterest, your brand can be more than just a brand. Be a source of inspiration or play a more meaningful role for your customers in their daily lives.
Pinterest for business: important terms to know
Like every social media site, Pinterest has its own lingo. Consider this your glossary for all things Pinterest Business.
Pinner
LinkedIn has members, Instagram has ‘grammers, and Pinterest has Pinners. “Pinner” is the branded term for a person who uses Pinterest.
Pins
A pin is the primary type of post published on Pinterest. Pins include an image or video, text, and can link back to an original source.
RePins
A RePin occurs when someone pins a post they didn’t create to one of their boards.
Promoted Pins
Promoted pins are regular pins that companies have paid to promote. These pins appear in the home feed and search results and include a “Promoted” label. Promoted video pins, carousel, and app pins are also available. Learn more about Pinterest ad options.
Rich Pins
Rich Pins provide more information on the pin, from price information to install buttons. They are available in four formats: Product Pins, Recipe Pins, Article Pins, and App Pins.
Shop the Look Pins
With Shop the Look pins, businesses can add product tags to their creative. This makes it possible for Pinners to shop the look by tapping on the pin’s white dots. As of late 2021, Shop the Look ads are still being rolled out across the platform.
Boards
Pinterest boards are like a digital analog for mood boards. They are used to group pins around a certain theme or topic. For example, you might create a board to a product launch, or for seasonal content.
Group Boards
Group boards are the same as boards, except more than one person can add content. Most group boards—98%, in fact— have less than five members.
Secret Boards
A secret board can only be seen by its creator and invited collaborators. When you create one, you’ll see a lock symbol beside the board name. These are useful for planning you don’t want made public.
Protected Boards
Protected boards house promoted pins and are only available to advertisers. Pins on these boards can be seen across Pinterest, but the boards do not show on profile pages.
Save Button
The save button is a Pinterest browser plugin for Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. You can install it on your website so that Pinners can save your products to their Pinterest boards.
Audience Insights
Pinterest business accounts have access to analytics via Audience Insights. Learn more about how to use the platform, and what metrics you should be tracking.
Pinterest Lens
Available on Android and Apple devices, Pinterest Lens is a camera tool that lets users take a picture or something and find related content on the site. It’s basically Shazam, but for images, underpinned by image recognition and machine learning tech.
Pincodes
Pincodes as essentially QR codes, or Pinterest’s version of Snapcodes. These can be scanned digitally, or on packages and displays, and link back to your board of profile.
How to set up a Pinterest business account
There are three ways to create a Pinterest business account. You can add a business profile to your personal account, convert your personal account, or create a new business account. We’ll show you how to start from scratch, since many of the steps that follow are the same.
1. Go to pinterest.com/business/create.
If you have a personal account, you’ll need to log out first. Enter your email and a new password, then click Create Account.
2. After choosing your language and location, add your business name.
Then choose the description that best fits what your business does and add a link to your website.
3. Connect your Instagram, YouTube, and/or Etsy accounts.
Doing so ensures pins from these sites will be attributed to your business. Plus, you’ll also be able to track related analytics.
4. Let Pinterest know if you plan to run ads on the platform.
You can also choose to provide contact information for a rep to get in touch.
5. Edit your profile.
To get there from the business hub dashboard, click the pencil icon beside your name. You may wish to change your profile name, since it automatically pulls from the email you use.
Add a profile photo that represents your brand. Dimensions should be 165 x 165 pixels. When you fill in the about section, try to include a few keywords. Click Done to save.
6. Click Claim in the left-hand menu to claim your website.
This will allow you to track website analytics. Also, any pins that link back to a claimed account include your profile photo and follow button. That means better visibility, and potentially more follows.
7. Create a Pinterest Board.
From you profile, click the plus sign over Create a Board. Add a descriptive title. After that, find the board on your profile and click the pencil icon.
Add a description that includes keywords.
Choose a category for your board. This helps with SEO.
Upload a fitting cover photo.
8. Create your first Pin.
From your dashboard, click the plus sign in the upper right corner.
Add a title and description. Be sure to include keywords and related hashtags.
Include a destination link. Test to make sure it works, and make sure it corresponds to the pin’s content.
Upload an image or video. You can crop, trip, and add logos and text in the Pin editor. Make sure you use a high quality file. Find the specs here.
Hit Publish and choose the board you want to add it to.
Pro tip: Consider installing the Pinterest save button. It helps to easily populate your boards with content from your website or elsewhere. Or try Pinterest Catalogs to turn products into pins all at once.
9. Choose a cover photo for you profile.
From your profile page, click the pencil icon above the image. Pinterest automatically fills it with creative from your pins or your boards. Pick either board or pin creative.
Soon business will be able to add videos to their covers.
10. Add the Pinterest Tag.
If you plan to advertise on Pinterest, you’ll want to add the Pinterest Tag to your website. This will allow you to track conversions and understand what people do on your site after seeing your pins.
Now that your Pinterest business account is set up, you’ll need to start attracting followers.
