The poster child of social media marketing, Pinterest, has managed to compete successfully with other larger social channels like Facebook and Twitter. Not only does the service attract high levels of traffic and engagement, but is a viable tool for retailers and businesses. So for 2015 your business will see significant payoffs utilizing it, but you must include in your efforts a focused SEO strategy along with implementing the right optimizations strategies.
Setting up an account on this social channel is not enough and learning how to champion the platform will be a plus. You will need to be clear on how you present your profile information and be extremely mindful of how the rules of engaging other users actually are. The visual discovery tool unlike other social networking services goes well beyond self-promotion and accumulating followers. It's really about starting an authentic and organic dialogue.
Pinterest for some time was predominantly used by women, but in recent times that trend has significantly changed. According to the company's blog post published in Jan. 2015, men are the fastest growing demographic on the platform. Much of the shift could be due to the 70 million new users and growing 500,000 business accounts it has to date.
So down to business with what needs to be done to carry out an effective SEO campaign. An infographic on Visual.ly can illustrate what that Pinterest SEO checklist is:
- Optimize your username
- Keywords in "About You"
- Keywords in boards
- Keywords in Pins
- Utilize the right colors and graphics
- Use rich Pins if possible
- Verify your website
So this is a carefully thought out list that will yield results. When it comes to optimizing your username use the exact same one for your business. This makes it easier to find you and while people browse they will run into your business sooner or later.
With the keywords in the about section of Pinterest add one to two keywords about the company's services or products. But it needs to be short and sweet. Anything that is several lines long will surely lose the interest of visitors. In addition, adding keywords within the boards of Pinterest including those same terms in the descriptions will maximize your exposure.
Using keywords in Pins you share on a daily basis can be about the business, but try from time to time to share different categories that are of great interest for existing or new users. This makes the business more authentic and less aggressive in its attempts to constantly build an annoying sales pitch on the social network.
One of the key drivers of the platform is the use of images. So with that being said share photos that are color balanced and visually appealing. This simplicity of Pinning on Pinterest is what sets it apart from other top social networking channels.
The final step may seem unimportant or even not necessary. But verifying your account of the business is testimony that you are a professional entity that respects the Pinterest etiquette.
Optimizing your Pinterest account
If you have a small to medium-sized business Pinterest is without a doubt a place to start. After clearing all of the initial phases of the setup comes the fun part of sharing and interacting with other users. One important note to mention is Pinterest is an established platform for Social Commerce and has remained that way for some time. Familiarize yourself with the companies products to see how you can benefit and sell your own services.
A Pinterest analysis by AGBeat details the benefits and takeways of using the site. One benefit that may or may not be well known is Pinterest generates the highest for average order value (AOV). When a user follows through on a purchase of a product they have seen on social media Pinterest brings in $179.36 whereas Facebook manages an AOV of $80.22. Twitter is a distant third place contender with AOV of $68.78.
Another important area to play close attention is categories on Pinterest. That is where the activity and the action is taking place. Some of the most popular include the following: Food & Drink, DIY & Crafts, Home Décor, Women's Fashion, and other. On certain days it is best to target certain categories even if it lies outside of the scope business. Below is a list of the day with the category:
- Monday Fitness
- Tuesday Technology
- Wednesday Inspirational Quotes
- Thursday Fashion
- Friday Humor
- Saturday Travel
- Sunday Food and Craft Ideas
So these categories are more than just the starting ground. They are the pillars to generate serious traffic. Finally the best time to post your Pins would be Saturday mornings and weekdays between the hours of 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Do not try a hard sales pitch on every Pin because what you end up with is little to no engagement.
Building all of these foundations will gradually deliver results. Focusing on social media and of great interest Pinterest is essential. But do not forget your existing chores with your existing e-commerce game plan if there is one. Once you have established high traffic you need to focus on conversion optimization. Because your company depends on building results and using all of the analytics generated from the online activity.
Conclusions:
How to succeed on Pinterest is about staying original and authentic. Plain and simple. If you cannot abide by what are the prescribed tips and tricks do not bother using old and outdated tactics.
In a recent question and answer interview of Social Media Marketing Senior Manager Eleni Tavantzis, she explains the value of Pinterest and the role of social media with e-commerce.
"I think Pinterest will be a gold mine. There's still so much more for us to do with it. From a user's perspective, I'm seeing a renaissance in activity on Pinterest. It had died down for a bit, but there seems to be a renewed interest in Pinterest" according to the 1to1media.com response.
So Pinterest is considered a gold mine as a marketing and sales tool. Put Pinterest in your business strategy and get the ball rolling with generating more sales leads.