Why Pinterest Needs to Be a Part of Your Content Strategy
You may be wondering why I’m talking about Pinterest and content marketing in the same blog. Well, you might be surprised to hear that the same app you’re using to get outfit and recipe inspiration is an excellent tool for attracting readers to your blog.
Pinterest is like a giant bulletin board – people search for something and are welcomed with various ideas and answers.
Continue reading if you’re curious about why you should incorporate Pinterest into your content strategy and how to do it effectively.
Why Pinterest?
Pinterest usually isn’t super top of mind for us content marketers, and that’s understandable. For the longest time, this social site has been marketed as a space for visual content creators.
Many of us have stuck to platforms historically used to generate decent traffic like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Hootsuite found though, that “Pinterest is 80% more viral and three times more effective at generating leads than Twitter.”
Marketers have begun to realize that a visual can act as a magnet for people to want to learn more. Odds are, that “learning more” involves taking the user to some type of blog, article, case study, etc.
This is where this platform becomes helpful to content writers – if your visuals and copy are compelling enough, you can drive people back to your blog with just one click.
The Benefits
Boost Engagement and Drive Traffic to Your Site
Sprout Social found that most users go on Pinterest for inspiration and education versus entertainment. Pinterest is a popular choice for adults aged 25 to 34 because of its positioning as a useful resource rather than a place to binge content (a.k.a TikTok’s business model).
Here’s how this helps you:
All pins drive back to a URL whenever someone clicks on the pin – this could be a link to your blog, a product page, or anything else you want. This means that when someone wants to learn more about whatever you pinned, they can easily do so by simply clicking on it.
As the pin creator, you can choose where that click takes users. Say you created an excellent visual based on content from one of your blogs. You get to add the link to that blog. So, whenever someone clicks on that pin, they’re taken directly to your site and can read the entire blog.
And once someone is on your site, they’re more likely to peruse the rest of your content if the original piece appeals to them. Then, bingo! You’ve just upped your click-through rate and time spent on your site.
The easier it is to steer people back to your site means more traffic to it. The amount of traffic you can expect from Pinterest can be substantial, but this relies on compelling content to make someone want to learn more.
Not only can pins drive more traffic to your site, but they can also increase the number of inbound links to your website and your search ranking. When search engines see other websites linking to your site, it cues that your site is relevant and valuable to searchers. This can bump your site higher in search engine rankings.
A great Pinterest feature to drive engagement is the Save Button. When you install this feature on your website, you can link any images and content you post to your Pinterest account.
This feature allows users to save and share content they enjoy from your website directly to their Pinterest boards. You then get the benefit of your image ending up on that person’s board and their followers’ feeds.
With ~460 million active Pinterest users, this visual discovery engine presents various opportunities to expand your reach and attract more new visitors to your site.
Easy to Generate Conversions
From what we know about the buyer journey, the less friction a buyer experiences, the more likely they are to purchase. As I mentioned earlier, Pinterest makes it very easy for people to see something they like, click on the pin, and learn more.
This visual platform boasts extremely high conversion rates, and it’s all because of ease of use. Pinterest can convert more browsers into buyers since there is a reduced number of steps needed to get from Point A (looking around and searching) to Point B (purchasing).
The platform’s user engagement and purchase intent are also very high. Pinterest posts have the longest lifespan – 3 months – compared to Facebook’s 5-6 hours and Instagram’s 48 hours. In fact, people can engage with your pins even after a year!
Pinterest is a big motivator on the purchasing journey. Sprout Social found that 70% of users choose Pinterest to find new products, ideas, and trustworthy services.
Thankfully Pinterest makes it a breeze for content marketers to be constantly posting and driving more opportunities for conversions.
Using rich pins, it’s now possible to post new content on your website and have Pinterest automatically generate a pin – all without even having to open the app!
Once installed, rich pins essentially pull metadata from your site to add more context and relevant information to your pin. This extra information helps your pins stand out in the crowd and makes them more searchable.
This is a highly effective way to always stay top-of-mind with your followers and get more people to click on your call to action to convert them.
Increase Brand Authority and Credibility
Pinterest is considered a social networking site, so it’s a great way to build a network of fellow creators and information.
You should follow different accounts and boards relevant to your brand and mission, in addition to liking and re-pinning related content from other expert sources.
These activities provide you with a sense of credibility. It shows that you’re staying up-to-date with industry news and happenings, keeping your followers updated.
In this same way, cross-sharing other creators’ posts can help you engage with other businesses and gain access to their network. Who knows, you might just get a new client from this! Establishing rapport with other experts will make it more likely for them to return the favor and share your posts.
So long as your Pinterest is providing people with helpful information – whether created by you or something you shared – people will consider you a trusted and reliable source.
Since it’s a social networking site, you’ll want to stay very involved and engaged with your followers. Engaging directly with your followers by liking and re-pinning their posts is essential to show you care about their wants and needs. This will humanize your brand and increase your brand authority.
Access to Audience Insights and Demographics
Pinterest analytics are top-notch. With a business profile, you’re equipped with a plethora of analytics related to how your pins are performing and who makes up your target audience.
Using audience insights, you can see your audience's most popular categories and related interests. You can also access basic audience demographic information such as age, gender, top locations, and devices used.
Once you’ve studied who makes up your target audience, you can quickly begin to see what your audience likes and favors. This gives you insight into how to make more targeted content to ensure it performs well for the intended audience.
Additionally, once you link Pinterest to your website, you’ll also be able to view conversion data. This will tell you how many people visited your page and continued down the conversion funnel to purchasing or inquiring about services.
The analytics overview gives you a fantastic high-level view of impressions, engagements, audience, and how your different pins are performing. You can use this information to tailor future pins to your audience from what’s proved successful in the past.
Have I convinced you to use Pinterest yet? This platform can open up a whole new world of connections, clientele, and success for your business.
I challenge you to either up your current Pinterest usage or start anew – I promise, your content marketing strategy will thank you!
Needing help on where to start? I’m here for you! Contact me for a quick consultation on how you can integrate Pinterest into your content strategy for future growth!
