Working as a Pinterest Marketing Expert, one of the biggest things I hear from creative businesses is that people simply don’t have time to figure out what works. It’s easier for them to create one piece of content and distribute it across every platform without tweaking it. Instagram and Pinterest both use photos, so what’s the harm, right?

I enjoy seeing people discover its potential and watching their faces light up when they realise they can get more free traffic, and increase their sales, with minimal more effort by using a well planned Pinterest strategy that’s designed specifically for that platform.

So, how about we go back to the beginning?

This week, we’ll delve into the details of why Pinterest isn’t a social media platform, and why it’s worth the time investment to set up your account properly!

Myths & Misconceptions

• It’s just for recipes and crafts
• It’s only for women/mums
• People don’t search on Pinterest
• I’m going to need more time in my day to manage it
• I don’t have the budget to run ads on another platform

These are the most common Myths about Pinterest, and they simply aren’t true.

With over 400 million active users on Pinterest – and growing – it’s hard to believe, in fact it’s impossible, that they’re all women/mums looking for recipes and craft ideas.

Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing platforms and has a wide variety of people using it. Since 2020, it’s seen a steady increase in millennial and middle-aged men using it to find new brands and ideas.

The niches that you’ll find on Pinterest vary just as much too. Travel, business, crafts, recipes, finances, eCommerce and service providers all do well and are amongst an ever-growing list of things you’ll find on Pinterest.

Now we’ve got that out of the way, let me answer your burning questions – what is Pinterest & how can it help your business.

What IS Pinterest?

I could shout from the rooftops about how amazing Pinterest is for helping small businesses increase their traffic and sales, but if you don’t understand exactly what Pinterest is then it’s understandable that you’re not going to appreciate its benefits.

In a nutshell, Pinterest is a visual search engine.

I’d compare it to Google or Bing (does anyone remember Ask Jeeves and Yahoo?)

Unlike Instagram, where people are more focused on content from brands they’re already familiar with, Pinterest is where your audience goes if they need knowledge, inspiration, or are looking for something specific.

In Pinterest’s own words, it’s a “visual discovery engine for finding ideas.”

Don’t believe me?

Head to the Pinterest search bar, type in a query and you’ll see recommendations based on the most popular search terms… just like google.

What started off as a digital replacement for scrapbooks and mood boards, has evolved into a worldwide image based search engine full of inspiration and information.

‘But you can search on Instagram too’… yes but Instagram isn’t focused on that. Their algorithm doesn’t reach keywords or allow for search optimisation in the same way as Pinterest. So while you can search on Instagram, it isn’t a search engine. Pinterest is.

Pinterest Statistics

As of Q4 of 2021, there are 442 million active users on Pinterest. Compared to 335 million in September 2019.

At the start of 2019, Pinterest had a brand awareness reach of 72% and while over ⅓ of all users on Pinterest are located in America, the company reported that 80% of new sign-ups have been from outside of the states, meaning this platform isn’t restricted to companies with an American fanbase!

How to Use Pinterest for Business

You’ve got your email marketing set up, you’re using social media to the best of your ability, your networking in real life (yes… this is important too) and you’re spreading the word as much as possible… So do you really need Pinterest marketing for your business?

You’re already doing SO MUCH to promote your brand. How is one more thing on your to-do list going to help?

Pinterest is just one part of my marketing strategy for this business and my travel website, but, after google, it’s the biggest source of traffic to my websites.

It’s Pinterest that gets the most people through my virtual doors, it’s Pinterest that introduces new clients/readers to me and it’s been this way for a long time.

If you have a new site that’s not yet being ranked by Google, Pinterest should be your new best friend.

These are my key foundations for building a strong Pinterest Strategy;

• Decide which content to drive the traffic to
• Create eye-catching images for that content
• Make sure the Pinterest graphics are keyword rich + have good descriptions
• Consistently pin your own content daily
• Pepper other people’s content throughout your schedule to increase audience interest

I could talk about building your strategy for days, but you want this to be an easily digestible post, right, and not a novel, so those are the very basics of building my proven Pinterest Marketing Strategy.

I send even more tips + tricks in my bi-weekly newsletter if you’d like to learn more!

Pinterest ISN’T just another Social Media Platform

While it’s always lumped into the Social Media statistics, it actually isn’t a Social Media Platform in the traditional sense.

It is the only platform that wants its users to find external content that they find helpful.

Instagram on the other hand, famously wants you to stay inside its curated walls and makes it hard to leave by restricting where you can place a clickable link.

The longevity of a pin is far longer than that of any other social media post too.

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A post shared by Pinterest Marketing Manager (@growwith_leah)

As you can see, a Pins’s average lifespan is around 4 months. However, one of my best-performing pins to this day is one I posted mid-2017 and it still ranks in the top line of a Pinterest search.

Sure, it might not be the best image design – my style took some tweaking, just like everyone – but it still rakes in the majority shares of traffic for that post 4 years later, compared to Instagram posts from the same time that are long buried and irrelevant in the eyes of the ‘gram gods.

Pinterest thrives when you create relevant evergreen content. It wants your work to be found all year round, so by making images that do just that will send you enough traffic to make it worth far more than the effort spent creating it.

In comparison to other platforms where if you’re not developing and uploading engaging content EVERY FREAKING DAY, you’ll see very little growth. It’s exhausting, and it’s often not worth the effort.

Pinterest isn’t like that; it wants you to do well, and a single successful Pin image can have a snowball effect over your entire account, delivering traffic for years to come.

On Pinterest, you can forget vain algorithms that reward you based on how many followers you have.

It really couldn’t care less about how many selfies you post, or how many comments your last photo got. It cares about your kick-ass content and how your content helps your audience.

Instead of punishing its users by not distributing posts *cough, Facebook*, Pinterest rewards those who post great content regularly and who are seen to be valuable content creators for the platform.

This alone is why Pinterest Marketing is the way forward for your business.

If you’re like me and hate having to show up on Instagram every day like it’s a chore or a school class that you’d rather skip, Pinterest Marketing will be perfect for you.

It doesn’t just care about your content, it helps spread the word, regardless of any vanity statistics that we’ve all grown to take note of.

Looking for help?

If you’ve read this and are still unsure with where to go. I’d love to help you learn the ropes, provide a custom strategy for your business goals or simply just take the weight off your shoulders! Get in touch if you think your account needs a little boost to bring it back to life!