Pinterest is gorgeous.

It’s a fact. Once you start scrolling through the endless images and ideas, you quickly understand why it’s rocketed to the top of the social media scene.

High quality images jam-packed across your tablet screen just beg your eye to stop and stare. The “visual advantage” of this social media giant has paid off with a whopping $50 dollar average order value.

Simple for business

And with 150+ million users, Pinterest is leaving no room for missed fish. Introducing their “Tried It” button in November 2016, pinners can not only track what they love, they can now track what they’ve actually done or bought. And other users can follow along, building a following that’s hard to beat.

The new shoppable photo tags turn those “try’s” into buys, making it super simple to click images for purchases. See a photo of a model wearing shoes you like? Click the shoes, and all the needed details pop up with a “Shop Now” button. Easy-peasy!

So how do you do it? If you’re like the typical business we work with, your social media agenda is either too full or barely breathing. How do you fit another one in or start the whole campaign all together?

Create a branded business page on Pinterest

Pinterest makes it effortless to brand your page around your business. With links to your site, a custom logo and pins tailored to your specific brand, you have some serious options for your business page.

Pin It Button

Grab a “Pin It” button, and stick it on your site. Now your followers can link directly to your Pinterest page from your site and pin your ideas or products on their own boards.

It’s built-in brand building but with the added power of Pinterest’s visual advantage.

Pinterest Boards

The visual advantage of Pinterest comes from their boards. Instead of facing down a wall of text when you click on a topic or search for a product, a sea of colorful images rolls across the screen. Somehow, big glossy photos are so much more clickable than text links.

Take advantage of that eye candy, and add a Pinterest Board Widget to your site. You actually get to design the button and the image that pops up when it’s clicked.

Pinterest Ads

Promoted Pins are just that — pins you pay to promote. And Pinterest knows advertising. They’ve tailored their ad options around three of your most important marketing goals: Awareness. Engagement. Traffic.

Raise awareness

Here’s a little incentive. Pinterest’s business page claims a 40% lift in new product awareness and a 50% lift in purchase intent among Pinners who’ve seen Promoted Pins.

The whole idea behind an awareness campaign is to get your idea in front of as many people as possible. With 150+ million active, responsive Pinners floating around Pinterest everyday, that’s a great place to turn some heads.

Engage your audience

With an awareness campaign, you pay per 1,000 impressions. When promoting engagement, only your audience’s actions count. Pinterest charges per click, per closeup (zooming in on your Pin for a better look) or per repin.

Boost your traffic

Drive your audience from Pinterest to your website by creating relevant, useful ads that link directly to your site.

With a 4000% jump in revenue (that’s money, not just traffic) from Pinterest-generated traffic, Adore Me is one of the success stories that makes Pinterest’s ad campaigns so enticing for increasing traffic.

3 quick tips to Pinterest success

Success with Pinterest comes down to leveraging the visual advantage its platform provides.

1. Focus on Pinners

As we’ve said before, focus on your audience.

• Add value. Display your product in action. Show your audience what it can do, and then link to useful content they’ll share.
• Solve a problem. Use vivid images to show your audience how your product solves their problem. Take advantage of the visual impact of what your customer’s life would be like without that problem.
• Make it fun. Add goofy pictures of your team. Put your product in unexpected places. Stand out. Fun is a crowd-builder, and Pinterest has a crowd to build from!

2. Be authentic

Does your company have a culture? If yes, splash that culture all over your Pinterest page. Let people come behind the scenes of your workshop, your bakery counter, your art studio. Create a “day-in-the-life” kind of board that invites your audience into your personal space.

Don’t have a culture yet? Build it. Pinterest can make anything look interesting — so if you like to knit, share that with your audience. If you’re a computer programming nut, flaunt it! Authenticity builds trust. And it’s easy to be you, right?

3. Inspire someone

Inspiration wins. Take a minute to think about this: What inspired your product? Why did you go into business?

Pins that answer those questions may not be directly related to your product. In fact, it’s better if they’re not. You may be inspired by a cityscape when you visited Vancouver last summer, so share it. Explain that connection.

Now go Pin it!

Pinterest has made it super simple for businesses to capitalize on their visual advantage. Whether you use Pinterest’s ad campaigns and analytics or just go all organic, don’t wait to build your brand. Start pinning today and see what happens

Of course, if you need help deciding what to pin, let us know. We know how to build a brand.