One of the frequently asked questions I get as a Pinterest marketing expert is “How do I use Pinterest to drive more sales?”
This should not surprise you but the truth is, if you want new customers and more sales during the holidays you’re going to have to pay folks. Organic traffic just isn’t enough these days. You have way more competition during the holidays because everyone is scrambling for that business. You don’t have to be a pinterest marketing expert to know that consumers only have so much money to spend so they’re going to spend that on what they perceive to be the best value for them. Once it’s spent, it is gone.
Here are eight tips to help you drive up holiday sales on Pinterest:
1. Buy Promoted Pins (Pinterest ads)
Invest in Promoted Pins early on so you start building more followers. I recommend starting your campaign 2-3 months prior to the holiday rush.
MORE PINTEREST MARKETING EXPERT TIPS: Why Investing in Promoted Pins is Not Optional
2. Decide on your most important keywords
Leverage your most important keywords so you get more visibility than your competition. Don’t just focus on the keywords you’ve been using all year round. Do some extra research. For example, did you know that the keywords “Black Friday sales” are a more popular keyword than “Black Friday deals”? If you didn’t know that you could be missing out on connecting with the right audience on Pinterest.
3. Create special offers and discounts
When shoppers realize they’re getting a special deal, it motivates them to buy and spend more time searching the site. Some of the most effective holiday offers include:
- Site-wide discounts
- Specific product discounts
- Coupon codes
- Free shipping
- Free shipping with a minimum purchase
MORE PINTEREST MARKETING EXPERT TIPS: How to Prepare Your Store for Black Friday Cyber Monday
4. You need a mobile friendly website
Over 85% of Pinners prefer to use the Pinterest mobile app. What that means to you is you have to make sure you’re always thinking about being mobile friendly and that your text overlay is legible on small screens. Make the size 1000 pixels x 1500 pixels or 2:3 aspect ratio.
Another tip is that if you are driving people to a landing page make sure your landing page looks similar to the pin they clicked on to get there because similar imagery tends to have 13% higher online sales. It’s vital that your branding is consistent between your pins, your landing pages and your website. Think of the shopper’s experience because you’ll get more sales if there is less friction in their experience.
5. Make your website easy peasy to use
Studies show that 76 percent of consumers say the most important characteristic of a website is ease of use. Speed is an important factor since you only have seconds to make that sale. Are you providing shopping categories, filters, comparison capabilities and so forth?
6. Use lifestyle images
Products pictured on a white background will only take you so far. Today’s shoppers are much more engaged when they see images with multiple angles and people using your product in different environments. They want to be able to zoom in so they have a sense of the quality and get a feel for the product.
Make sure your images are high resolution and they load fast, if not you will see a consumer drop-off rate of 39 percent, according to Adobe.
MORE PINTEREST MARKETING EXPERT TIPS: How Do I Create Images That Stand Out & Get Noticed On Pinterest?
7. Get a Pinterest audit
Pinterest makes changes all the time. What worked a year ago will not necessarily work today. What that means is if you have not had a Pinterest audit or have had your account cleaned up in the past 12 months I guarantee that you’re making mistakes. Those mistakes will prevent you from making sales, getting found on Pinterest, and worse you could be giving buying traffic to your competition.
8. Add a “More Like This” feature
Pinterest knows the value of personalization and that’s because personalization drives impulse and repeat purchases. In fact…
- 62% of consumers expect companies to send personalized offers or discounts to them based on the items they’ve already purchased.
- 44% of consumers say that they will likely become repeat buyers after a personalized shopping experience with a particular company.
- 49% say they have purchased a product that they did not initially intend to buy after receiving a personalized recommendation from a brand.
- 40% of consumers say they have purchased something more expensive than they originally planned because their experience was personalized.
Pinterest gets this. That’s why they are always finding ways to make personalization a part of your experience. You’ll see features like “more ideas” on your boards (as shown above) and “more like this” when you click on individual pins.
Simply seeing the phrase, “you might like this” causes a serotonin release signaling curiosity and excitement. When buyers see the “Related Items”, “Compare Similar Items” (as shown above) or “Customers Also Viewed” feature on an ecommerce site it signals to the buyer “they get me”.
There is no doubt that site-wide discounts and free shipping can hurt your profit margins. But you need a balanced approach and to look at the bigger picture. By connecting with a new audience on Pinterest, one with a buying mindset you’ll be making more overall holiday sales.
If you’re struggling with Pinterest marketing consider mastering Pinterest marketing by taking my Pinterest Marketing for Business online course or if you’d rather outsource the management of your Pinterest and focus on your business then contact me a Pinterest marketing expert at anna@whiteglovesocialmedia or go here for more details about how to get started.