People use the platform mainly for discovery, but above all as a search engine, just like Google, with a little twist. On Pinterest, people look for inspiration for their everyday lives, ideas for DIY projects, a destination for their holiday plans, practically anything they could also do in the "real world".
1. Use the right images
On Pinterest, "Pins", meaning the images, have a distinctive style. If you've ever seen a Pin, you know what I'm talking about. There are infographics, how-to guides and products, but not the usual posts people expect from a social media platform.
These images should have a 2:3 ratio, with a logo in the (preferably) top-left corner and some text. Pinterest's algorithm favors visuals with certain characteristics, which (beyond those already mentioned) can include colors, people and styles too. Pinterest makes it very easy to create content on its platform. All you need is the original image, and every necessary edit can be done through the built-in editor. That makes it very easy to get your logo onto every single image, or to add a call to action to your latest Pin.
Pins can be organized into boards. These boards should contain at least 5-6 Pins before you publish them.
2. Consider who's on the platform
But who uses Pinterest? On average, 441 million people actively use this platform for discovery every month! According to Pinterest, most of these people also use the platform to buy something, which means it holds a huge opportunity for advertisers. And Pinterest does everything it can to make ads blend in with the surrounding Pins.
3. Take advantage of the low-cost advertising options!
On top of that, this platform is one of the cheapest advertising options out there, if not the cheapest. For advertisers, the biggest draw of using Pinterest, according to a study by GfK US, is that 89% of Pinners have used the platform to find inspiration for a recent purchase. On Pinterest, both organic and promoted content can become successful catalysts for purchases. They try to make advertising as simple as possible, and most of the campaign-building process resembles Facebook's, and works very similarly too. The only difference is that you can also run search campaigns, so don't forget to add the relevant keywords to your ads.
+1 And you get customer support on top of it all
The last, but genuinely useful, added value of the platform is customer support. Every advertiser gets their own support "agent", whom the client can book for an online meeting at any time through a shared calendar. They're always ready to help with your campaigns, your Pins or any other question you bring to them.
Final thoughts
Pinterest is an excellent platform both for creative individuals and for companies looking to grow their business. Give it a try yourself and see what you can get out of your business!
And if you already have a business and you're on Pinterest, or you'd like to be but can't quite get your head around its advertising system, then it would be worth talking through your options!