How to Ace Pinterest for Your Business

There are many reasons to be on Pinterest. There are over 250 million people on every month. But more importantly it reaches 83% of women ages 25-54. That’s a pretty hefty number and if you market to women it’s something to take note of and act on. And it’s not all women. 50% of new users are men these days. The site also has one of the highest sales conversion rates of all social media platforms. When people see things on Pinterest, they buy them. 90% of weekly Pinterest users use Pinterest to make purchasing decisions. And 98% of users go out and try the ideas they find on Pinterest.
 
Even if you don’t have a visually appealing product or service, you can still use Pinterest. In this article we’ll share some best practices and help you create the most effective pins for sales conversions so you can make the most of this powerful platform.
 

Size Matters

Pins work best when they are long and tall. The preferred ratio is 2:3 to 1:3.5. The minimum width of a pin is 600 pixels, while the max is 735 pixels. If you want interaction, create pins that are 735 x 1102 pixels.
 
I know some of you are reading this and wondering why you need to create different size images for your blog and your social media platforms. And many of you probably don’t want to bother. However, your images will be more engaging and look better if they’re sized appropriately. We’ve all seen the images that are partially cut off and on a visual platform that just looks lazy. Instead, take the few extra seconds to adjust the size. You can place your branding or blog title on it and embed it in your blog as an invitation to post to Pinterest. That way you’re not wasting any time.
 

Use Hashtags

While Pinterest isn’t Instagram and you don’t need “212” hashtags to be successful, using hashtags will help people find your pins. Use them. Use your own as well as popular ones on Pinterest.
 
 

Shoot for Pins

Unless they pin it to a private board, if someone pins your post, everyone who follows them will see that pin, in theory. People see their friends are interested in your pin and they will check it out too. 
 
While you’re creating posts in the hopes they’ll be shared, keep in mind that many Pinterest users pin things to help plan life events such as vacations, weddings, having children, holiday gatherings, etc. If you want more pins, think about how your content could relate to these types of events. For instance, if you own a pet sitting service you might pin a lot of content relating to caring for pets over the holidays, introducing them to a lot of people at once, and common holiday decor that can be dangerous. Wrapping your content around something pinners would plan for can generate more pins.  
 

Optimize Your Profile

One thing that is a cool feature of Pinterest is allowing you to create a profile cover out of recent Pinterest pins. This is a good way to highlight your products. For instance, if you sell clothing and often post your new pieces, this feature could create a “latest styles” collage for you with no need for a designer. However, if you only post other people’s posts this might not be a good branding exercise.
 
To do this, at your profile page, click on the pencil icon. You have the option of creating collages out of a specific board or your most recent pins. This is perfect for highlighting special times of year or focussing on a product line or service. Change it as often as you’d like. It will also update each time you post something.
 

Things to Post if You’re Business Isn’t “Pinterest Pretty”

If you have a business that doesn’t lend itself to beautiful pins, consider other sources of posts that your ideal demographic would respond to like:
 

• Inspirational quotes
• Travel pictures
• Local beauty (sunsets, historic spots, etc.)
• Recipes
• Your blog posts

 
You don’t have to post only about your goods and services. Just look to be a resource for your audience by posting things that will get shared. Then pepper in a few of your own helpful posts. For instance, let’s say you’re a plumber. You don’t want to share what you did this morning (unclogged a drain) but you could create a board of gorgeous bathroom remodels and another board for plumbing advice where you can feature the content you create.
 
If you’ve been considering amping up your Pinterest presence, now is the perfect time. The platform has an extremely high sales conversion rate and reaches almost an entire gender in their buying prime.
 
Are you on Pinterest? Let us know in the comments.
 
 
 
 
Christina R. Green teaches small businesses, chambers, and associations how to connect through content. Her articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives’ Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, Event Managers Blog, and WritersWeekly. She is a regular blogger at Frankjkenny.com.  
 
As an introverted writer, she’s on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere while single-handedly combatting the overuse of exclamation points.