Holidays are hard, and we’re not just talking about forcing a smile as Aunt Janet and Uncle Bob show an embarrassing amount of PDA after eggnog. Anyone in retail or marketing knows the holidays bring an extra level of crazy to the table and managing everything from sales, to shipping, to social media ads can bring out your inner Scrooge. Though you’re on your own with Aunt Janet, we’ve got a holiday sales secret weapon to let you in on: Pinterest. She’s the social media dark horse that brings major ROI, simplifies your social strategy and helps you have a happy little holiday year over year.
Let’s start with the basics:
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest started off with a bang in 2010 and reached 10 million unique users in its first two years, locking in the record for the fastest growth for a standalone site in history! It was created as a visual discovery tool intended to allow people to share ideas, projects and interests via “pins” that are organized into “boards”. Boards are user-created, unique to their account and can be made private, if desired. The Pinterest “feed” is made up of pins by accounts users follow and content in which the user has shown interest. The “Search” feature is largely used as many users come to the site to find a particular idea or product. Turns out Pinterest is viewed as the platform for discovering and shopping for products by 47% of social media users. Even today, Pinterest prefers to compare itself to a search engine rather than a social media site. However, the fact that users have followers, can comment, upload and share posts adds an undeniable social aspect to the otherwise personal Pinterest experience.
Unlike its social media sisters, Pinterest isn’t here for flash-in-the-pan instant updates, spontaneous selfies and live coverage. It’s about building a future and connecting with users on a deeper level, so much so that a recent study found Pinterest ranked highest across the platforms for brand intimacy. Instead of likes and comments and “felt cute” moments in the back of a cab, Pinterest thrives on the cross-stitching hobby you want to start, the house you’ve been saving for, and helping you stick to a healthy lifestyle. It’s here for the real deal, long-term relationship. Pinterest knows you scroll in sweats and no makeup and it likes it that way.
Status of Pinterest
Though Pinterest doesn’t make headlines as often as ‘the big guys’, she’s doing just fine. The inspiration and planning focused platform doesn’t quite do it for the media because 1) Trump can’t tweet on it, 2) there’s no breaking news released on it, and 3) it’s honestly not as thrilling to report on the recipe a celebrity might make for dinner tonight verses an Instagram of them noshing at their favorite LA dive. That said, it still reigns as the under-estimated dark horse slaying the social platform game for users, marketers and influencers, a like.
The site, which went public in April 2019, has more than 291 million monthly users, more than 175 billion pins and ad revenues are expected to exceed the $1 billion mark in 2020. As America’s 4th most popular social media platform (I’m sure you can guess the top three), Pinterest is beating out Linkedin, Snapchat and even Twitter, and that ranking is likely to rise in the coming years. Between 2017 and 2018, the platform added more new users in the US than Facebook and Twitter combined. Additionally, while new users continue to jump on board (heh, heh) with Pinterest, many Americans are feeling the need to “take a break” from other platforms, including a whopping 42% that decided to take a breather from Facebook in 2018.
Pinterest for Business
From a business perspective, Pinterest wins, again. The site has had a continued increase in site referral traffic amidst a decline for other channels like Facebook (33% more traffic if we’re getting particular) and Twitter. To further drive the point home, an astonishing 90% of weekly Pinterest users use the site to make purchasing decisions. In other words, people are going to Pinterest to find pins about products for purchase which can lead them to your page, driving sales into your pocket… and we like alliteration, just in case you couldn’t tell.
Pinterest is a brand safe haven. While many companies struggle with engagement from consumers on social media, pinners are coming to Pinterest to find and engage with products! On other platforms, users are often put off by ads or unsolicited sales-y promotions popping up in their feed, however, on Pinterest, businesses account for more than 75% of saved pins, and 78% of pinners say content from brands is useful. What a welcoming environment, amirite?! These reasons, amid others, make Pinterest 4x more effective at driving sales compared to other digital campaigns.
Now for the good stuff:
Pin Your Way through the Holiday
According to Pinterest, 87% of Pinners use the platform to find products for their holiday shopping, and 66% use it for last-minute holiday ideas. With those kind of stats, your brand needs to be ready to pin to win consumer dollars. Here are 6 tips for making your brand stand out amidst the boards.
- The Basics: Pinterest is an extremely visual experience. Ensure your pins are high quality, vertical images, optimized for the platform. Pinterest suggests a 2:3 aspect ratio (ex: 1000 x 1500 pixels) With 85% of pinning done on phones, make sure you’re pins and website are designed to be mobile friendly! Last, link your pin directly to the product it features, not just your main site.
- Keep it Simple: Catch pinner’s eyes with bold imagery focused on your product. Reduce the fluff of sharing crowded lifestyle images or scenic pictures and opt for simple images that showcase how to use your product. If sharing video, always use a text overlay as many users keep their sound off. Don’t forget a short but solid description for your pin that includes your brand and product name!
- Keep it Fresh: Upload new, original content to your boards weekly to keep things active and show Pinterest you mean business. Also, be a pinner! Your boards should be an interesting collection of things that represent your brand, values and target consumer. Re-pin other’s pins to your boards daily and to give a little peek into your brand personality.
- Be Trendy: Pinterest recently released the top trends of 2019, and regularly release trending topics via their Pinterest Business site. Lean into these insights to draw consumers to your products. Are you a food brand? Mushroom recipes are a rising trend this year – share some innovative holiday recipes that include the ‘shrooms. Simply including trending products (ie. statement sneakers) in your imagery can get someone to slow their scroll.
- Features are Your Friend: Pinterest is visual overload! To stand out, we sometimes have to get by with a little help from our friends, aka features. Promoted Pins and videos will get new, targeted eyes on your product, while Shoppable Pins will take pinners directly to purchase with a simple click. Need a little reassurance that the ROI is worth it? For every $1 spent on ads, the average business sees a $4.30 gross return. Additionally, 50% of pinners have purchased after seeing a promoted pin, and to top it off, promoted pins are repinned an average of 11x per ad.
- Influencers + Bloggers! Most align influencers with Instagram – they’re a natural pairing that is discussed non-stop in today’s marketing industry. However, we’d argue that Pinterest and influencers/bloggers are an equal, if not more perfect, pair. Consumer/follower trust is a pillar of influencer marketing and Pinterest is extremely well trusted by users. Even when an influencer is clearly promoting a product on Pinterest, it is viewed with a more open mind as consumers are searching for ideas and products, rather than forced to see them in their feed on other platforms. Additionally, the Pinterest algorithm allows for greater reach as influencer (and brand) content is seen by more than just their followers. We could go on and on about the benefits of influencers across all platforms. Give us a shout today to learn more!
Long Live the Pin
The best part of Pinterest? Pins last forever! They’re pinned one day to come back to another day, they’re saved for future celebrations or life events, they show up again and again for various pinners looking for your product or service! The commercial you ran in 2016, is just that: the commercial you ran in 2016. No one is seeing it anymore and it is not helping your 2019 or 2020 sales. However, your two-year-old DIY holiday tablescape pin featuring your product is still driving consumers to your site, regularly.
Pinterest users are an eager bunch and tend to follow a similar calendar to publishing, aka planning Christmas in July. So it’s not a surprise that 25% of Pinners start planning 2-4 months in advance, and 45% start 1-2 months early. These guys plan ahead, so if you play your pins right, you can catch that early bird shopper in August and the last-minute gifter on the way to the holiday party. Plan to release holiday content on Pinterest well-before other platforms to take advantage of Pinner’s get-ahead mindset.
Don’t let filters and likes cloud your marketing mind! Though all forms of marketing are imperative to a well-rounded omni-channel approach, Pinterest is often waved aside. This is a big mistake, big.. HUGE. Effective pinning is the way to win during the crazy Christmas season and beyond. Need help adding a little happy to your holidays? Give yourself the gift of LMS! Contact us today and check out our work here.