Whilst the Covid-19 episode is playing out, our social and business environments are changing. Rapidly. People and businesses are adapting to a new reality. The planet is heaving a (small) sigh of relief under a less polluted sky. Of course, eventually things will get back to normal, but it will be a different normal. During these exceptional times, many people are turning to Pinterest. Buying products and services online has suddenly become the new norm. This may be the perfect time to pay a little more attention to Pinterest. Read on to find out why, and what Pinterest actions you can take right now to help you drive free website traffic to your website.
A BIG Shift is underway
The way we work and learn is evolving. Working from home is a reality for many of us right now. Remote working will be more widespread than ever before. Video conferencing will continue to replace business travel for the next foreseeable future. It may never get back to pre-Covid levels. With the closure of schools and universities, education is, at the time I'm writing this article, mostly taking place online.
People who find themselves unemployed will be considering new opportunities to generate income. Many will be thinking about starting an online business. Existing businesses without much of an online presence are now looking for solutions to move some of their business online. Whether these businesses provide services or sell products, one of their primary business needs is to be visible online.
Business on Pinterest is booming
Pinterest usage is at an all-time high, giving many businesses greater visibility than ever on Pinterest. Especially those that publish content that is highly relevant to current needs. People may be stuck at home, but they are still seeking ways to stay healthy and fit, to keep their kids occupied, to find recipes for the ingredients they have in stock and also to shop. Pinners are reporting record engagement rates. People are coming to Pinterest looking for inspiration, solutions, products and services more than ever before.
Demand for Shoppable products on Pinterest is also rising and Pinterest is responding rapidly. Several new functionalities that make Pinterest a lot more shoppable were launched last week:
New ways to shop on Pinterest
Last month, Pinterest also launched a Verified Merchant Program. Similar to being verified on other networks, a verified merchant displays a blue checkmark on their Pinterest profile. Verified Merchants will also get a special “Shop” tab at the top of their profiles, which puts all of their shoppable products in one place. It's free to join and makes your brand stand out. Businesses can apply here.
Use Pinterest to grow website traffic organically
Since many of us now have a little extra time on your hands, why not take this opportunity to spend it on Pinterest? The great thing about Pinterest is that even without spending any money, you can get it to work for your business. It just requires some time and effort. So what better time to start?
Here are three actions that e-commerce and service-based businesses can work on right now.
Get started today!
Grow Your E-Commerce Sales with Pinterest
Three actions E-commerce Businesses can take on Pinterest right now
Pinterest reports that the number of users engaging with Shopping on Pinterest has grown by 44% year over year. The number of Shoppable Product Pins has increased by 2.5 times since last year. Whether your e-commerce business is big or small, Pinterest is a level playing field. People look for general ideas or browse visually. According to Pinterest 97% of top searches are unbranded, i.e. simple keyword searches. When people search on Pinterest, they don’t have a particular brand in mind. This means that it is not unusual for a smaller retailer’s product to rank higher in search results than a larger retailer’s product, if it’s a better match. If you run an e-commerce business and have a Pinterest account, here’s what you can do on Pinterest:
3 Actions e-commerce businesses can take on Pinterest right now
- 1Enable Product Pins. Product Pins let you show the most up-to-date price, availability and product description on Pins linked to products in your online store.
- 2Create a Shop by uploading your product catalog to Pinterest (not yet available in all countries).
- 3Install the Pinterest Tag on your website. The Pinterest Tag is the equivalent of the Facebook pixel. It’s a snippet of code that you install on your website. As soon as it is in place, it starts collecting data about your website visitors. This data can then be used to build Pinterest audiences that you can target with Pinterest ads. This is useful if you decide to run an advertising campaign on Pinterest sometime in the future.
Three actions Coaches, Content Creators & Online Educators can take right now on Pinterest
Now is the time to create greater visibility for your online services. People are looking to learn new skills online. They have spare time and are seeking answers and information. Habits and mindsets are changing. This is an excellent time to polish up your service offers and make Pinterest marketing an integral part of your sales funnel. Use it to drive more traffic to your website and get more mailing list sign-ups. Here's what you can do:
3 Actions online service businesses can take on Pinterest right now
- 1Create new images for existing content. Pinterest favors fresh and relevant content. A new image for an existing piece of content is considered fresh content. So, get creative and make a variety of different images for it.
- 2Go back to old content that is highly relevant. Do you have any helpful content that people are looking for right now? Update it, create new images and re-publish on Pinterest.
- 3Pin your content daily to build up engagement. Publish your content at times when your audience is most likely to see it. Create keyword-rich titles and descriptions. Take care to spread your pins out over time.
Use Pinterest to generate FREE traffic for your online business
Right now, there’s a tremendous Pinterest opportunity for online businesses. If your business is anything to do with e-commerce, content creation, coaching or online education, this is the time to optimise your Pinterest page for business. Many websites are seeing big increases in traffic from Pinterest. Mailing list opt-in rates are much higher than usual. Shopping is up by 44% (*).
If you're looking for a cost effective marketing channel during these exceptional times, Pinterest is your friend. Invest some time in it now to reap the benefit of increased organic traffic and online visibility for months to come.
(*)Source: Pinterest internal data, February 2019-February 2020
Mary Lumley - Conversion Focused Pinterest Marketing
3 Pinterest Actions You Can Take Right Now To Drive FREE Website Traffic
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful, Danielle 🙂