Is your Shopify online store visible to window shoppers on Pinterest? This year, more than ever, people are seeking holiday shopping inspiration from the comfort of their phones. When window shopping on the high street is out of bounds, Pinterest offers shoppers an alternative type of shopping destination to browse and buy. Pinterest is constantly introducing new e-commerce functionalities and partnerships, such as this year's updated Shopify integration that turns your entire online product catalog into shoppable pins. Keen to get some e-tailing real estate on a global virtual shopping mall? Read on to find out how you can drive more Shopify store sales with Pinterest.
1. Connect your Shopify store to Pinterest
Do you want people to see what products you have on offer as soon as they get to your Pinterest page? Then head over to Shopify to install the Pinterest app by adding a Pinterest sales channel to your store. This enables you to easily link your Shopify site and Pinterest business account. Connecting Pinterest as a sales channel in your Shopify store has a number of benefits:
Gain conversion insights and build target audiences based on actions people take on your site
By granting Pinterest access to your store, the app will install the Pinterest tag for you on your Shopify site. The tag is similar to the Facebook pixel and will track visitors and actions on your site, such as the products people view or purchase. Shopify then feeds that information back to Pinterest. You can use this data as input for any future ad campaigns you may decide to run.
Show off your products and turn them into shoppable product pins
Adding the Pinterest sales channel to your store also connects your product catalog to Pinterest. The app will automatically upload all your products to your Pinterest page in a Shop tab (see example below). Your product information will always be up to date on Pinterest, because it pulls live information from your products. Best of all, these product pins are directly linked to the items in your store. When people click through, they're taken straight to the product page in your online store!
Example of a product catalog on Pinterest. The Shop tab is the first page visitors are shown.
[TIP] How to remove products from Pinterest Shop tab
Don't want to display all of your products on Pinterest? You can simply remove Pinterest as a sales channel for that particular product. Go to your Shopify product catalog, select the product and remove Pinterest as a sales channel.
2. Apply for Verified Merchant status
Have you noticed how some Pinterest accounts show off a blue badge to the right of their page title?
The blue checkmark indicates that the account has been vetted by Pinterest and this has several advantages:
You can apply for Verified Merchant status via the Business hub on your Pinterest account or here. Before doing so, you must ensure that your product catalog is connected to Pinterest, the Pinterest tag correctly installed on your Shopify store website and that you meet Pinterest's Merchant Guidelines.
As a Verified Merchant your products may get shown in a "Shop similar" listing and a call to action button is clearly visible on your product pin.
3. Seed your products to grow brand awareness and leads
Marketing your products on Pinterest is a longterm game. Seeding is a strategy where you regularly "plant" your products (i.e. share product images) on Pinterest to try and get it in front of your target audience. This needs to be done strategically and consistently.
Your product pins need to be optimized so that the Pinterest algorithm distributes them in people's home feed, search results and shoppable pin feeds, such as related product listings. You also need to share organic content on Pinterest on a regular basis.
So, how do you do this? Start by applying the following essential Pinterest tactics:
Create eye-catching Lifestyle images of your products
When it comes to a great idea, people know it when they see it. Make sure your images inspire to act. Create remarkable visuals in vertical format. Lifestyle images that show your product being used work best. You need to get noticed to get clicks!
Add keyword-rich pin titles & descriptions
Pinterest is a search engine. List the keywords and key phrases that people use to find your products. Use them in pin titles and descriptions so that your products start turning up in search results and feeds. Your products need to get found to get them noticed!
Pin daily
Pin "fresh" content every day. Fresh Pins are defined by Pinterest as images or videos that haven't been seen before. Find out more about fresh content.
My favourite Pinterest scheduler is Tailwind. It enables you to post pins automatically at times when your audience is most active. Try it out for free for 1 month!
4. Product marketing mistakes to avoid on Pinterest
Here are some of the most common mistakes that are made when marketing products on Pinterest:
Pinterest for Ecommerce - Need some help setting up shop on Pinterest?
Whether you're looking to turn your Shopify product catalog into shoppable product pins on Pinterest or need help running paid ad campaigns, we can help. We work with online retailers and brands in a wide range of industries. Many of our clients sell via Shopify, but we help e-commerce retailers with shops on other platforms too. Click to learn more about our services.
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Grow Your E-Commerce Sales with Pinterest
Mary Lumley - Conversion Focused Pinterest Marketing
How to Drive More Shopify Store Sales with Pinterest
