It’s easy to overlook Pinterest as an ecommerce opportunity. Despite being the third largest social media platform in the world, only 28% of marketers are active users. But this is changing. Pinterest is quickly expanding as a shopping platform, and its image-driven design gives it certain advantages over other ecommerce sites that prioritize company over product.
Advantages of Pinterest
Pinterest is an image-based platform. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, Pinterest is organized by concept, requiring shoppers to search by product. This is unique. In most ecommerce situations, shoppers navigate first to a company site – for example, Nordstrom – and search within that brand for the product they want to buy. By contrast, over 95% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, meaning customers find what they are looking for first, then discover the store.
Pinterest offers the opportunity to introduce yourself to enthusiastic shoppers through your products and build loyalty after that first interaction. The platform also offers the advantage of early insight. 85% of users say they go to Pinterest first when starting a new project.
As the Pinterest Business page explains:
“People use Pinterest to plan for the future. Reach them here, and you’ll reach them before your competitors do.”
Pinterest Sales
Not only are regular pinners inclined to buy the products they find, they also tend to have a fair amount of disposable income. 45% of people in the US with a household income over $100,000 are on Pinterest, and the average sales order is $50, which is higher than any other social media platform with a marketplace. Using Pinterest for ecommerce is fairly simple and allows retailers to access an audience that has both the means and motivation to make purchases.
Pinterest Strategy for Ecommerce
Highly motivated users, a platform based on visuals instead of brands, and shoppers with disposable incomes mean that Pinterest is a great forum to promote your brand and ultimately grow your business. Here are a few quick tips on how to use Pinterest for ecommerce:
- Pins that perform: Create Pins that are colorful and catch the eye. Pinterest lists best practices, including tips on everything from the best image aspect ratio to how to optimize your content.
- Moving Pictures: Not every post needs an eye-catching still image. Take advantage of Pinterest's video feature to showcase your product in action, highlight new product releases, and explain distinctive features. Aim to keep videos between 15 and 60 seconds long.
- Vary content: Break up pictures and videos by posting lifestyle content or links to articles. 75% of customers want to do business with companies with similar values. Share pictures of things your users love, whether that’s dogs, or the great outdoors. Build your brand beyond your products.
- Offer Pins on Site: Adding Share Pins to your product pages outside of Pinterest allows users to save and come back later, as well as increasing the visibility of your product. Share Pins appear on other users’ Pinterest, meaning that a Pinned item stays in your shopper’s mind and promotes your product at no additional cost.
- Idea Pins: Essentially a thematic slideshow of original content, Idea Pins help to engage and build your audience. Include details to help users engage with your content and tag relevant topics so your content can be found by the appropriate audience.
- Promote Your Pins: Pinterest ads for ecommerce are highly cost-efficient. Promoted Pins deliver a 2.3x more efficient cost per conversion than ads on social media. Pinterest also tracks ad performance, providing you with detailed analytics data. Check out the Pinterest ad guide here.
Optimize Pinterest to Leverage Your Ecommerce Success
Pinterest is for retailers. Compared to other social media platforms, average Pinterest sales are higher and Pinterest ads for ecommerce reach more people for less. New ad options and content formats allow businesses to reach open-minded customers before their competitors do. As Pinterest sales increase, so does the opportunity to build your business.
Americaneagle.com has vast experience assisting ecommerce clients with web development and digital marketing. We’ll optimize your site for ecommerce traffic and innovate to promote your products. See our digital marketing services and join our list of successful clients today.
