Are you using Pinterest as part of your marketing strategy? Our Director of DPM, Macy Edwards, explains why the ‘home of inspiration’ is not a platform to overlook.
Stop Interrupting, Start Inspiring: Why You Should be Driving Action Through Your Brand on Pinterest
Though many of us have a good awareness of what Pinterest is and the type of content that you can find on there, something that is continually overlooked is how powerful a tool it can be in Digital Paid Media strategies. Pinterest’s visual search algorithm is one of the most advanced I have ever seen and being able to use it to enhance your marketing strategy will help you reach a wider audience in a more creative way.
You may know the platform as the go-to place for home inspiration and crafting projects, but you might not be familiar with the products they have released in recent years to support advertising on the platform. Allow me to take you through the Pinterest journey, and show you why you should be considering making Pinterest part of your marketing strategy.
87% of pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest
I often describe Pinterest as being like Shazam for objects in the real world, which is down to their ‘Shop The Look’ product. The feature allows you to submit a photo of an item to the site, then Pinterest will go and find the item for you to purchase. To handle this volume of images and be able to compile and execute an integrated algorithm of this scale is actually really challenging but Pinterest have focused on this one thing that makes them different and they've achieved it.
The key thing that puts Pinterest apart from other paid social or search platforms is that it’s a very experienced based platform. The technology around ‘Shop the Look’ allows the platform to recommend similar content to users, leading them down what some call a ‘Pinterest hole’. Even when serving ads, Pinterest aims to provide an inspirational experience for users that leaves them feeling motivated to create.
Essentially, the aim of ads on Pinterest should be to immerse yourself in the user’s experience, not to interrupt it. Pinterest is an immersive platform that people turn to for inspiration – approach your strategy with this in mind.
9 in 10 weekly pinners use Pinterest for inspiration in their path to purchase
Let’s go through the workings of Pinterest. Pinterest gives us access to the important ‘Influential’ part of the customer journey. The basic function of Pinterest is to inspire its users and provide them with a seamless content experience that speaks to what they’re looking for. 2 in 3 people say the inspiration phase is influential in determining what to buy and Pinterest’s visual search and discovery journey is key to joining the dots between inspiration and purchase.
No other platform allows access to the awareness stage of the customer journey like Pinterest does, and this is why you should be taking advantage of it.
Home Feed
Pinterest isn’t social media in the traditional sense and is referred to as ‘the home of inspiration’. A big part of this is the home feed, which users see when they log in and are presented with a personalised range of pins relating to their prior interests on the app. This could be made up of users they follow, search terms they’ve used or images that are similar to pins they interact with. A successful ad will blend in seamlessly and entice the user to click on it as much as any other piece of content.
Search Function
Within the search function is where users can specify what they want to see. I even used it for Christmas present inspiration this year when I was searching for DIY gifts! What it brings up is a range of pins relating to your search term and ideas of products or projects.
Pins
A pin itself is made up of an image and your title and description. These are essentially bookmarks people use to return to ideas they like. They will often have links to follow to access more information or to buy the product mentioned.
Related Pins
Here is where Pinterest recommends further pins based on the content on what you have clicked on. They may be closely related to your search term or your usual content, or they could be linked to a specific part of the pin. For example, if you’re looking at a pair of red shoes, it will show you pictures of other red shoes and other items that people who’ve also viewed this pin have engaged with.
On Pinterest, brands that have an effective strategy are adding to the users experience. They don’t disrupt, they inspire. They aren’t a distraction, they’re a decision making tool.
93% of active pinners said that they use it to plan for purchases
One of the most exciting parts of advertising on Pinterest is the users that use the platform. Pinterest is seen as a destination for inspiration and is even used while customers are shopping in store. Pinners come to the platform ready to be engaged and inspired, and often are looking for inspiration specifically for planned purchases. This sets Pinterest apart from other social channels as the prior intent is often already there to take advantage of.
Another point to note is that Pinterest users are typically more affluent than on other social platforms. While users on Pinterest are just as likely to make a purchase as users on other platforms, the value of products they buy is, on average, 50% higher than other social channels and 20% higher than non-social channels, including search. What an effective Pinterest strategy translates to is the acquisition of users who are more prepared to spend money on your site and can afford to make higher value conversions.
At its core, Pinterest is unique both as a user experience and as a platform for businesses. Being able to reach customers in the awareness stage of their journey, as well as having an audience looking to the platform ready to buy, is an advantage that is unmatched across any other search engine or social media tool.
To learn more about building your brand on Pinterest, you can watch my webinar on the topic, or request one of our Paid Social Deep Dives to assess your current strategy.
