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How to optimize your Pinterest presence for real returns

This sponsored post is produced by Emma Tzeng, Content Marketing Manager, Gigya.

Today, many consumers are detailing their entire lives online, sharing life updates, personal photographs, and more; and the question has become less about whether or not you’re active on social media and more about which networks you’re interacting with regularly. Pinterest’s alternative social networking approach, based on visual discovery, gives businesses a unique opportunity to showcase their brands in a way that’s easy and fun to consume.

Not only that, but when it comes to user retention, no one can deny Pinterest is doing more than a few things right: With a reported 70 million users as of last July, the platform is regarded as one of the top destinations for product discovery. According to a report from Monetate, 20% of total social referrals to commerce sites originate from Pinterest. Shoppers who are referred to a site from Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase; and Pinterest referrals spend 70% more on average than visitors from non-social channels.

As exciting as these numbers are, it’s important to be extremely deliberate and intentional about where you put your time and resources when forming a Pinterest strategy that delivers real returns for your business.

To help you get started with the social network, we’ve outlined a few simple tips that every business should heed when activating and optimizing their Pinterest presence.

1. Set Up Your Pinterest Account for Easy Discovery

After setting up a Pinterest Business account, you want to ensure that your company name on Pinterest is straightforward and easy to spell but also optimized for keywords, as this will help with discovery. For instance, Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine’s Pinterest account username is “MarthaWeddings” — it’s simple to spell and find and is optimized for the “weddings” search query.

When filling out your profile, it’s also important to verify your website and add links to your Twitter and Facebook accounts for increased visibility. You’ll also want to fill in a 200-character description of your company, which will show at the top when users land on your Pinterest page.

2. Connect Your Site to Your Pinterest Presence by Adding a Pin It Button

To connect your Pinterest and website experiences, you can add a Pin It button on your site content. This allows customers to share interesting site content with their Pinterest follower base without ever leaving your site.

3. Nurture Community With Collaborative Pinboards

It shouldn’t be difficult to guess that people are more likely to participate in the very activities they already love. In other words, if your customers are on Pinterest, they probably won’t mind an invitation to contribute to a Pinboard that reflects their interests. Businesses can invite their followers to Pin on Group Boards, which help drive more exposure for your Pins while nurturing brand engagement.

For example, beauty company Birchbox lets customers Pin their Birchboxes for other fans to see. This act of inviting Pinners to participate on its Pinboards by adding their own Pins nurtures a sense of community while bolstering engagement and product discovery across the social network.

Additional Resources

Now that you have a general idea of what goes into a cohesive Pinterest strategy, you’re ready to dive deeper and start leveraging the social network to drive brand engagement.

To learn more about connecting with customers across Pinterest, check out our all-inclusive Pinterest Playbook for Marketers.

Pinterest Playbook


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