#WednesdayOneThing is a weekly opportunity for Clearbanc employees to share their knowledge of exciting trends in the retail and e-commerce space. Stay tuned to our Facebook page every Wednesday morning at 8:30AM EST for the newest edition.
It’s 2020 and after a whirlwind of a decade, it’s safe to say that social media has dominated the online space and taken society by storm. Social media has impacted the way we communicate, shop and interact with brands on a daily basis. When marketing to Gen Z and Millennial audiences, Facebook and Instagram are the common focus for many e-commerce businesses. What many don’t realize is that Pinterest has now become a huge player in driving traffic to e-tailer products and brands. Learning why Pinterest is good for business has never been more important.
If you’re not yet marketing your products and services on Pinterest, you’re missing out on a significant audience. But it’s definitely not too late to get in on the action. The great thing for you is that since many marketing professionals don’t fully know how to take advantage of Pinterest in their advertising and marketing strategy, there’s potentially less competition to get in front of your audience compared to more popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. In this article, we’ll shed light on why Pinterest is a worthwhile social channel for increasing customer acquisition and brand awareness in 2020.
What is Pinterest and why is it so popular?
Pinterest is a platform where users are able to easily discover visual content related to topics of interest. Users often use Pinterest for curating mood boards and getting inspiration for DIY projects, recipes and home decor.
It’s a massive hub where over 300 million users actively engage every month. And when you take into account that 61% of consumers make a purchase after seeing a promoted pin, it’s a significant amount of potential sales you could be missing out on. CEO Ben Silbermann positions Pinterest as “a catalogue of ideas” that enables consumers to imagine beyond their current state, and provides a channel for them to make purchase decisions in order to achieve their ideas.
Why Pinterest is good for business in the e-commerce world
Despite its tendency to fly under the radar, Pinterest has gained significant interest across a wide variety of consumer audiences. Here are a few facts of interest:
- Among 45-54 and 55-64-year-olds, Pinterest is the fourth most popular social platform in the US.
- Around 80% of American mothers use Pinterest
- In 2019, approximately 40% of new signups were men.
- Pinterest is the second most popular social media network for Baby Boomers.
While more people are opting for social media detoxes in 2020, Pinterest’s advantage is that it’s viewed as a creative space where people can gather their ideas and be inspired by other user’s content. In fact, Pinterest users are twice as likely to say their time on the platform is well-spent compared to other platforms. And not only do Pinterest users find value in their experience, they also take action when a pin catches their attention.
In the US, 48% of users go to Pinterest with the intention to shop. Once they start browsing through the platform, 72% of Pinterest users then become inspired to shop. Depending on who the target audiences are for your products or services, adding Pinterest to your marketing and customer acquisition strategies can really impact your bottom line.
How Pinterest helps sell your products and services
Pinterest is a great way to increase your online sales. With an average order of $50, Pinterest users tend to spend more per order than on any other social media platform. To help create a seamless user experience, Pinterest has also developed a Buyable Pins feature which allows users to buy your products without having to leave the platform.
Buyable Pins can be used on mobile or web, so you’re not limited by whatever device the consumer chooses to use. When a customer places an order through Pinterest, all the order and payment information is sent directly to you for processing and customer service. And the amazing benefit to you is that Pinterest doesn’t take a cut from your sales.
When it comes to generating traffic to your products and services, Pinterest has a strong advantage over other platforms because it emphasizes link-sharing and saving, allowing users to share links to your website on their accounts. Instagram, on the other hand, doesn’t allow link-sharing in posts unless you have a paid Instagram ad campaign. It only allows you to add a link in your Instagram bio.
For e-commerce businesses, you can implement Instagram’s Shopping feature. It allows you to tag specific products in your feed and story posts, with the intent that consumers eventually land on your website. You can also add the “shop” button to your business profile and tag your posts so they appear in this section.
Pinterest makes link-sharing a lot easier. Unlike Instagram’s Shoppable Posts feature, Pinterest’s Product Pins enable consumers to buy an item with ease because the price and stock information are right below the image. In addition, you’re able to link to multiple ecommerce sites, which can be beneficial if you sell across a variety of places.
Overall, Pinterest has created a mutually beneficial approach to designing an engaging user experience. Users view Pinterest as the go-to place for ideas and inspiration, businesses post more content to inspire users and generate more sales, and Pinterest sees greater platform traffic and ad revenue.
How to start marketing on Pinterest in 2020
Remember that Pinterest is a search and discovery tool for consumers actively and/or passively looking for specific ideas, products, and services. Understanding how they search is the first step to developing a successful Pinterest marketing strategy. Pinterest notes that 97% of the top 1,000 searches on their site are unbranded. So, instead of searching for manufacturers or brands, people are looking for long-tail keywords like “nice brown coat”.
The results display a variety of options based on this keyword so there are numerous opportunities for your products and services to appear across a variety of searches depending on the keywords that are used. Once you have a better understanding of what and how consumers are searching for content, you’ll have a solid basis for deciding what to include in your pins and which promotional tactics are worth your investment on the platform.
Summing it up
If you’ve previously overlooked Pinterest as a channel you may want to reconsider. Momentum is clearly picking up as marketers discover why Pinterest is good for business. The user’s ability to easily purchase directly through the platform during their time onsite has great potential for generating sales.
If you’re an e-commerce business that includes social media in your marketing and customer acquisition strategies, Pinterest is definitely worth considering. Given that many businesses have yet to focus their attention on this platform, you’ll be ahead of the game for 2020.
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