Most small business owners know that to survive in today’s digital world they need to use social media. And it goes without saying, it’s important to have an online presence for your business.
New social media and networking platforms pop up all the time. But staying on top of everything is impossible! To get the most bang for your buck you need to know where to spend your time, money, and effort. But it’s not always clear what to focus on. This is especially true when you start to establish an online presence for your business.
You’ve heard how good having a Pinterest business account can be for businesses. But, how do you know if it can work for your business? Will it work for your customer base? Can it help you drive traffic to your site and make more sales? Below are 3 strategies you can take to decide whether Pinterest is the right platform for your business.
Define and Research Your Audience
First, define what types of people are in your target audience. You’ll want to know things like gender, age, geographical location, income, and shopping habits. Doing this type of research will help you know if your ideal clients match the demographics of the average Pinterest user. If they do, that means they might be using Pinterest too.
Use Pinterest to research the latest data available on Pinterest users. This way you’ll get a feel if your customers fall into these groups. A majority of this platform’s users have always been female, with a median age of around 40. Thus, it makes sense to consider spending some time here if your customers are mature women. However, keep in mind that the demographics are not set in stone. Because they are always changing, review Pinterest’s statistics to see what’s changed. A few statistics you might find surprising:
- 40% of new Pinterest signups are men
- Millennials use Pinterest as much as they use Instagram
- The median age of a Pinterest user is 40, however, the majority of active pinners are younger than 40
- 40% of Pinners have a Household Income of $100k+
- 87% of Pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest
Review more Pinterest demographics like these to gather useful insights about Pinterest users. Then you can make an informed decision if your customers are hanging out on Pinterest. This is one way to decide if having a Pinterest business account is the right choice for you.
Does Your Business Easily Translate Into Visual Content?
Pinterest is a visual platform and curation site. It’s a platform where users save blog posts, quotes, ideas and products that interest them. All of these pins are visually represented. Your pins should be visually appealing so that they’ll stand out to your target audience. When your pins stand out, people will want to save, view, or click through to your website to learn more.
It might not make sense to spend a lot of effort on Pinterest marketing if you cannot represent your business through photos. However, it is possible to create basic graphics related to your products or services. People love pinning quotes and you could also try creating quote graphics to go with your posts if you blog.
If you don’t have a large variety of photo-worthy content available, you can use free stock photos. Here are a few free stock photo resources that I like and recommend:
- Death to Stock
- Gratisography
- Ivory Mix (my go-to site for beautifully styled photos)
- Kaboompics
- Pexels
- Picjumbo
- Pixabay
- Unsplash
Be aware that many other people also have access to the same free stock photos. When this happens, you end up seeing the same photo over and over again on Pinterest. This can confuse Pinterest when it’s trying to determine what your pin is about. To cut down on this, you might want to consider purchasing individual photos. Another option is to join a stock photo membership where you pay once and get access to a private photo library. When looking for one to invest in, choose one that matches the style of your specific niche.
As a result of Pinterest being a visual platform, creativity is a must when it comes to creating pins. Make sure you feel confident in your ability to generate pin-worthy content consistently. If you don’t have time or aren’t creative, you can outsource this work to someone who specializes in Pin design. If you go this route, you’ll be sure to have professional-looking content that your audience will love.
Take Inventory of Your Resources
Finally, you should take inventory of your available resources. Do you have the time and/or the staff to handle managing a Pinterest business account? Managing a business account might include:
- Deciding what content to pin and when
- Pinning manually or scheduling pins using an automated program (I use Tailwind)
- Monitoring any comments
- Maintaining personal boards
- Applying to and using group boards and Tailwind Tribes
- Making sure your profile and pins are SEO optimized
Pinterest management might also include pin creation if you’re doing this in-house. You may want to hire a graphic designer to create beautiful images if you don’t have the time or someone who can do this.
The good news is that you can sign up for a Pinterest business account for free. However, you may need to factor in some other Pinterest expenses into your marketing budget – like account management and pin design. Having the right resources set up will make it easier to dive into Pinterest marketing.
Is a Pinterest Business Account the Right Platform for Your Business?
Many business owners find success marketing online using the Pinterest platform. If you have the resources and strategy, your business could do very well marketing on Pinterest and be quite popular with its users. Give it a go and have fun with it!
However, if you know you need to be on Pinterest and use a Pinterest business account but are feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry! Check out my Services Page to see how I can help manage your Pinterest business account today.
