Pinterest Marketing for Small Business:
The Ultimate Guide
Six easy steps to develop your Pinterest presence
Pinterest is one of the most underrated marketing tools for small business owners looking to drive traffic, boost brand visibility, and increase conversions. One of the most common barriers for small business owners to use Pinterest marketing is not understanding the platform.
I’ll guide you through the basics and the benefits of Pinterest so you can walk away with more clarity about whether it's the right platform for you.
If I were to summarize the platform, Pinterest is like an image library organized by its version of the Dewey decimal system, SEO. Its highly visual platform proves a picture is worth a thousand words, especially for users looking for visual inspiration to achieve a new idea, desire, or goal. However, its powerful search engine capabilities (SEO) are the most overlooked feature. Because of this, Pinterest can easily connect your business to users interested in what you offer.
As a small business owner who wears many hats, the murky waters of marketing can get muddy quickly with low website traffic, audience building, changing algorithms, and feeling like you’re on the content hamster wheel.
Effective Pinterest marketing can help in these areas. First, You don't need to have a ton of followers for your pins to perform well because your content can be seen by users who show interest in your topic.
It is a visual search engine designed to drive traffic like Google.
Your content becomes evergreen when Pinterest indexes it, making it available for discovery in search queries years after publishing.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need about Pinterest marketing, from promoting products and conducting keyword research to analyzing trends and boards. Let’s get started!!
Related Resource
How to Increase Traffic from Pinterest to Your Unique Hand Made Ecommerce Store
How Do Businesses Use Pinterest for Marketing?
Pinterest isn’t just a social media platform—it’s a visual search engine. Follow these tips for using Pinterest for business marketing most effectively:
Showcase your products and services to drive awareness
Create visually appealing content that aligns with your brand to drive traffic.
Drive traffic to your website through strategically optimized pins to convert visitors to sign up for your list or learn how to purchase from your website.
Leverage SEO with Pinterest’s built-in search engine to get your pins in front of your ideal audience and attract more organic traffic.
Showing up consistently on Pinterest allows you to get in front of over 522 million monthly users actively searching for the solutions your business provides.
As a small business owner, using Pinterest for business marketing means creating high-quality, visually engaging pins that resonate with your target audience. When done right, Pinterest marketing for small business can lead to substantial growth in traffic and sales.
“Pinterest is our second largest converter, which now drives 40% of our annual revenue.”
Promoting Products on Pinterest
One of the best ways to generate interest and drive traffic to your e-commerce store is to learn how to promote products on Pinterest. Offering a seamless way for users to find and buy items based on their searches has been a tremendous focus for the platform since Bill Ready, former head of commerce at Google, joined Pinterest as the new CEO.
Why? He understands that people on Pinterest are always shopping. The intent behind user searches is to discover and collect ideas for something they want, need, or wish to accomplish. This mindset is the reason for Pinterest’s impressive shopping statistics.
On average, shoppers on Pinterest spend 80% more than people on other platforms every month and have a 40% bigger basket size.
Here’s how to promote your product on Pinterest:
High-Quality Product Images: Always use professional, well-lit images that showcase your products.
Pin Descriptions: Write engaging, keyword-rich descriptions for each pin. Include a call-to-action (CTA), such as “Click to learn more” or “Shop now.”
Product Catalogs: Uploading your product catalog to display real-time product information like price and availability on all the shopping surfaces across the platform both on mobile and desktop
Consistency: Pin regularly and consistently to keep your products top-of-mind to your audience.
“Pinterest is the second-largest source of referral traffic to e-commerce websites”
Pinterest Keyword Research
Pinterest keyword research is essential to ensure your content gets found by the right audience. Here’s how to do keyword research for Pinterest:
Pinterest Search Bar: Type in relevant keywords to see the suggested search queries. These suggestions are actual terms that Pinterest users are searching for.
Pinterest Trends Tool: Use the tool to perform high-volume keyword searches around trending keywords and topics for your niche
Pin Descriptions & Titles: These placements are arguably the most important for the Pinterest algorithm to distribute your content effectively. Include relevant keywords in your pin titles, descriptions, and board names to improve your pin’s discoverability.
Long-Tail Keywords: These can be useful for more niche businesses. However, most searches on Pinterest are 1-3 words long. Keep this in mind when doing your keyword research. For example, instead of “jewelry to wear on prom night,” try “prom jewelry.”
If you’re a product seller, make sure to start with unbranded keywords that describe the products you offer, which are more commonly used to search for what you create.
For example, if you’re a jewelry designer, use keywords like “dainty gold rings” that describe the type of jewelry you make instead of your collection names.
Related Resource
Pinterest SEO and Why It's Important for Your Pin Distribution
Pinterest Trends
While Pinterest is great for high-value, evergreen content, users love to gather ideas about what’s trending right now. Creating content around seasonal topics like “fall outfit ideas,” “affordable summer vacations,” or “Friendsgiving recipes” can help you leverage of-the-moment trending searches.
Using Pinterest Trends to understand popular topics can help you create content that resonates with your audience.
Pinterest Trends Tool: Use this tool to find the latest keywords trending on Pinterest and topics in your niche.
Stay Relevant: Keep an eye on seasonal trends, such as holiday-themed products or seasonal fashion ideas. Update your content on a yearly basis and establish your brand as a trendsetter.
Create Trend-Specific Pins: Design pins that align with current Pinterest trends to attract more views. For example, add a gift bow graphic during the holidays to encourage a gift-giving mindset.
Pinterest Trend Report: Discover top trends to stay ahead of the curve. These are released quarterly and annually. They provide insights into Pinterest trending niches and popular topics on the platform, using data from what users are searching for, popular pins, and categories that are gaining traction.
How to find Pinterest trends on your account, navigate to the hamburger menu in the upper left-hand corner of your Pinterest profile. Pinterest Trends is the fourth option under ‘Analyze Performance.’
Behind-the-scenes look at using Pinterest trends tool to identify upcoming niches for a women's fashion line.
“Content creators may increase their visibility and engagement by utilizing the power of rising trends, keyword optimization, and creating relevant content.”
Pinterest Analytics
Pinterest business account analytics is a powerful tool for tracking your performance on the platform. Understanding Pinterest analytics and the data behind your pins will help you improve your marketing strategy.
Track Key Metrics: Impressions, saves, link clicks, and audience engagement are key metrics to monitor. These will inform the health of your account growth.
Refine Your Strategy: Use Pinterest Analytics to see which pins perform best and adjust your content accordingly. You can view your top Pins to see what your audience resonates with most. Use this data to create more Pins or content for your most popular topics.
Demographic Data: Analyze your audience demographics to create more targeted content around topics they’ve shown interest in.
How to check Pinterest analytics, navigate to the hamburger menu in the upper left of your Pinterest profile. Access your analytics overview under ‘Analyze Performance.’
How to apply filters: Under Overview click on More Filters. Once Filters is open, scroll down to select your claimed account. This is important because the only number you directly control are Pins from your claimed website.
How to access outbound clicks, impressions, engagements & saves: Select the date range you wish to check. Under Overview scroll down to Performance Over Time. Select the desired Metric in the drop-down menu. Continue until you determine the number of your Outbound Clicks, Impressions, Engagements & Saves.
How to find your follower count: Go to your Account. Under your display name and profile description you will find your number of Followers.
Some niches perform better than others on Pinterest, especially in the recipe, home decor, and women’s fashion spaces. It’s important to get specific on your business goals and what you hope to achieve with your Pinterest marketing to measure your success.
Related Resource
The Top Metrics to Measure Your Success on Pinterest and How to Find Them
Learn how I can help take your Pinterest efforts to new levels
New traffic. New leads.
It all begins with strategy. Leverage Pinterest as a discovery tool for your ideal audience to increase impressions, engagement, and website traffic.
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Pinterest is a long game. Pins usually take 3-6 months to rank, while significant growth typically occurs after consistent pinning and content creation over 6-12 months.
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Yes! Pinterest is not just a social media platform; it's a visual search engine. By optimizing your pins and account with the right keywords, you can improve your SEO and drive organic traffic to your site. Search engines like Google can also index your boards to appear in search results.
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Unlike other platforms, Pinterest uses keywords instead of engagement signals. Users searching for products, inspiration, and ideas can quickly discover your brand with the proper keyword strategy. This makes it an ideal evergreen platform to keep your pins discoverable for years and consistently drive traffic to your website.
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Pinterest Setup Package: Starting at $997, includes full account setup, keyword research, board creation, and interest targeting to build a solid foundation for the delivery of your pins.
Monthly Management Package: Starting at $697/month: It includes daily pinning, content strategy, and board optimization with custom pin creation to consistently grow your account and send qualified leads to your website.
A La Carte Services: Need something specific? I also offer individual services like branded pin templates, board covers, and custom lead magnet designs starting at $197.
