Pinterest Is the Best Of Marketing and the Worst of Marketing

How do you decide if it's right for your business?

4.5 minute reading time

With apologies to Charles Dickens (and with perhaps just a bit of hyperbole!), Pinterest truly is a marketing platform that may do nothing for your business – or everything! Here are some arguments to consider:

Small Biz owners are advised to have a presence on multiple social media platforms. So they dutifully post to Pinterest, but when the response is underwhelming, they wonder if the effort is worth continuing. This is a marketing option that requires especially careful research and intensive preparation. Let’s take a look at the best and worst aspects of Pinterest marketing.

Best of Marketing:  Folks come to Pinterest to buy. It’s true that 57% of Pinterest visitors come to browse photos, but according to Hootsuite, 48% of Pinterest visitors come to spend their money. That is a remarkable percentage of people looking at your posts with their credit card in hand. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – fewer than 15% of folks are looking to make purchases while on those platforms. Pinterest users also tend to be more affluent than average and more willing to pay for what catches their fancy.

Worst of Marketing:  The Pinterest user demographic is very specific. Overwhelmingly, the user is a female between 25-44 years of age driven by what is called a “life event.”  

That means if your business provides products or services for weddings and babies, this is your crowd. But there are other life events that your business might be able to tap into as well. Decorating and remodeling a home, going on vacation, and planning holiday parties are also considered “life events.” This is a time when you really have to hone in on your buyer persona to craft the most on-point marketing message.

Worst of Marketing:  One of the biggest items in the “worst” category is the high level of expertise needed to shine on Pinterest. Images are an absolute requirement and not just any old image will do. Images need to catch the eye of a 25-44 year-old woman, including a specific color palette to foster brand awareness and a uniqueness that prompts folks to pin and share them. At the same time, the correct search terms need to be chosen and integrated appropriately in both the pins and in the boards created on your profile. Then plan on pinning 10 or more of these every single day and updating your keyword research on a regular basis to keep up with trends. 

Best of Marketing:  But here’s one more item from the “best” category:  Google likes Pinterest. Links from Pinterest to your website are a big boost to your ranking, making your site more visible. Also, Google notes the search terms on your pins, so folks searching for your keywords can find you even if they aren’t on the Pinterest platform during the time they are browsing. Showing up on Google in any way is always a good goal to pursue. 

Whether Pinterest is the right marketing choice for your business takes some number-crunching. A low-key campaign will not move the needle much and a poorly-planned campaign can be both expensive as well as a failure. On the other hand, Pinterest could be the best of marketing for your business. If you want help thinking it through, just give us a call and we’ll talk over your specific marketing goals. 

Image “Tragedy and Comedy” by Tim Green, licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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