eCommerce Support - Part 3 – Pinterest

In the third part of our eCommerce Support series on how popular social media platforms can help you with sales, we take a closer look at Pinterest.

Pins for sale

Pinterest is an American social media platform where users share photos, videos and gifs. The name of the site itself combines two words - pin (to pin, pin) and interest (interests). The visual materials shared within it are referred to as pins. Users can pin them to their boards, creating extensive groups of inspirational content.

Okay, but how can a visuals platform help your eCommerce? Pinterest's growth is heavily targeted at creators and sellers. At first glance this insignificant platform can generate huge profits

The data from 2021 tells a lot - Hootsuite indicates that for 90% of visitors, Pinterest is an important support in making a buying decision.

Pinterest in eCommerce - the power of images

Pinterest is something not to be ignored. Its strength is aesthetics. Well-crafted boards, branded, inspiring with descriptions and directing users to a product page can generate really great traffic.

The tools that Pinterest has recently opened up to the eCommerce industry will support in driving sales. These include collection slideshows. Such a form of advertising is not only attractive for users, but also convenient to create. Slides are automatically generated based on the product catalog. The images will be selected to respond to the user's needs, thus taking into account their searches within Pinterest.

Another novelty, obviously referring to Pinterest's competitor, Instagram, is Idea Pins, the equivalent of Stories. The similarities between these two platforms are obvious - both mediums operate with visual content and are a place to search for inspiration - photography, fashion, wedding, interior design, culinary, sports and tons of others. However, observing the development of both social media - Pinterest is the one that boldly proposes new solutions for eCommerce.

Finally, a feature that also premiered in November 2021. As we could read in the company's announcement " Today we announce the launch of Pinterest TV, a series of original and shoppable live episodes with creators directly on Pinterest. Pinterest TV episodes will be refreshed every weekday. They will also be recorded and available for Pinterest users to watch on demand. They can be saved and re-watched later." Once again, Pinterest has understood the needs of its users. In times of Covid pandemic, live shopping is an extremely desirable format.

Pinterest in eCommerce - why is it worth it?

Of course, not every online business needs to or should have a Pinterest page. Certainly, B2B eCommerce won't benefit from a presence on Pinterest. However, if your eCommerce business offers designer products, fashion products, jewelry products, or simply products that are good to showcase in an aesthetically pleasing way - take a look at Pinterest's capabilities.

As Dan Lurie, general manager of product purchases at Pinterest, puts it: "People have always come to Pinterest to shop. They use Pinterest to explore new ideas and actively think about what to make or buy to bring those ideas to life. We want to help users find products that are right for them and be confident that they've made a solid choice from reputable retailers offering a trouble-free shopping experience. We're excited that Pinterest users in more countries will now be able to go from inspiration to purchase anywhere on Pinterest." To add, there are more than 475 million accounts created on the site. In Poland alone, that's about 1.5 million.

Statistics show that this is the best platform to build traffic to a website. Not Facebook or Instagram, but Pinterest is the one that gives the most lasting results in this regard. Published pins are displayed to users for months in search results, and with the ability to link and rank - they are an easy way to direct users directly to your product and build brand awareness.

For this reason, Pinterest is a great tool to support sales. It is a medium that is less focused on community building. Users of the platform come for a specific purpose - to get inspired or to find a specific product.

Pinterest is also an attractive source of backlinks. After all, every pin is a link to a blog, landing page or product! Importantly, Google naturally uses the site's resources to display its content in search results.

In the context of Pinterest, we can't forget about an effect that is often unmeasurable, but certainly aids sales. It is, of course, building brand awareness and image. As a visual medium, it has a very evocative effect on users. Well-composed boards and pins will certainly remain in the memory for a long time.