What Is Pinterest Marketing for Businesses? A Beginner’s Guide to Increasing Visibility and Attracting More Clients
A note from Jennie
When a marketing strategy is not producing results, it is easy to assume the problem is consistency.
Sometimes it is. But before you decide you have an execution problem, there is another question worth asking: Does the strategy itself actually make sense for your business?
That is one reason I asked Pao Palafox to write this article. Pinterest is one of those platforms many service-based business owners overlook because they think of it as a place for recipes, home decor, fashion, and DIY projects. Pao breaks down how Pinterest actually works for businesses, how to set it up strategically, and what tends to go wrong when people treat it like just another social media platform.
If you are somewhat familiar with Pinterest, you might see this platform as a place where you find pretty images on home decor, fashion, recipes, inspirational quotes, arts and crafts, and many, many more interesting subjects. However, Pinterest holds the potential to become a lead generation machine for business owners.
In this article, we’ll discuss in detail how businesses can leverage Pinterest marketing to build and grow their audience, attracting leads and clients on repeat. By the end, you’ll understand why Pinterest works as a bridge between you and your ideal audience, who are ACTIVELY searching for what you offer.
How? You may ask... Let’s break it down.
How Does Pinterest Marketing Work for Businesses?
The first thing we need to understand about Pinterest as a platform is that it’s a “search engine,” which simply means this is a space where people search for something that they are interested in and the platform throws specific results based on whatever search terms they used. These search terms are also known as “keywords.”
To give you an example, someone might be searching for “hormone balancing foods for women,” that’s right, not all Pinterest searches relate to home decor, when curious or in need of a solution to a specific problem. This also applies for product searches, both physical and digital, such as “financial planner printables” or “eye cream for dark circles.”
Whatever it is that the Pinterest user is looking for, that’s what they get. But what determines what appears in those search results? The keywords themselves.
In the case of the person who searches for “hormone balancing foods for women,” they will find images or videos known as “Pins” that contain information on what they can consume to improve their hormone health, along with some other related topics.
Once the search is made, there will be multiple Pins displayed as part of the search results. If there is one in particular that catches the Pinterest user’s eye, they will be more likely to click on it to take a closer look, and right below that image or video Pin, there will be an option that says “Visit website.”
Given the fact that the person is already interested in this subject and wants more information, they may click through the Pin, ending up on a hormone-balancing expert’s site where there could be a free resource waiting for them, which leads to a sales funnel that turns a visitor into a potential client.
How to Get Started With Pinterest Marketing for Your Business
Alright, good for the hormone-balancing expert, but how do you make this work for you?
Here’s your step-by-step guide on how to attract clients for your business through Pinterest.
And please note: We are talking about organic marketing, meaning we’re not paying money for ads.
1. Define Your Content Pillars and Offers
Make a list of all the subjects that your content covers, and also jot down every offer that you have, both paid and free. Having this clear list and keeping it handy will help you find the right keywords for you without having to guess or remember.
2. Set Up Your Business Profile
You can either select “convert to business” from the settings of your existing personal account or set up a separate business account. Either way is fine and free to do.
It is important that you have a business profile because only business profiles give you access to the insights and metrics you will need.
If you get a chance, you might also want to create a nice banner for your business profile. Ideally, make it about some free resource that you have and place a call to action. The banner will be the first thing people see when landing on your Pinterest profile.
3. Do Your Keyword and Trends Research
To find your keywords, take a look at your list of content and offers and, for each one of them, type two to three words that describe them, for example, “relationship advice,” into the search bar and see what other words or phrases come up.
You must do this from your “home feed,” regardless of whether you are using your cellphone or a computer.
Notice how you start typing the sentence and the search bar tries to complete your phrases with predictive search terms. These search terms are the ones that people are already using to search for things that interest them, so go ahead and make a list of all those search terms, or keywords, that appear there.
For the trends research, keep in mind that you won’t always find the exact trending keywords for your niche, but if you do, make an additional list. You may also want to review this periodically depending on your content or niche.
The fastest way to get to the trends tool is to be logged into your business account and go to Pinterest Trends, where you’ll be able to see the top trends in your region as well as seasonal trends like the holidays and when they peak so you can make the most out of them throughout the year.
4. Apply Keywords to Your Profile
Got your base and trending keywords in place? Let’s start adding them to your business profile.
You’ll want to go to your settings, and you’ll be taken to a page where you can edit your profile details, and ONLY these details, nothing more.
For your name, don’t just write your name or your company name. Add keywords related to your niche instead. For example:
Jane Doe | Tax Consultant | Financial Planning
Your username can be your company name alone because it becomes the @handle.
For your bio, you will want to write a call to action first if you have any free resource you want people to grab, and then write the rest of your regular bio, making sure you are including keywords from the list you just made.
Fill in the details of your website URL because that will show up next to your bio and people can click on it from your profile. Eventually, you’ll want to verify it too. Now you have the call to action in your banner, your bio, and your website available for visitors.
5. Create SEO-Relevant Boards by Categories
From your list of content categories and the keywords you found for them, you are going to create boards for each one of them, not only as a way to keep your content organized but as a way to help Pinterest understand where your content should be displayed.
Someone in the marketing niche could have boards related to “email marketing” and “social media marketing,” for example.
6. Create and Post Pins Consistently
You’ll need to put out content on a daily or weekly basis depending on how much content you currently have. The content you post will be found by your ideal client, and it will make them want to learn more about you and what you have to offer.
It won’t be necessary to create one piece of content for every day. You can repurpose posts, reels, and my favorite: create Pins that look different but are linked to the same blog post or sales page in a way that it seems like you have a lot going on, but you’re not actually getting burnout by reinventing the wheel.
7. Review Your Metrics Periodically
Understanding your metrics, which you find as “Analytics” on Pinterest, will help you understand what your audience is responding best to, some specific type of content that they tend to interact more with or even click through, helping you grow even more.
Know what your Pinterest audience enjoys most and give them what already draws them in.
Some Beginner Pinterest Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
You don’t have to DIY your Pinterest marketing if you don’t want to, but if you do, let me make sure you don’t make these beginner mistakes that could cost you time, leads, and sales in the long run.
Treating Pinterest Like Social Media
Even though the platform might sound a bit similar to social media, it’s important to understand that Pinterest and social media are NOT the same thing, and they have different content formats and growth requirements.
It’s equally important to mention that social media content has a shorter lifespan while your content on Pinterest is evergreen and keeps bringing traffic years after posting it, which is why a recommended practice is to post and redirect to links that will always be available rather than flash offers.
Trying to Find Your Strategy From Google
Sadly, whenever you try to Google your Pinterest strategy, you may find outdated information due to the fact that Google is still pulling it from old blog posts regarding Pinterest marketing back in the day.
So don’t try to Google how many Pins to post per day because not only will it give you an answer you don’t like, it will be the wrong one on top of that.
Posting Content Without Keywords
If you don’t place keywords on your Pin titles and descriptions, Pinterest won’t understand what your content is about and where it should appear when it comes to search results. If you skip this crucial step, your Pins will likely go completely unnoticed.
Posting the Wrong Format
Pinterest favors vertical image or video Pins and sometimes square ones. However, while performing account audits, I’ve seen some people posting horizontal images or videos that don’t fit in naturally with the Pinterest feed, a strong reason they don’t go anywhere.
Creating Boards That Seem Random
Many people create boards with the name of their brand or a specific offer, but because those are not often specific things that Pinterest users search for, Pinterest can’t understand where that content is supposed to go. Hence, the content inside these boards tends to see limited reach or none at all.
It’s better to create boards about things that your audience would be interested in.
Expecting Instant Results
Since Pinterest content has a longer lifespan, it also takes a bit longer to bring in the desired results.
You could post a piece of content and see nothing going on for the first weeks, only to see it take off after a while and then continue to bring in evergreen leads to your website.
Ignoring and Neglecting Your Metrics
If you don’t pay attention to your stats, you won’t know what type of content or which specific subjects bring your ideal client into your world, or which pieces of content perform better based on the boards that they belong to or the keywords you are using for them.
It is an unwritten rule that you should wait at least 90 days before taking them into consideration.
Please give your account enough time to gather enough data before making a decision with your content strategy.
Alright, I know this was a long one and it might seem to be a lot, but the good news is you can have your Pinterest taken care of by a Pinterest strategist like yours truly.
If Pinterest marketing got you curious but feels like one more thing on your plate, feel free to reach out.
About Pao Palafox
Pao Palafox is a Pinterest marketing strategist and manager for coaches, service providers, and creators, helping business owners attract their ideal audience and clients from the platform.
Want Pao to take a look at your Pinterest strategy?
Pao currently offers a free 30-minute Pinterest strategy mini-session and 1:1 Pinterest audit.
Book a Free Pinterest Strategy Mini-Session Connect With Pao on LinkedInA Final Note From Jennie
There’s a reason I wanted Pao to teach this here.
When a marketing strategy isn’t turning into results, the answer isn’t automatically, “I need to make myself do it more consistently.”
First ask whether the strategy fits.
Does your audience use the platform? Does the way the platform works match the kind of content you already create? Can you realistically maintain it? Can the work be repurposed or delegated? And does the strategy support the way people actually find and buy from you?
Pinterest may pass those tests for your business. It may not.
But that decision should come before deciding that your inability to execute another marketing tactic means something is wrong with you.
Sometimes you have an execution block. Sometimes you have the wrong strategy.
Knowing which problem you’re solving matters.
Suggested Reading
Why Your “Strategy” Is Actually Preventing Sales
How to tell when more strategy is helping and when strategy itself has become the thing keeping you from getting useful market feedback.
How Do I Know If I Have an Execution Block?
A practical way to separate a strategy problem from a true execution block before you spend more time fixing the wrong thing.
