Last year, Pinterest reported that 60 percent of pinners say the platform has influenced their home decor purchase decisions. To capture their attention and convert pins to sales, it’s important to put your best foot forward.
“If you’re putting something out there, you want to make the most of it,” says Taylor Larson, Content Producer at Ignite Social Media, “and it really makes you look more credible as a business when your Pinterest presence is well thought out and actually looks good.”
So what makes for an optimized “pin?” Here’s what’s important.
Optimizing a Pinterst image
• Images need to be as high-quality as possible. Pinterest is a visual-first platform, so your photos need to be striking, bright and colorful. Avoid dark or low-resolution images.
• Use lifestyle shots rather than stock images or plain product photos. Larson says an image of a sofa in a styled room will help viewers envision the product in their space and discern if it fits their style. An image of a sofa on a white background doesn’t do much to help pinners connect with the product. “It’s definitely more inspiring if you have some sort of context around what you’re selling,” Larson says. “You’re creating a story with it.”
• Image sizing is important: Mercedes Ward, Client Service Manager at SoMe Connect, says vertical photos perform best on mobile, where 80 percent of users are pinning. The ideal aspect ratio is 2:3, or 600x900 pixels. Ward says square images at 600x600 pixels also perform well.
• On-image text should be easy to read and concise. Larson cautions that text should be minimal so the image isn’t obscured. Any text should be large enough to read on mobile. To create pins with on-image text, Larson recommends using Canva.com, a free graphic design site that has user-friendly Pinterest templates.
Optimizing Pinterest text
• Keywords matter. They help Pinterest categorize your content and help pinners find it based on their search terms. You can find trending keywords by entering terms in the search bar of Pinterest itself. Pinterest will autofill with the most popular keywords. Go for specificity: “Rustic Edison bulb sconce” will probably perform better than “sconce.” Make sure your keywords and description specifically relate to the content of your pin — if they don’t, you won’t attract the right visitors.
• Don’t give everything away in your description. Ward says especially if you’re using Pinterest to drive traffic to your site, you want to give your reader just enough information to entice them to click the image.
• Use a call-to-action at the end of your description. Ward says that can be as simple as “buy here,” “learn more” or “check out our site for more.”
• Use up to 20 hashtags. These should be keywords that people would search to find your pin. Ward cautions to make sure hashtags are broad search terms related to your content rather than humorous ones you might see on Instagram.
How are you using Pinterest to connect with customers? Share with us in the comments!
