There’s a lot of good Pinterest marketing advice available online. There’s also a lot of bad Pinterest marketing advice. But the worst of all is the Pinterest marketing advice you have to pay to access, but it’s so basic and generic you could’ve Googled it for free and learned more.
That’s why I’m here. I’m sharing everything you need to know about the Pinterest marketing basics in one place to save you from hours of Google deep dives or hundreds of dollars in wasted course purchases.
Of course, if I tried to put everything I know about Pinterest marketing in one blog, you’d be scrolling forever. So we’re boiling it down to the basics. If this were a college class, it would be just the FIRST week or two of Pinterest Marketing Basics 101.
Throughout the post, I’ll be sharing links to other blogs and resources if you want to dive deeper into any of the topics!
(I’m dying to know — has anyone ever talked about Pinterest in a college class before? I’m guessing no, but I’m willing to be surprised!)
Without further ado, Professor Sarah’s reporting for duty and class is in session!
What is Pinterest Marketing?
Pinterest marketing is exactly what it sounds like — it’s using Pinterest to market your business.
Primarily, Pinterest marketing is a top-of-funnel marketing platform. It’s what businesses use to build brand awareness, attract new audiences, and begin generating leads.
It’s less focused on closing sales and building relationships, but on reaching more people and bringing them into your marketing funnel.
Whoa whoa whoa… let’s take a few steps back, actually. I don’t want to assume anything (because you know what they say about assuming…)
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is “a visual discovery engine for finding ideas.” (Straight from the horse’s mouth itself.)
You can search for inspiration, browse topics, and save things you love to categories within your Pinterest account called boards. The primary content vehicle on Pinterest is called “pins” and they can be an image, video, or product.
Pinterest is all about ideas and connecting users with the content they’re looking for.
Pinterest also brands itself as the “positive social media platform” and is focused on cultivating a safe, encouraging place for creativity.
What is Marketing?
Marketing is, generally, the act of promoting and selling products and services. While the concept of marketing often includes advertising, for the purposes of this Pinterest marketing introduction, I’m going to focus on organic marketing — marketing tactics that don’t include paid advertisements.
Pinterest Marketing Basics for Businesses
How does Pinterest work for businesses?
Pinterest works for businesses by giving them another channel with which to reach audiences. Pinterest is also a great traffic-driver for online businesses, as clicking on a pin to land on another website is the expected (and encouraged) user interaction.
Unlike other social media platforms, Pinterest encourages users to leave the platform and offers plenty of opportunities for businesses to lead their audience to their website.
What businesses can benefit from Pinterest marketing?
Most businesses that have some online component can benefit from Pinterest marketing. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
- E-commerce businesses
- Service providers (online and in-person)
- Course creators
- Digital product sellers
- Bloggers, influencers, and content creators
The benefit you see from Pinterest marketing in your business depends on your particular business goals and target audience. Some industries are more suited to Pinterest than others, but there aren’t any immediate disqualifications.
The only types of businesses I would caution away from Pinterest are brick-and-mortar shops that don’t have any way of monetizing online. It’s harder to target specific locations on Pinterest than it is on Instagram or TikTok, so if you’re trying to find a hyperlocal audience, Pinterest might not be the best place to put your effort.
Why should I use Pinterest marketing for my business?
There are endless reasons to market your brand on Pinterest, but you can condense the biggest ones into the “3 S’s”:
- Search: Pinterest’s search-driven algorithm means you don’t have to rely on having a large, established following to get visible on the platform.
- Span: Pinterest content lasts practically forever, with each pin having the potential to drive traffic to your site for weeks, months, or even years!
- Spend: Pinterest users browse with intent, which makes them more motivated buyers.
Getting Started with Pinterest Marketing
There are two crucial things to understand about Pinterest before you start using it to market your business — Pinterest SEO and your Pinterest audience.
What is Pinterest SEO?
Pinterest SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your content to make it discoverable by search engines (in this case, Pinterest), which is done by using relevant keywords (the words and phrases your audience is searching on the platform).
What keywords should I use?
To figure out which keywords you should use to optimize your Pinterest content for Pinterest SEO, you should start with keyword research.
I’ve outlined the entire process of keyword research for you, but as a refresher, you’ll want to use the Pinterest search bar to see what search terms are suggested for the topics of your content and offers. Those are your keywords; use them everywhere!
Who is your Pinterest audience?
Understanding your target audience is one thing, but understanding how that audience functions on Pinterest is another.
Pinterest users are typically searching for specific inspiration, ideas, and solutions. That makes them more likely to take action, but only if they’re convinced that your content/product is the right solution for their problem.
The biggest difference between your audience on Pinterest and elsewhere is that your Pinterest audience doesn’t care about you or your brand. That means you have to lead with value and create content that nurtures your audience through every stage on the path to purchase.
Here’s even more reasons why your Pinterest audience matters.
Setting Up Your Pinterest Business Account
If you’re using Pinterest marketing for your business, you need to have a Pinterest business account. And to make the most of it, you should optimize that account for discoverability.
Follow this Pinterest account setup roadmap to get your foundation squared away and in tip-top shape!
TL;DR? Or you didn’t wanna trade your email for the guide? Fair. Here’s the simplified version:
✅ Create a new business account or convert your personal account to a business account
✅ Claim your website domain
✅ Give your profile a title with your brand name and a keyword
✅ Add a keyword-rich bio to tell users what you do, who you help, and why they should stick around
✅ Make sure your profile picture and header image are on-brand and clear
✅ Create at least 5-10 SEO-optimized boards to categorize your future or existing content
Now that you’ve done your research and optimized your account, it’s time to start actually creating the Pinterest content. That’s what’s actually going to be marketing for you, not just having the account in general.
Best Practices for Pinterest Content
What are pins?
According to Pinterest, “Pins are visual bookmarks that people use to save content they love.”
As a business marketing on Pinterest, pins are the images you’ll share to promote your content and/or products.
Pins contain the following elements:
- Pin media (image or video)
- Pin title
- Pin description
- Pin link
Your goal in creating pins is likely going to be to get users to take action by clicking through to your website and then taking a subsequent action such as reading your blog post, signing up for your email list, purchasing a product, etc.
Generally speaking, you don’t care as much about building engagement on Pinterest itself. That’s why every pin you create should include a link back to your website.
Pinterest pins are ways of promoting other things — blog posts, lead magnets, products, services, anything, so think of them like that and less of content created just for the platform.
What content can I pin to?
The primary type of content I recommend pinning is blogs. That’s because blogs are one of the most valuable forms of content marketing and it’s a free way to educate your audience while building trust with them. That trust is essential to making a future sale or client.
You don’t have to just pin to blogs, though. You can even use Pinterest marketing for your business without blogging at all!
Here are some other things you can pin to other than blogs:
- Podcast episodes/show notes
- YouTube videos
- Newsletter sign-up forms
- Product + sales pages
- Website pages
- Lead magnet landing pages
- Portfolio projects
If you are blogging, this is how to optimize those blog posts for Pinterest.
Of course, it’s not just as simple as throwing up an image and calling it a day. Great pins have two things in common: scroll-stopping pin design and keyword-rich pin copy. Here’s what you need to know to accomplish that.
How do I design good pins?
- Use a vertical format with at least a 2:3 ratio. Longer is fine, shorter isn’t advised.
- Make sure your text is easy to read by using clear, high-contrast fonts. Remember most users are seeing your pins on the mobile app, and those images are small.
- Keep your branding consistent by sticking to the same fonts, colors, and elements.
- Incorporate multiple different pin styles.
How do I write good pin titles?
- Keep your pin titles clear and make sure to include at least one focus keyword.
- Make the most of the 100-character limit.
- Vary your pin titles on pins to the same piece of content to test different keywords and formats.
How do I write good pin descriptions?
- Make your descriptions descriptive (duh), and keyword-rich for the robots.
- Prioritize keywords over hashtags.
- Write in natural sentences and don’t keyword stuff (this one’s for the humans).
- Use as many relevant keywords as possible, including multiple long-tail variations of your focus keyword.
- Give users a reason to click through to your link. Include a call to action, yes, but also tell them why they should want to take that action.
So you have your account set up, you’ve done your keyword research, and you’ve created your pins… now what?
Let’s go over a few more Pinterest marketing basics before I send you off into the virtual sunset.
Pinterest Marketing Basics You Need to Know
1. Space out your pinning schedule
Instead of posting all your pins on one day and then disappearing for a month, spread those pins out over the course of a week or more. The rule of thumb I always advise is to only share a specific URL once per day, but you can experiment at your own risk.
2. Engagement isn’t necessary
No more worrying about keeping up with comments or DMs. Most Pinterest users aren’t on the platform to connect, so you can just do your thing, post in peace, and then log off (if you want).
3. You can call in your particular audience
If you feel like your content is generic or you really want to reach a particular type of person, create content that specifically calls that person out! Make it evident in your pin graphics, text, and profile exactly who you’re speaking to. And if you speak to multiple groups of people, you can still call them out specifically, you’ll just create multiple pins!
4. Repinning other people’s content won’t hurt you, but it won’t help you either
Feel free to use Pinterest as you would normally! Save content you like, but don’t do it because you think it’ll boost your own account; it won’t. With that in mind, it’s also not worth your time to repin your own content. You’re better off creating new pins for that content and pinning those. Pinterest is all about fresh, original content.
The Most Important Thing to Know About Pinterest Marketing Basics for Business
You don’t have to follow anyone else’s way of doing things. No two businesses market the exact same way on Pinterest and get the same results. I’ve given you an overview of the Pinterest marketing basics as they stand in 2024 from what I’ve seen work across dozens of client accounts.
But you don’t have to take me at my word. If you want to do more research or try different things, please do! I fully believe that the best way to see Pinterest marketing success is by experimenting and testing different things. Copying someone else’s strategy, designs, copy, or workflow isn’t going to work for you, though.
As the tarot readers on my TikTok FYP always say — take what resonates, leave what doesn’t.
And if you’re considering investing in any sort of Pinterest resource, whether that’s one of mine or someone else’s, do your research first. Make sure it’s right for you. You can always send me a message on Instagram or via email and I’ll be the first to tell you my honest opinions, pinky promise and cross my heart.
