What is Pinterest? What is Pinterest mainly used for?

At its very core, Pinterest is a visual search engine. Users (also known as Pinners) can discover content by searching terms (‘floral ceramics’, ‘colourful tablescapes’, ‘Bridgerton inspired hairdos’ and so on) or by searching images. This is because Pinterest will surface either identical pictures or ones that share similarities. This essentially means it’s a gold mine of inspirational content — and now, a shopping haven too.

How to boost your business using pinterest

If you think that Pinterest is simply a scrapbook for garden or wedding planning, a million and one hacks for DIY wallpapering or finding ‘achievable’ twenty-four-tiered cake recipes, then chances are you’re underestimating the power of the Pin.

As a strong visual search engine, Pinterest is the ideal platform to attract new audiences, as humans process visual data 60,000 times faster than text. Whether you're repurposing existing content or creating new visuals, Pinterest can amplify your brand's reach and engagement.

The benefits of Pinterest for business

This mighty visual search engine has a lot to offer your business, but it can be daunting to try and convey your brand consistently or even know where to start. Is it really necessary? Well, according to Pinterest themselves, it takes half as many impressions to convert someone on their platform as it does on others, which means you may see results more quickly than with any of their contemporaries¹.

The best thing about it? You don’t even have to generate new content, it’s highly likely you already have all the imagery you need already. You just need to pin it.

Pinterest: some common Pinterest terms

For anyone new to Pinterest, here are some key terms…

What is a pin for Pinterest?

Pins are essentially bookmarks used to save the static content that users love. They also help convert site traffic. A user can click through the Pin and be directed to your website to learn more or shop.

What's the difference between a Pinterest Idea Pin and a Pin?

Idea Pins are an evolution of Pins to work for video. They empower creators to share long-lasting ideas, not just stories that disappear (like they do on Instagram, for example). They give people more ways to share inspiration and are often used for things like recipes, crafts or trying an idea. They have shoppable tags which make it easy for users to buy and they also show similar items.

What should your ‘title’ be on Pinterest?

If you want to attract users, it helps that your Pin is lovely to look at, but it’s equally important to use a concise and compelling headline (up to 100 characters), to ‘name’ your image and help make it more searchable.

Create Pinterest descriptions that will drive more traffic

A detailed description (up to 500 characters) will help provide context for people, provide SEO value and understand what they’re looking at. Only the first 50-60 characters will appear in users’ feeds, so they really need to work the hardest.

What is a Pinterest board? And how do you use Pinterest boards?

These are the home for your Pins that help you curate your content. It means that users can find and save it more easily. They can follow your individual boards, and you can create as many of these as you like. It’s wise to pull the most relevant ones to the top of your profile to make sure they are the first thing that users see. If it’s Christmas, for example, ensure all your festive content is in prime position.

Can you add descriptions on Pinterest boards?

Just like Pins, you have the option to add more detail about the content of your boards with board descriptions, to help them get served to relevant audiences. It’s a good idea to include keywords, as well as thoughtful and interesting copy, to make sure it’s discoverable and SEO-friendly. Just think of what you would most likely search for around the topic or start typing something relevant into Pinterest to see the most popular words or phrases that come up and emulate those.

How small businesses can use Pinterest

• Why not take a scroll through your general Pinterest feed?
• What is it that jumps out at you?
• Why is it worth saving?
• Is it because the image inspires you?
• Does it answer a question you have?
• Is it because it’s video footage not a still image?

If the answer to any of these is ‘yes’, then you’ve just hit on the kind of things you should be Pinning.

How to successfully post on Pinterest

When posting on Pinterest, stay relevant. Nerd up on trends. Pinners are planners so get all your Christmas content up in July, for example. Post spring hacks in November and try and get a feel for what people are searching for in general (ie. don’t miss out on seasons, special days or holidays). Visit Pinterest Predicts to find out all their latest insight and trends.

If you’re struggling to work out how to curate your content, you could create your boards around your brand or its unique story. At Holly & Co, we don’t just focus on seasonal events, but the missions that inspire us and our core company values. If it helps, have a browse of our Pinterest to see how we have done it, and look at others, too.

Should I post videos on Pinterest? Do videos perform well on Pinterest?

Video always performs best as it appears at the top of the screen and also as it moves, it catched the eye. Can you repurpose story content you have from IG maybe? Think click-baity, enjoyable content that’s easy to digest — a ‘how to’, an introduction, a recipe or even your top products per category or occasion perhaps. Also it’s a good idea to use the Ideas Pins interface on your phone as, much like with Instagram, it has built-in fonts, stickers and filters you can use to really bring your content to life. The main thing is to keep the feel of it consistent so people can easily spot your brand.

A great way of doing this is to consider how you can use your brand toolkit to tell your story visually. Everything you post should reflect the magic of this. One of the key things to remember is that colourful Pins work well so think how you can surface this within your own style. It doesn’t have to just be bold, bright colours, but those that tonally work well together so you get a clear ‘look’.

How to repurpose content for Pinterest

As mentioned earlier, you don’t even need to create ‘new’ content. It’s a great idea to repurpose your wonderful imagery, GIFs or videos that already exist. This will help create consistency across your channels and save time. Blog posts, your products or behind-the-scenes insights are all perfect Pinterest fodder.

Keep the images as simple as you can. The Pinterest platform combines text and copy, so if you imagine a grid of IG photos plus a title and then a mini description, let your image do the talking to grab someone’s attention

Using Pinterest for business: key takeaways…

For small businesses, Pinterest is a valuable platform to repurpose content, attract customers and boost sales. Plus it's user-friendly, inspiring and free to use, making it a must-visit platform for quick inspiration (but beware of getting lost in creative cake ideas).

1. Use high quality images and video:

Make sure that the images and videos you use are high resolution, in focus and are the best representation of your brand. Think video-first too as this is most likely to attract attention and consider your layout.

2. Choose your words wisely:

Much like Google, well-worded descriptions can improve your SEO, so it’s worth investing extra time to add content to all your images and have a clear call to action (CTA) to encourage users to click on links.

3. Ensure all links work:

Broken links are very annoying for users so always double-check yours work. Also mix things up. Use video and try Ideas Pins to engage a wider audience.