Pinterest has emerged as one of the prominent platforms to reach out to consumers and build brand recall. It seems to fly under-the-radar when it comes to digital marketing media chatter as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter steal all the headlines. It has garnered over 270 million monthly active users and has a uniquely weighted demographics audience.
Here are some Pinterest marketing strategies that you must use to reach out to your audience :
1) Get the basics right:
Your Pinterest content will do best if it’s optimized for Pinterest. The ideal aspect ratio for a Pin is 2:3. This means a tall image, for instance, a 1000-pixel-by-1500-pixel image. To calculate aspect ratio, you should be able to divide the width by two and the height by three and end up with the same answer. For instance, in our 1,000-by-1,500 example, the division would have got us to 500.
The max file size which can be uploaded is 10 megabytes in a JPEG or PNG format. You get only 100 characters for a pin title and another 500 characters for the pin description. It’s important to note: the first 50-60 characters of the description are likely to show up in the feed. So, remember to use that space wisely.
(Here’s another pro-tip: While it might not be named specifically in the Pinterest guidelines, you can upload animated GIFs to your Pinterest board for some added zest, humor, or engagement)
Switching gears to video, here are some basics that have to be followed for a Pinterest video:
- the maximum length of a video can go up to 15 minutes
- minimum length of a video is 4 seconds
The file can be a .mp4 or a .mov but the size must be less than 2 GBs. A couple of different shapes work best — basically, just not wide, landscape videos. Pinterest recommends square videos — a 1:1 aspect ratio — or vertical video at a 2:3 aspect ratio or a 9:16 aspect ratio.
2) Focus on the vibe:
Pinterest is one of the go-to places for planning, so the network sees a sharp uptick in usage around big moments. Say, a Diwali party or Thanksgiving or New Year’s, such calendar spots are opportunities for you to get in front of an even bigger audience and maximize your reach and resources. Pinterest has a downloadable “possibilities planner” that covers a bunch of these seasonal moments which are on the vibe. Upcoming dates and events on the Pinterest content calendar for 2019 can act as a great social media calendar for your brand and help you plan your brand communication in advance.
3) Make a short video:
Brands have been posting videos on Pinterest for a couple of years now and data proves that the best videos are the shortest ones. The ideal length of a Pinterest video should be between 6 to 15 seconds.
Just like we’ve seen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, a huge majority of users browse their feeds with the sound off. If you’re using a video on Pinterest, be sure to have the visuals speak for themselves or use captions with a text overlay to explain your message.
Pinterest uses cover images to help your video reach the right audience. According to the data collected by Pinterest, the most engaging videos are storytelling videos. Hunter, a rain gear brand, saw a 30% increase in branded searches when they used the Pinterest video for their launch.
4) Optimize your Pinterest ads with Tags:
Just like the other Digital marketing network trackers, Pinterest Tag allows you to follow the behavior of the people who click from your Pinterest ads and come to your website. You can see how they navigate through your website and whether or not they convert. A majority of brands have shifted to Enhanced Match, a plug-in which gives you the chance to capture a lot more — like situations when cookies aren’t present or check the returns on your ad spend and navigating your customer journey.
5) Try max-width video ads:
Pinterest uses a couple of different strategies to ensure that videos show up on the feed every now and then. There’s the standard-width video — these are the ones we just discussed, where they can be either square or vertical.
That’s not it, there are also max-width videos. They span the width of two columns in the Pinterest grid. And, they are really eye-catching! Here’s where you can really embrace your widescreen — these videos can be used for launch advertisements and announcements of products.
6) Use the right hashtags:
Pinners use hashtags to find trending topics and index them to search the site. Unlike other networks, Pinterest hashtags aren’t necessarily funny or tongue-in-cheek — they’re best used when they’re descriptive and specific. You can use up to 20 hashtags in your description, and if you’re stuck on what to use, rely on Autocomplete. It is a great tool to find the right hashtags to add.
Pinterest is emerging as one of the most powerful platforms for mass dissemination of brand information. So, the next time you’re planning a social media strategy, make sure to use this application to your benefit!
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