Has your female or minority owned business developed a Pinterest marketing strategy? If the answer is no, it’s time to up your social media game. It’s easy to overlook Pinterest as a silly scrapbook for sharing food, fashion, and furniture ideas. However, Pinterest is a powerful, low cost and very effective platform for influencing people’s purchasing decisions and about 1/3 of Americans have an account and use it monthly. It is an effective marketing tool especially when it comes to women as well as minority businesses as a majority of Pinterest users are females and/or minorities.
Pinterest has hundreds of million active users monthly. Over 70% of the users are women from all races; Black, Latina, Asian, White, etc. Thanks to repinning, Pinterest pins stay spreadable over 1,600 times longer than Facebook posts. Pinterest helps marketers attract more eyeballs for better brand awareness and conversions (a.k.a sales). Since a majority of users or women, including Black women, Latinas, or Asians, it is a very effective tool for disadvantaged businesses. Here are 11 essential Pinterest marketing tips to reach your target audience and drive website traffic, and most of these tips are free to implement for your business.
1. Make a Pinterest Business Account for Your Minority or Women Owned Business
Using this social media platform for monetary gains requires a Pinterest Business account. Don’t test the terms of service by keeping a personal Pinterest account for marketing your minority or women owned company. Converting an existing account to Pinterest Business takes just one click on the “Edit Settings” screen. What are the benefits of Pinterest Business profiles?
Businesses can spread free promoted pins and access the Ads Manager tool. Pinterest Business accounts will also expand your performance analytics know-how. Dashboards come alive with statistics on pin clicks or saves and website traffic.
2. Select Strong SEO Key Phrases / Keywords
Pinterest has a built-in search feature to locate relevant boards. Search engine optimization (SEO) is as important for Pinterest as Google and Bing. Optimize your Pinterest profile with keywords galore. Conduct Pinterest keyword research to find popular search terms in your niche for your business. You can also focus on keywords or phrases or SEO for social causes, Black or Latino owned businesses, LGBTQ causes, and more. This can help you differentiate you when it comes to Pinterest SEO.
Avoid short-tail keywords or phrases that are too broad. One-word phrases like “fitness” or “dinner” are overused and saturated. Scatter specific, long-tail keywords across your bio, boards, and pinned content. “Long tail” may be something like “Beauty products for women of color” or “Home buying for Latinos”. They are more specific phrases that can help disadvantaged businesses gain visitors. Getting discovered by SEO keywords is the key to amassing a Pinterest following. If you need help for your minority or women owned business around SEO (whether for Pinterest or online store), there is free SEO advice available too. Find where to get free Search Engine Consultations from non-profits.
3. Bridge Your Brand Between Websites and Social Media Platforms
Pinterest profiles shouldn’t be isolated islands away from your brand’s other pages. Linking Pinterest to your website and other social media accounts, including Instagram, which will boost your organic internet traffic for free. As the more social network options you use for your female or minority owned business the better. Or even find tips on how to use Instagram for your small business.
Head to the Pinterest settings menu again. On the left side, click the “Claim Your Website” button. Input your web address and confirm that it’s valid. Next, copy the provided code for your website header. Users can now travel effortlessly between your Pinterest page and website. Remember to also connect to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Etsy, and other accounts for the greatest online visibility.
4. Take Advantage of Rich Pins
Despite their name, rich pins don’t require big bucks. They can therefore be a great use of marketing dollars for small, minority and women owned businesses. These Pinterest pins are rich in knowledge, not money. They can often lead to a decent return on your investment. This is why they are a great option for small business with limited resources, as many minority, veteran, Black and female companies have limited financial resources.
Rich pins give Pinterest users more information than a standard pin. Having extra real estate to share product descriptions can attract website traffic. Rich pins tell product specs, including real-time pricing and inventory levels. How do rich pins work? Pinterest pins must be marked up with meta tags like structured data. Rich pins also require submitting a formal Pinterest application. The hard work frequently pays off since Pinterest amplifies rich pins to audience members.
5. Allow In-App Pinterest Purchases
Pinterest launched an embedded e-commerce feature called “Shop the Look.” These pins cover Pinterest photos in clickable white dots to buy shown products. For example, an small business that has an online home goods store could post a living room picture with dots on the couch, coffee table, and curtains. Shop the Look can be a great tool to drive potential sales to the shopping cart of a minority or female owned small business. This form of image social media can be a great tool for Home Decor businesses.
Pinterest users would simply tap their mouse or finger to add items to their shopping carts. “Shop the Look” pins transport Pinterest users directly to your website’s checkout page. Highlight your business’s similar or related products at checkout to increase shopping cart sizes.
6. Craft Picture-Perfect, Pin-Worthy Images of your Women or Minority Company
Besides Instagram, Pinterest is perhaps the most visually stimulating social media site. Pinterest pins won’t garner much attention without eye-catching graphics. Pinterest users pass right over pins with poor-quality pictures. Your brand must outpace competitors with pin-worthy photos. This fact allows Black, Latino, LGBTQ and other small businesses to show their diversity and uniqueness.
Customize your Pinterest Business content with vivid, vertical images. Free web tools like Canva, Snappa, and Stencil make Pinterest graphic design easy. Pair high-definition visuals with big, bold headline text in appealing colors. Always include your web address on the image to keep picture pirates from stealing content. Or turn to a minority owned graphic design business for assistance.
7. Think Before Writing Pin Descriptions
Each Pinterest pin can be accompanied by up to 500 characters. Viral pins are typically 200 to 300 characters long. That’s because people can share shorter pins on social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. As small businesses that are women or minority owned will want to also use those other social media platforms at the same time.
How can you maximize your pin description’s impact with fewer words? Stop and think about the pin’s connection to your brand message. Don’t simply restate the post’s intro paragraph. Highlight key points and entice Pinterest users to click your website link to read more. Track your writing length with a free online character counter. Leave enough characters to add keywords and optional hashtags.
8. Spark Engagement With Calls to Action
Coming across as salesy and smarmy on Pinterest isn’t good. Female and minority owned brands need to be strategic, yet genuine with meaningful Pinterest marketing posts. Pinterest is better for customer engagement than sales pitches. Share useful quips and tips that will positively affect Pinterest users’ lifestyles. Then, build upon the helpful advice with tasteful brand promotions.
Call-to-action (CTA) statements are suggested for every pin. Kindly request that Pinterest users repin or like your content. Ask Pinterest users to please visit your website that highlights your female, veteran, or minority owned business. Or ask users to subscribe to your blog. Encourage Pinterest followers to share pins on other social media pages too.
9. Seek Partnerships With Pinterest Influencers of all Ethnicities
Pinterest has its fair share of social media superstars, including many Latinos, African Americans, LGBTQ influencers, Asians, and veterans among others. Influencers are Pinterest users with thousands or millions of active followers. Research which Pinterest influencers stand out in your unique niche.
For instance, the design world has Pinterest influencers like the female interior designer Maryann Rizzo and Asian photographer Bonnie Tsang. Collaborating with Pinterest influencers can skyrocket your brand’s recognition. Find Asian businesses that you can partner with, including influencers. There are also black owned businesses that may be great Pinterest partners, LGBTQ or others. Use our website to search for them, as free partnerships with small businesses, startups or influencers are all very effective.
Once an influencer sings your praises on Pinterest, their followers will rush to check out your website. How can your brand get noticed by Pinterest influencers? Send a private Pinterest message and partnership proposal. Also, tag your targeted influencers in some pins.
10. Contribute to Group Pinterest Boards
Your Pinterest Business profile for your female or minority owned company shouldn’t hog all the attention for yourself. Don’t be shy about pinning other people’s content. Amplify any high-quality Pinterest posts that would help your target audience. Repin user-generated content that speaks to your brand’s niche. Also, engage with industry influencers on group boards, including women, Asians, veterans, Latinos and people from different ethnicities.
Reach out to Pinterest group board owners for an invitation. After joining, spend time commenting on other group members’ pins. Add reactions, such as the clap or heart emoji. The more your brand engages, the more Pinterest users will see you. Active social media use drives better website traffic.
11. Publish Pinnable Content at Apt Times
Pinterest marketing mandates learning your ideal consumer’s usual online behaviors. When is your target audience most active on Pinterest? For example, teens might hop on Pinterest during the late afternoon after school. Retirees may be early birds with more Pinterest activity around sunrise. The Black or minority small business community may be more likely to engage with social causes. In general, most Pinterest users are online during evenings and weekends.
Test which posting times work best for your brand though. Stick with popular Pinterest times to maximize your visibility. Create a pinning schedule just like your website editorial calendar. Use automated Pinterest tools like Tailwind and Buffer to save time.
Bottom line on using Pinterest for your minority or female owned businesses
Overall, there are many free or low cost Pinterest marketing strategies to attract an online audience. Always finish your Pinterest profile with a professional selfie or business logo. Establish at least 10 Pinterest boards with keyword-rich titles. Embed Pinterest pinning buttons to your website for social media sharing across all platforms.
Utilize Pinterest widgets for users to save content they adore. Invest in Pinterest carousel ads to garner more pin impressions. Develop A/B split tests to determine which Pinterest content gains the most shares too. Use these essential Pinterest marketing tips for better website traffic to your small Black, women, or minority business, and get free more sales conversions and revenue!
By Jon McNamara