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How To Sell More With Free Traffic From Pinterest for Ecommerce?

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by
Aleksandra -
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Chief of Content Marketing
Aleksandra teaches marketing and management at various levels in High School. She writes about marketing, the economics and logistics of the dropshipping business and ecommerce in general.
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Chief of Content Marketing
13 minutes

Are you surprised by the title you read? Well don’t be, because as strange as it sounds, it is true! Pinterest for ecommerce? Exactly! What you need is a well-established Pinterest strategy for ecommerce.

In a digital landscape saturated with content, Pinterest stands out as a unique and powerful tool for marketers. With its focus on inspiration and discovery, Pinterest offers a refreshing approach to online marketing that can help businesses connect with their audience in a meaningful way.

With over 86 million monthly active users in 2024 and billions of almost double virtual pins, the platform leads thousands of visitors to eCommerce websites every day. Plus, this visual discovery network is one of the most-visited websites in the United States.

Moreover, Pinterest for ecommerce by itself is an appealing potential since Pinterest marketing is around $4.30 in sales. — greater than any other social media site with a marketplace.

Let’s dive into the world of Pinterest and explore why it’s becoming an increasingly popular choice for savvy marketers seeking to elevate their brand presence.

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What Is Pinterest And Why Do People Use It?

Just as its name refers to – “ pin your interest”, at its core, Pinterest is a social platform designed for people to share creative photos, and find inspirations and ideas for their interests.

Thus, when someone has an idea they want to share, they may create a Pin (picture) that other users can search for and find. A fantastic feature of a Pin is that you can attach a link to it, making it ideal for generating traffic to your eCommerce site.

The platform’s features and abilities have developed and changed alongside it. Women continue to compose the majority of users, or, 80% of Pinterest users are female. But, men, more particularly dads, also use Pinterest to check on some ideas to do with their kids.

Not only elders but also millennials, around 18-29 years old, use Pinterest for many reasons. 

On the other hand, Pinterest is now a platform for eCommerce businesses to communicate with customers and produce more purchases. If you can specialize in Pinterest for eCommerce, you will have a great chance to increase visitors to your site and boost sales. 

Did you know that the majority of Pinterest users use pins for product discovery and that 87% have purchased a product as a result of Pinterest?

If you’re ready to improve your marketing strategy to compete with other dropshippers in your sector, now is the time to learn how to leverage Pinterest for eCommerce. Sounds interesting? Let’s learn!

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How To Attract Free Traffic To Your Dropshipping Store with Pinterest for Ecommerce? 

And yes, here we are, popping up the most important question – How to attract free traffic to your dropshipping store from Pinterest?

There are various tips and practices you can use.  Of, course there are two options to drive traffic on Pinterest, just like on any other social media: organic and paid. However, organic traffic has shown itself as way better, and cheaper. So let’s find out, what you should do to attract traffic organically.

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Set up your Pinterest Business Profile

set up pinterest

The first step would be creating a business profile instead of a personal page because in this way you will seem more legit to users.

Moreover, there are a few things you should consider like adding a logo, business name, username, business email, etc. 

Next, tell a short story about your business and what you are doing, and more importantly, don’t forget to add a link to your website, Instagram, and YouTube account ( if you have one),  so people can visit.

Visitors to your profile will be able to access your social networks from there, as well as provide you with extra information about each pin.

Establish a Pinterest Marketing Strategy 

If you want to succeed in marketing on Pinterest, you first need to determine your goals, target audience, and opportunities.

Specific goals help you understand what has to be done. It also keeps you organized and assists you in developing more effective methods. But, those specific goals need to lead you to:

  • Increase brand awareness
  • Improve engagement
  • Reach new audience on Pinterest

For example, a specific goal might be to increase the customer base by 10% until September 2024.

Furthermore, you should research your target audience demographics, and build an image, tone, and voice that they would like to see, and hear.

According to Statista, 77% of Pinterest users in the US are women, other 23% are men. Moreover, 38% of them are between 50-64 years old, 34% of Pinterest users are aged between 30-49 years old, and 32% of them are between 18-29 years old.  

Create 5+ Different Pinterest Boards For Your Account

pinterest for ecommerce

A Pinterest Board is a collection of Pins that are focused on a specific topic. Boards are an excellent method to interact with your audience or promote your product.

The goal is to leverage your boards to market a lifestyle rather than just your brand/products.

As a result, it is preferable to create at least 5 Pinterest boards. Do not only pin your products!

Want to learn about how to create Pinterest boards? Check it out here.

Add Valuable Content to Your Boards

pinterest content

The first and most important is to create valuable content for users. Or, in other words, give them content that shows something, instead of just posting your product.

For example, if you are selling clothes, present them photos of combinations that this product might fit because people here are searching for inspiration at first!

Another Pinterest strategy for eCommerce is the way you share visuals. We highly recommend you diversify the types of photos you post.

Let’s say, you are selling formal dresses, and users are searching for ideas for an upcoming event. Based on their previous searches and interest, your domain quality, pin quality, etc., additional images appear, and users want to explore more.  

When your products stand out from the crowd, they have a greater chance of capturing the user’s attention.

Also, digital marketers think that visual content is the most important thing for customer retention.

Not only is more stimulating than any other type of communication, but the human brain processes visuals way more quickly.

Use different types of content

Furthermore, don’t forget to post different types of content, like, blog posts, videos, product updates, etc., and sort it out properly.

pinterest for ecommerce

Moreover, using product pins has also been shown as a good technique when promoting content that is selling something.

Product pins feature images or videos of specific products that drive people to the website for purchase. These are the most popular sorts of pins and will easily provide you with the best ROI.

These pins have been upgraded with metadata and structured to indicate that they are shoppable on Pinterest. So, if a pin is the most popular product on Pinterest, it can be presented with “Popular” text, and if the product is the most purchased  it can say “Bestseller.

👉 Check out the 15 Best Shopify Blog Examples To Double Your Organic Traffic.

pinterest for ecommerce

Adding links that lead your pins improves your SEO results a lot! Wondering how?

Each link you add to a PIN you create provides another backlink to your website, which means your dropshipping business will rise in the Google rankings and people will find you organically through Google.

You should include links to your website in your Pinterest posts for individuals who want to learn more about the product. This is why Pinterest for eCommerce is such an effective passive acquisition tool for potential consumers and website visitors.

Keep in mind to avoid using link shorteners in your Pinterest descriptions. When a Pinterest user clicks on a shortened link, they frequently get a spam notice. This creates tension for the user, who is less motivated to visit your site as a result of the perceived security risk.

Write SEO-optimized descriptions

Don’t forget about Search Engine Optimization! Just like on any other social media, Google search plays an important role in bringing traffic to your Pinterest eCommerce business profile.

First, do some research to find out what keywords your target audience looks for to get as much referral traffic as possible.

Then, create a Pinterest keyword plan that includes the sorts of photos you’ll pin and the keywords you’ll use with each category.

For example, for my Pinterest for eCommerce, I personally use AI tools like ChatGPT to help me write SEO-friendly descriptions. So, let’s try it out.

💡 Tip: Use your keywords in your Pin descriptions and board titles.

Determine a Publishing Schedule

You probably think there’s an unwritten rule about how much, or when to post on Pinterest.

Well, there are many unwritten rules about it, but the most important one is to post continuously. You should always look out for optimization because if you pin a little you will lose followers, but if you pin a lot you get the same scenario.

Some marketers say it is best to post around 2-5 pins, but others say that 15-25 is good too.  We recommend you try it out by yourself by posting a few times a week and following your reach, engagement, impressions, etc.

Pay attention to Pinterest Analytics 

Pinterest Analytics helps you review your performance on Pinterest, through the following metrics results:

  • Engagements
  • Impressions
  • Outbound clicks
  • Pin clicks
  • Video views
  • Total playtime
  • Save rate
  • Total engaged audience

Having this information can help you improve the content you present and the way you do it.

Best Businesses And Niches For Pinterest For Ecommerce

Many companies, particularly online retailers, dropshippers, etc.,  offering tangible products that can be photographed, have the most potential to benefit from Pinterest.

In general, business-to-consumer (B2C) companies have a more straightforward way on Pinterest than business-to-business (B2B) companies, but that doesn’t imply that B2B can’t find success on the platform.

Furthermore, Taking into consideration the fact that most of the customer base on Pinterest are women, it’s no surprise that one of the most popular niches there are Fashion and Beauty. However, there are a lot of others, like:

  • Food
  • Auto
  • Home Decor
  • Antiques & collectibles
  • Travel

However, this doesn’t mean that only these few niches are successful in driving traffic on Pinterest for ecommerce. Of, course these are the most searched ones and have an easier chance to succeed, for any others you just need a great established Pinterest strategy for ecommerce. 

Top 5 Dropshipping Businesses Using Pinterest For Ecommerce

1. IKEA

What I think IKEA does best on Pinterest for Ecommerce is its innovative approach to combining a lead-generating quiz with product recommendations. IKEA is well-known worldwide for its extensive range of furniture and home goods.

To make shopping less daunting, IKEA helps reduce customer overwhelm with its clever marketing tactics on Pinterest.

Shoppers are invited to participate in IKEA’s Renovations quiz, which recommends IKEA products that might be perfect for their homes. After completing the quiz, customers receive a personalized Pinterest board filled with suggested items.

They can pin these suggestions to their own boards for later inspiration or even shop directly if they decide to purchase immediately. This strategy is particularly effective as many customers use Pinterest to explore home decor ideas and organize their shopping choices.

2. IT Cosmetics

I believe what IT Cosmetics excels at on Pinterest for Ecommerce is savvy keyword targeting. This beauty brand discovered that 91% of beauty searches on Pinterest are unbranded. This insight led IT Cosmetics to adopt a keyword-focused strategy, particularly around the term “CC cream.”

By targeting this keyword, IT Cosmetics positions itself in front of users who are interested in CC cream and other beauty products but may not yet be committed to any particular brand.

The brand uses Pinterest Idea Pins optimized for CC cream searches and features tutorial-based videos that demonstrate the products in action.

This approach has significantly expanded IT Cosmetics’ organic reach on Pinterest and helped them gain new customers.

3. Jonas Paul Eyewear

Jonas Paul Eyewear identifies its ideal customers with clarity, which is what I think the brand does best on Pinterest for Ecommerce.

Focusing on affordable and stylish frames for kids and teens, Jonas Paul targets parents who are shopping for their children’s eyewear.

The company uses both organic and paid content on Pinterest aimed specifically at this demographic.

By implementing this focused strategy, Jonas Paul has increased its website traffic from Pinterest and achieved a higher order value from these visitors compared to other channels.

4. Whole Foods

Whole Foods excels in using Rich Pins on Pinterest for Ecommerce.

As a health-focused supermarket, Whole Foods utilizes Rich Pins to provide more context in their posts, which is crucial for SEO on Pinterest.

These pins allow the brand to deliver cooking tips, update real-time product availability, and direct users to their blog posts.

Rich Pins can also drive app downloads, link to articles, or direct users to products that are currently in stock.

This functionality makes Rich Pins an essential tool for spreading brand awareness and enhancing user engagement on Pinterest.

5. Mejuri

What Mejuri does best with its Pinterest presence is the integration of user-generated content (UGC).

This Canadian jewelry brand maintains a vibrant online community through its ambassador network known as #thefinecrew.

Mejuri’s Pinterest feed, similar to its Instagram, features a stunning display of UGC that fits perfectly with its brand aesthetic.

The brand not only has a dedicated board for its community but also incorporates UGC across almost all its boards.

Pinterest’s platform is ideal for community building and showcasing high-quality content from creators. This makes it a perfect match for Mejuri’s UGC strategy.

6. Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna stands out for its video content and cross-promotion strategies on Pinterest for Ecommerce.

As highlighted in Later’s blog post about creative brands on TikTok, Fenty Beauty excels in creating engaging video content.

On Pinterest, where video content is increasingly gaining traction, Fenty takes advantage of this trend by repurposing videos from YouTube and Instagram Stories as Pins.

This approach not only attracts more viewers to their Pins but also significantly boosts their overall social media strategy. Hence, it leverages the power of video on multiple platforms.

Conclusion

Pinterest is a social media network where users can post creative photos and discover inspiration and ideas for their interests.

However, today Pinterest is a platform for ecommerce businesses to engage with clients and increase sales.

If you specialize in Pinterest for ecommerce, you will have a wonderful opportunity to enhance website views and sales.

For this purpose, we have provided a full review of the best strategies and practices to use if you want to develop a strong Pinterest strategy for ecommerce. 

About the Author

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Aleksandra Miteva
Aleksandra teaches marketing and management at various levels in High School. She writes about marketing, the economics and logistics of the dropshipping business and ecommerce in general.
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