Do you remember when your grandfather told you that a plot of land in this region was offered for sale to him at a very low price and is now valued at millions of pounds?

Or your friend who heard about Bitcoin in 2011 and its price is one dollar, but thought it was worthless and refused to buy from it? It is the same currency that in early November this year reached $67,000 – 67,000 times its price at the time.

Well, everyone misses opportunities and cannot evaluate them efficiently at the time they come, but this will change in this article, as we will provide you with an irreplaceable opportunity and a huge investment in this article.

And not only that, we will evaluate it for you and explain to you how to take advantage of it so that you do not miss the opportunity this time. Through this article, we will introduce you to the Pinterest platform, and explain to you in detail how it can double the sales of your online store in the near future.

Get ready to read this hearty article, grab a pen and paper, and definitely don’t forget your cup of coffee.

What is the Pinterest platform?

The Pinterest platform is one of the most popular social media platforms on the scene, which now constitutes a great opportunity for e-commerce as we will explain.

The platform is the actual implementation of the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” as it relies on visual content (videos and images) primarily and on textual content very secondary.

Posts or Tweets on the platform are called Pins (literally translate to Pins), and users of the platform are called Pinners.

The platform contains many distinctive features, such as Boards, Rich Pins, Product Pins, and others that we will talk about in this article.

Pinterest is a lot like a great image search engine, and I’m talking literally not figuratively here, so we’re going to talk about SEO practices for content on the platform.

In my personal opinion, the platform is very useful and satisfactory, and although it has been around since 2010 and I have only known it three years ago, it is one of my favorite social media platforms.

How can Pinterest help your e-commerce?

Before I answer this question, I have to show you 10 important statistics that will speak for me:

1. Pinterest has 459 million monthly active users, of which 100 million are new users, which only increased between 2019 and 2020.
2. Women on Pinterest – who usually buy – are about 60% of the platform’s users, and this percentage is expected to reach 75% in 2028.
3. Women in the 25-34 age group make up about 30.4% of Pinterest users.
4. The Pinterest platform is in the second place for sources of traffic to Shopify stores.
5. 90% of users say that Pinterest helps them make their purchasing decisions, and 66% of them buy after seeing Pins for brands.
6. 72% of Pinterest users reported that the platform inspired them to buy when they had no intention of buying anything.
7. 61% of Pinterest users say Promoted Pins ads have helped them discover new brands and products.
8. 59% of users say that Pinterest helps them learn more about their purchases.
9. 47% of social media users see Pinterest as a platform to explore, find and buy products.
10. Pins with a “New” tag attached lead to up to 9 times more product and brand awareness.

These statistics are very amazing, especially with the increasing interest of brands and online stores in Pinterest as the social media platform that is the main source of their profits.

You notice this from advertisers’ demand for Pinterest marketing  , for example, the platform’s profits from advertising increased in the last quarter of 2020 to $132 million, after it was only about $50 million in the last quarter of 2019.

From this huge increase, online store owners’ spending on Pinterest ads increased to 6 times in the last quarter of 2020, and this is very logical, given that the weekly conversion rate of stores through Pinterest ads has tripled “300%” in the year 2020.

I recently read that 92% of Pinterest advertisers put it first among the platforms they use to advertise their products.

All these stats and more tell you that there is a huge opportunity to use Pinterest to double your online store sales.

Although most users of the Pinterest platform are from the United States and Europe, the past tells us that the trend is moving to us late after these countries.

So I find it a great opportunity to start setting up a business account for you on Pinterest so that you can increase the sales of your online store, and also so that you can control the market when Pinterest spreads in our Arab world – if the Arab region is your target audience -.

I wrote this article because, over the past months, I found unprecedented interest in the Pinterest platform on the profit blogs that I follow, and I felt that the Arab reader deserves to see this very important content.

Of course, I do not advise you to start advertising on Pinterest right now, but I strongly advise you to set up a strong account on the platform in preparation for the Arab turnout.

This demand is highly expected because the platform is amazing, useful, fun and easy to use, and users love it and 80% of them say that it gives them a positive feeling, unlike other platforms like Instagram, for example.

I will now introduce you to the Pinterest platform and then move on to how to benefit from it commercially.

 

Get to know the Pinterest platform quickly

The Pinterest platform is very easy to use, it will not take more than 10 minutes to get used to it and know how to deal with it.

But here I want to focus on some of the features and advantages of the platform:

First, the types of Pinterest Pins

a) Pins

This is the traditional or standard type posted on the platform, and it could be an image, video, or even a link pointing to a site or store.

b) Rich Pins

Rich Pins are pins that automatically insert information from the site into the Pins.

It has three basic types:

• Product type
• Recipe type
• Article type

Examples of this information that you provide with Rich Pins: the price of the product, the number of pieces available, etc., and this type is the most profitable on the Pinterest platform.

c) Promoted Pins

Similar to Facebook ads or promoted tweets on Twitter, these Pins appear in many places on Pinterest including search results, ratings, and the user’s homepage.

d) Carousel Pins

Carousel Pins are a type of Pin that allows you to display a group of up to five images in a single Carousel Pin.

This type of pin is used to draw the user’s attention to several products at the same time, or to display several features of the product.

e) Collections Pins

This type of pin is used to shop for similar products and is very useful for showing a user or shopper on Pinterest similar or close to each other options.

They are white dots that appear in the pins when you select or click on them. You find similar products as shown in the pictures:

f) Product Pins

Product Pins is a new type of pin that is based on AR technology, which allows the user to experience the product virtually through this complex technology.

j) Video Pins

Video Pins are similar to regular Pins, but instead of displaying still images, they display an animated animation or a clip of the video.

Of course, these are not all types of pins, but they are in my opinion the most important, which you should know and use in your marketing strategies.

Another feature of the Pinterest platform is that it is constantly updating and developing, so you may find other types of pins have been introduced and used on the platform.

 

Second, the types of Pinterest Boards

A very important feature of Pinterest is the panels, which are virtual panels that you make in order to put many pins in one panel.

Here is an explanation of each type:

a) Normal Boards

It’s the standard type where you can create your own groups of pins and share them with other users.

b) Group Boards

Group boards are very similar to regular boards, but the difference is that more than one person can add content or pins to them.

c) Secret Boards

Secret boards are boards that can only be seen by the owner or by invited members, that is, they are private and do not appear to the public.

Steps to using Pinterest to double your online store sales

Now we come to the part you are waiting for, which will inject a lot of money into your bank account, and attract hundreds of new customers to your online store.

I prepared this part and chose those steps after reading dozens of foreign online store experiences as well as many articles and guides published by the most popular published 

Step one: Spend some time getting to know Pinterest

If you are new to Pinterest, spend some time getting to know it, researching it and using it, so that you know the user experience through it.

Follow brands and stores similar to your online store, for example, if you sell men’s formal wear, try searching for them on Pinterest and see what the competing brands are doing.

This step, despite its simplicity, is very important, and it will help you innovate, attract new customers through Pinterest, and double your sales and profits.

Second Step: Create a business account for you

There are two types of accounts on Pinterest: a personal account and a business account, both accounts are completely free, but the business account has many additional features to help you attract customers and sell to them.

You can create a business account directly or you can link your personal account with a business account with the same email, choose the most suitable for you.

A business account provides you with the opportunity to connect your online store and use ads, in addition to obtaining statistics and forecasts from the platform.

Once your online store is connected, you will be able to use the Rich Pins we talked about before.

Third Step: Prepare a marketing plan for your Pinterest account

It is necessary to prepare a clear marketing plan for the Pinterest platform, because randomness and confusion will cost you a lot of opportunities and profits.

In the beginning, know the keywords that refer to your products and your online store and use them, because Pinterest, as we said, is like a search engine for visual content.

At this step you may need to do some keyword research, or you can just use the suggestions in the search box for Pinterest.

Then you will have to set smart goals for your strategies on Pinterest with the appropriate KPIs for them, in order to know if your plan is working or not.

Finally, you will need to prepare the content that you are publishing to your target audience, and since Pinterest is a visual platform, you will have to provide high quality images and videos in order to attract your audience to it.

Focus on telling them the story of your product and store using pictures. Try to ignite the motivation that makes them buy your products, and don’t forget that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Note: You can use canva to create high-quality images and clips.

Focus on posting consistently Even if you only post three Pins per week, consistency is what will attract new customers.

And after you have published enough pictures and clips, create panels that express your store, and an important tip, name it according to the keywords that you know customers are searching for.

Step Four: Use Pinterest SEO Practices

Pinterest is a visual search engine, so like search engines, some SEO or SEO practices can get you amazing results.

Very simple things can make a big difference and revive your e-commerce and increase the sales of your e-store and your customers in crazy numbers.

We will discuss the SEO of the Pinterest platform in detail in the next part of the article.

Step Five: Continue to Analyze and Improve

Pinterest provides a powerful analytics tool called Pinterest Analytics. Use it periodically, and constantly know your audience and followers.

Find out what country they are from and their age groups, find out which pins they like the most, and try to understand why they liked them and why they are so popular.

Also find out which pins are unpopular and unpopular, find out why they fail and don’t and try not to repeat your mistakes.

This routine will make you understand your customers and understand what they want and offer to them, thus you will get new customers and more sales.

These are the basic steps to increase and multiply the sales of your online store through the Pinterest platform, I made sure to mention here the free method that does not need to pay any money.

But I also advise you to consider Pinterest ads, as they will bring you lots of customers and generate great sales for you.

Later, we can customize an entire article about Pinterest ads and how to create and manage them to get better sales.

seo pinterest platform

As we said before, Pinterest is a great visual search engine, so there are many practices that can make you get more traffic, and therefore more sales and profits.

Here I will try to summarize the most important SEO practices of the Pinterest platform:

1. Keywords

Like all search engines, Pinterest also depends on keywords, so you have to use the right words that serve your marketing goals, and that match the users’ purchase intent.

Put yourself in the place of customers, think like them and learn how they search for products, for example, instead of using keywords such as “events clothes” use “engagement party clothes” or “summer clothes to go out” and so on.

Also try as much as possible to use specific and not general keywords, for example, do not use the keyword “Christmas” or “decoration” alone, but use “Christmas decor.”

Another proven practice is to use keywords on an image with your content.

2. Detailed and expressive characterization

The description of your products and pins is very important, as it is through Pinterest that it understands the photos and videos that you post and accordingly controls their appearance.

That is why try to write the description accurately as if you are summarizing what you are referring to and posting, and try to use keywords as much as possible to improve the ranking of what you post on the platform.

 

3. Dimensions of the pins you post

85% of Pinterest’s use is through mobile phones, so you need to make your Pins highly compatible with mobile phones.

You can easily do this by making the aspect ratio of your images 2:3 which translates to 1000:1500 pixels when designing.

4. Create and improve panels

Panels can greatly affect your ranking in Pinterest’s search results, as they allow the search engine to understand how you rank your products and content.

Simple details like the titles of the boards and their being consistent with the keywords you are using and targeting will help you a lot.

5. Connect and improve your online store

Your online store that is referred to by Pinterest is a very important factor for Pinterest’s algorithms, which is why you should link it to your trading account on the platform.

It will benefit you to have your store compatible with search engines, the more compatible and optimized it is, the higher it will be for different search engines.

Besides this, it will be very useful for you to put the tag on Pinterest (a tool similar to the Facebook pixel), as well as a button or save feature that allows Pinterest users to save images from your online store to their Pinterest account directly.

These are the main and most important points about Pinterest search engine optimization, but we may address this topic in a separate article in more depth later.

Pinterest Strategies to Double Your Online Store Sales

There are many successful strategies for using Pinterest to multiply your online store’s sales.

We have collected and studied them well, and we have chosen for you the best, most appropriate and realistic ones with the reality of content and e-commerce in our Arab region:

1. Get the authentication from the Pinterest platform

Like many social media platforms, Pinterest also has documentation for its customers from e-stores and brands, as it has a Verified Merchant Program that allows you to get the blue badge in addition to many other features.

Once you get the blue badge you will be able to:

• Get new analysis and measurement tools that enable you to understand your customers more accurately and increase your profits and sales.
• Having a unique “Shop” button on your account enables you to place all your products in one place on your Pinterest page.
• Appear in marketing experiences of Pinterest users looking for new products and brands.

2. Market to Life Style, not just products

This strategy will work wonders for your sales if you master it, try not to market your products, but instead market to a lifestyle.

Customers are not interested in your products per se, but in the things you can offer them. They do not want the clothes themselves, there are cheaper alternatives, but they want the feelings that these clothes give them.

Focus on this emotional aspect and use it well, and you will notice a significant increase in sales, and you will find customers who have bought from you again and again.

Big brands know this. Brands like Gucci, Rolex and BMW don’t sell products as much as they sell the distinction and positive feelings a buyer feels when they own one of their products.

I won’t lie to you that using this strategy is a bit difficult, but once you master it it will bring you a lot of profits.

3. Inspire and benefit your customers and don’t just sell to them

Some online stores fall into the trap of making social media platforms just another store for them, so they do not bring much profit through them.

Instead, don’t just post your product Pins but tell your followers stories and inspire them, try to include them in the marketing process.

Interact with them, make them feel important to you, make marketing human and customer-centric, not products.

4. Create a community around you

This strategy is important on all social media platforms that you use, but we will only talk here about how to create a community for your online store on Pinterest.

You will be able to create a community by creating professional and high-quality photos and videos and posting them to your account, if you excel at this point you will have already overwhelmed all your competition.

And by using such factors as monitoring your competitors and using keywords, you will get a very special marketing return for what you publish.

Educational content can also help you in this matter, the user likes who provides him with useful content and information, and for Pinterest, the infographic  will be very useful in this job.

This community will help you attract traffic to your online store, and thus will multiply your profits immeasurably.

5. Use Rich Pins and Video Pins

These two types of pins are very popular with buyers, especially Rich Pins because of the information they provide to buyers.

Rich pins provide the user with many important information that may facilitate the purchase process or increase his desire to buy if he has the intention.

According to store owners on Pinterest; It is these type of pins that bring them the most profit from the platform.

Video pins can also greatly increase your sales and profits, and you can use them in a variety of ways to market your products, interact with customers, or even create some kind of brand loyalty with your followers.

6. Make the best use of the boards

We can devote a whole article to this topic in the future, but in short we can say that the panels can help you greatly in your marketing process.

Simple things like creating a board for each category or type of product you display will make it easier for customers and followers to see your products.

Also, naming them with the right names will help you appear in Pinterest’s search, thereby bringing your brand new customers and new sales.

7. Bring your clients from other platforms to your Pinterest account

This strategy may be very simple, but it can create huge momentum and increase your sales and profits unimaginably.

Attracting your customers from Facebook or Instagram to Pinterest will inject new blood into your Pinterest account, which will help you grow and create greater interaction on what you post.

You can also do this in reverse by sharing your other social media accounts on the Pinterest platform in one way or another.

Conclusion

The Pinterest platform is one of the best social media platforms in terms of e-commerce, as many brands consider Pinterest a profit and sales artery for them.

In this article, we have provided you with practical steps in order to use the platform and maximize the profits of your online store through it, and we have also addressed the platform’s search engine optimization practices.

At the end of the article, we would like to know if you are now thinking of starting to use Pinterest to revive your e-commerce? And how do you plan to use it? If you are already using it, tell us about your experience and the results you achieved using the platform