INTRODUCTION
According to Statista, social commerce sales in the United States are projected to exceed $79 billion by 2025.
This presents a huge opportunity for retailers with e-commerce capabilities; however, as more social media platforms introduce shopping tools, it’s more important than ever to be strategic about where you spend your time and money.
Here are some insights about whether Pinterest is right for you and some tips for using the platform for your retail store or e-commerce shop.
DETERMINE IF PINTEREST IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Pinterest is currently one of the top three most popular platforms for social commerce in the United States, but it pales in comparison to the share of internet users Facebook and Instagram see.
Unlike the other two platforms, Pinterest has a fairly even distribution of users between the ages of 18 and 64. In contrast, the majority of Facebook users fall into the 25-34 age range and most Instagram users are between 18 and 24 years old. Pinterest also is the only platform that has significantly more female users. Thus, you should use Pinterest if your products appeal to women and/or a broad age range.
In addition, you should prioritize Pinterest for social commerce if your brand falls into one of its most popular categories. For instance, products related to food and drink, beauty, fashion, wellness, parenting, travel or home decor can perform well. If your brand is already successful on Pinterest, continue to use the platform no matter what you’re selling. There is no need to abandon the platform if you’re meeting your business goals.
Another thing to note is that Pinterest tends to be the platform people use to search for ideas and plan for the future. In other words, Pinterest users are looking to window shop. Plus, most of the platform’s searches are unbranded, meaning people are more likely to discover your product on Pinterest. This is an edge over social media sites that rely more on followers and paid push marketing tactics.
HOW TO LEVERAGE PINTEREST FOR RETAIL SOCIAL COMMERCE
Once you decide Pinterest is the right platform for your business, you should start using its various shopping tools. Use Product Rich Pins and Catalog Product Pins to position your product in front of Pinners who are in the mindset to shop. Both types of Product Pins use metadata to display real-time pricing, availability, product titles and descriptions to customers, but there are some key differences.
Rich Pins are created directly from a single product page from your website and may only be used organically. Meanwhile, Catalog Product Pins pull your product data from a data source that lists multiple products and corresponding attributes. Use the catalog-generated version to create product groups (which can be displayed in a Shop tab in your business profile) and Pinterest Shopping Ads.
Create Collections Pins to further engage shoppers by allowing them to search for exact or similar products. If applicable (e.g. if you are a beauty retailer), you also can enable “Try on product pins” so customers can virtually try on your products with augmented reality.
Like most platforms, Pinterest is constantly evolving. Monitor the Pinterest Newsroom to keep up with what’s new. Last week, for instance, Pinterest announced that it is “dramatically expanding its suite of shopping solutions for advertisers.” New additions include:
- Slideshow for collections. Use this feature to pull products from your catalog and automatically generate an attention-grabbing collections ad. The video-like content is dynamically tailored to each shopper.
- Merchant details. Showcase your values, such as “responsibly sourced,” on your Pinterest profile to help establish trust among Pinners. Add other highlights, such as “Black-owned” or “Woman-owned” to provide more info about your brand.
- Idea ads with paid partnership. Partner with a creator to scale your content and reach a broader audience. Note: This feature is currently being tested, but is expected to expand to more audiences in the future.
No matter which tools you use, make sure to create content that aligns with the platform. Remember, Pinterest users expect new ideas and inspiration, so tailor your content accordingly.