If you're looking to drive more traffic and sales to your eCommerce site, Pinterest is one of the social networks you need to add to your marketing arsenal. Pinterest the second highest source of traffic for Shopify sites, while the average order value for sales referred through Pinterest is $50, which is higher than any other social network.
People like to pin products on Pinterest and plan purchases. When used properly, your eCommerce site can generate significant revenue with Pinterest.
To help with this, here are my top tips on how eCommerce sites can increase sales via Pin.
1. Optimize your e-commerce site for Pinterest
Optimizing your eCommerce website for Pinterest, is one of the first things you must do. This should be done even before begin sending any traffic - this crucial step will ensure that more people who visit your website will Pin the page, leading to a snowball effect which will generate even more Pinterest traffic.
Here are a few ways to optimize your e-commerce site for Pinterest...
Add images
People can only pin something from your e-commerce website if there's at least one image that's 100 X 200 pixels on it.
You need to make sure you add one image of this size to your product pages. If you want even better results, you should include a portrait image that's 600 X 900 pixels in size, as images of this size generate the highest engagement.
Also try adding several images as people can then pin their favorite option.
Insert Image alt text in your images
When someone Pins an image from a website, the alt-text of the image will automatically appear as the Pin description. If you add persuasive and attention grabbing image alt text to the images on your website, all the images Pinned will drive more traffic to your website. You can even include links and hashtags in your image alt text.
Add the Pinterest 'Save' button
If you want more people to pin images from your website, you need to subtly remind them. This can be done by simply adding the Pinterest 'Save' button.
You can also add follow buttons to convert visitors to Pinterest followers, as people who are logged into Pinterest will be more likely to follow you.
Enable rich pins
When you enable rich pins on your eCommerce website, extra information like the real-time price and description of the product will appear on the pin. This can increase traffic and sales, so ensure you enable rich pins on your website.
You can also try using buyable pins - this will display the price of the product on Pinterest. People will also be able to directly buy the product on Pinterest like in this pin.
An example of a site with a well optimized eCommerce website for Pinterest is Abaday. They add several portrait shaped images to the product page. They also have a Save button and a follow button.
After your eCommerce site is optimized for Pinterest, you can begin pinning and driving traffic.
2. Pin products and content
There are two kinds of people you'll come across on Pinterest - those who are ready to purchase from you right away and those who need some time. You need to Pin content that both these sets of audience will want to interact with.
Pinning images of your products that lead to the product pages will help you convert the buyers who are ready, but to convert those who need some time, you need to start by doing something which is a little less direct i.e. by Pinning content. This is why along with the products you should begin Pinning images from helpful blog posts, eBooks and other forms of content. You should Pin content from both your website and others.
As you keep Pinning content, you'll earn more trust over time. This will help convert visitors into buyers in future. For best results, only Pin the best content. If you Pin bad quality content you might never earn their trust.
Create both product boards and content boards and begin Pinning relevant material. As you'll be Pinning content from several websites, you'll have more content to Pin than products. Workout a product to content Pins ratio and stick to this.
Sainsbury's have a clear strategy that attracts both types of audience, as they have a lot of accounts on which they Pin both content and products from their website. They share content from both their website and others'.
3. Use contests and offers
The above strategies will help your eCommerce site gradually increase sales with Pinterest, but if you want to kickstart it quickly, you can accompany the above techniques with a Pinterest exclusive contest or offer.
Contests are very effective, especially if you have a clear goal in place like increasing sales. Along with increasing sales, you should be able to gain followers and email subscribers.
These are three of the best methods eCommerce sites can use to increase sales with Pinterest. They can help in both getting started and accelerating your presence, if you want quick results.
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