Social media platforms have revolutionized the digital marketing space. With a simple profile and a few clicks of the mouse, companies have the ability to reach a global audience. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube dominate in internet marketing strategies and do so at a fraction of the cost of traditional print or television advertising. These aren’t the only platforms available to digital marketers, however. One of the often-overlooked social media platforms that can improve your business is Pinterest. In this guide, we’ll show you ways you can utilize Pinterest for your business, helping you to expand your online footprint.
Pinterest: The Basics of this Social Media Platform
Launched in 2010, Pinterest has grown rapidly and now boasts over 300 million active monthly users around the world. Users of the platform upload, manage, and create personalized collections of “pins” – images and videos – and can share individual media items or entire collections with other users.
In 2012, Pinterest implemented business accounts, allowing companies to take advantage of the same features individual users had access to. This move helped drive further growth as businesses began to create their own pinboards to share with others. The platform continues to roll out new business-oriented features; in 2019, the company announced that it will begin to roll out a new format called “Shop the Look” ads that will give advertisers the option of featuring multiple products in one ad. The new ad format, combined with numerous other tools for internet marketing strategies, has made Pinterest a formidable player in the digital marketing space.
Using Pinterest for Business: Best Practices
Pinterest may not have the massive user base of Facebook or Twitter, but where the platform has advantages is in its demographics. It is estimated that half of all U.S.-based millennials use Pinterest on a weekly basis, and it is fairly evenly split between male and female users between the ages of 25 and 54 – an important segment of consumers for the insurance industry. Pinterest users tend to respond favorably to business postings, as they use the platform to learn more about products and services to buy. In fact, Pinterest is the 2nd-most influential social media platform in terms of purchasing decisions, falling just behind Facebook in this category.
How can insurance agencies leverage this incredible influence? The process begins by creating a business profile. Companies can add all the pertinent details for followers, including contact information, website links, profile photos, and more.
Next, pinboards are created. These are pages where companies can organize, manage, and share content with followers. Once the pinboards are in place, it is easy to add content in the form of “Pins” – literally anything from the Web, but primarily images, short videos, and similar content pieces. One tip here is to add a Save button to content, allowing users to quickly save and share your Pins. When the Save button is added, the odds of a follower sharing your content more than quadruples, according to digital marketing resource Hootsuite.
Pins are the foundation of any business profile on Pinterest, and it is here that companies should adhere to the following practices:
- Focus on creativity and inspiration – numerous studies have shown that Pins with creative interest inspire followers far more than generic content postings.
- Search for trending topics – use Pinterest’s search tool to locate trends, then incorporate those keywords into your Pins where possible.
- Use the Group Boards feature – to build engagement among followers, Group Boards are an ideal solution. This gives businesses the opportunity to interact directly with followers, and extends the reach of shared Pins.
- Emphasize visual quality – because Pinterest is a visual-based platform, high-quality images tend to make your content stand out.
- Lifestyle images over product images – when businesses share Pins that show their products and services in use, this tends to have a greater impact over simple product images. In fact, a study showed about 30% more clickthroughs and greater conversion rates when using lifestyle-oriented Pins.
Taking Your Business to the Next Level
One advantage Pinterest has over other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook in internet marketing strategies is this: there’s a strong likelihood that your competitors are not using it. In the insurance field, standing out in a competitive marketplace can be difficult. Pinterest may just be the platform to help you take your business to the next level. By using the tools and strategies above, you can create visually-stunning content that resonates with consumers, helping propel your business to increased sales and online visibility.
About Neilson Marketing Services
Since 1988, Neilson Marketing has been implementing innovative marketing solutions and strategies for our clients in all areas of marketing. Contact us today at (866) 816-1849 to put our talent, expertise, and vast resources to work for you. Let’s make things happen, together!
