How to create clickable Pins that will actually get you results

Credit: Maria Raybould

Pinterest bamboozles a lot of marketers and brands. It’s clear that brands can get amazing results on the platform, but they don’t always understand how.

Pinterest, after all, is so different from other social media platforms, and with audiences using it in different ways, businesses need to adapt in order to get results. The best way to do this, hands-down, is to create clickable pins that users are excited to view and save.

Still feeling a little intimidated? Don’t sweat it. By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly how to utilise Pinterest and how to create clickable, engaging pins that will actually get you results.

What makes Pinterest so different from other platforms?

This can be summed up in one sentence: It’s idea saving, not idea sharing.

Users come to Pinterest to either find products, ideas, or content or to save it for themselves for later use. They typically aren’t trying to broadcast ideas or recommendations like on other platforms; this is purely about saving content for their own usage.

This means that Pinners are using Pinterest for different reasons; they might be just browsing in categories they’re interested in or actively looking for something specific, like a recipe or Christmas decoration inspiration. Either way, this is a consumer-based site, and people are here and ready to discover new things.

It’s no surprise that Pinterest has outstanding selling potential as a result. And when we say outstanding, we mean it. Consider the following data provided by Pinterest:

• 60% of pinners research buying decisions on Pinterest, compared to 48% on search engines and 35% on other social media platforms
• 72% of pinners say that Pinterest actually encourages them to shop, even if they aren’t looking for anything
• 70% of pinners discover new products on Pinterest
• Pinterest bamboozles a lot of marketers and brands. It’s clear that brands can get amazing results on the platform, but they don’t always understand how.Pinterest, after all, is so different from other social media platforms, and with audiences using it in different ways, businesses need to adapt in order to get results. The best way to do this, hands-down, is to create clickable pins that users are excited to view and save.Still feeling a little intimidated? Don’t sweat it. By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly how to utilise Pinterest and how to create clickable, engaging pins that will actually get you result

  Simply put, if you aren’t marketing on Pinterest and your audience happens to be there, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table that your competition will scoop up instead.

  What your pins should do

  One of the biggest mistakes that businesses can make is thinking that Pinterest is just another version of Instagram because of the visual focus. While there is an enormous focus on the images in Pinterest, the images really are more about conveying ideas or products instead. It’s the content and the value behind the pin that matters.

  On Instagram, for example, someone might be happy to see a picture of a yard full of Halloween decorations. They’ll like it and not give it a second thought. On Pinterest, however, users may want to click on that same picture to see how to make the decorations, where to buy them, or ideas on how to set them up.

  Your pins should be valuable, and they should immediately let users know that they’re valuable. This will be important if you want to get clicks or saves (or even better, both!) on your pins.

  How to create clickable pins

  Pinterest is so different from other social media platforms, and that means your pins will need to be created specifically for this platform if you want to get results. Let’s take a look at five ways you can ensure that your pins will not only grab attention in a cluttered and sometimes overwhelming feed, but go a step further to get you results.

  Choose Pinterest-recommended ratios

  An important part of getting your content pinned is to get it noticed, and creating pins that fall within the ideal aspect ratios will be a big part of that.

  

  Pinterest itself has done a lot of research into what pin ratios perform best, and they’ve found that the ideal ratio is 1:2.8. Not only does it look great on mobile, which is essential, it’s also easy to view and stands out well in the feed.

  Focus on visual first

  Pinterest is an exceptionally visual platform, and when users are browsing through their feeds or their search results, it’s the image or video that’s going to stop them while they’re scrolling.

  There are a few best practices that you should keep in mind when creating the visual components of the pins, including:

  • Add text overlay if necessary. The pin above is a great example of how adding brief text overlay explains the value behind the pin and tells users exactly what they’re looking at. This can help stop those scrolling thumbs and get them to click early on. Text overlay, after all, might get noticed before the descriptions themselves.
  • Test different pin styles. Sometimes, compiling multiple images into a single pin (also like in the example above) is another great way to showcase diverse value and encourage clicks.
  • Be straightforward. Now is not the time to go for the abstract. Make your product the focus of the pin itself, whether you’re showing it in use (think makeup tutorial) or just a picture of the product alone (the makeup itself).
  • Add your logo. Placing your logo in the corner of a pin isn’t intrusive, and it helps to establish brand awareness and recognition.

  Optimise your descriptions

  While the visual is going to be what gets people to pay attention, the descriptions will still help people find the content in the first place, and then get them to click and save.

  You should optimise your pin descriptions for two different things: searchability and readability.

  When it comes to search-friendliness, it’s important to utilise keywords in your pin descriptions. This will ensure that you show up in relevant searches, increasing the likelihood of having your pins seen by users who are actively seeking them out. This is a big opportunity you don’t want to miss, especially since so many pinners use the platform to make buying decisions.

  While you want to feature keywords in your pin descriptions, however, you don’t want the entire description to read like keyword stuffing. Instead, make sure that it’s written for pinners first, with a keyword or two dropped in somewhere in the middle.

  Ideally, pinners often want to see descriptions that are:

  • Brief and easy to read
  • Clear about what the pin is and the value it has to offer
  • Authentic, and don’t seem overly promotional or “sneakily” trying to sell something

  Create content users want to see

  This is really the last piece of the puzzle that needs to fit into place if you want users to click and save your content. All the other steps were required to enable users to find and notice your pin; this step is what will determine what users do next.

  Remember that Pinterest is an idea-saving platform, which means that people are here to purchase and research and save some ideas for a future or current project. Because of this, you’ll need to create pins that are more content-based and value-based in many cases.

  People are interested in products, but they’re more interested in ideas. So instead of just featuring a product on a pin, you could focus on how to use the product. Highlight that in your description, and you’ll be good to go.

  

  Value is key here. People may scroll through wedding photography, for example, but they typically don’t do this just because they’re hopeless romantics. Many brides and photographers do this to get ideas for poses they want on the big day. Wedding photographers’ best bets are to use this to their advantage by advertising compilation posts or how-to, like “6 posts to ask your wedding photographer for.” People are more likely to not only stop and look but save these pins for the future, which is the ultimate goal on Pinterest.

  Keep an eye on your analytics

  Pinterest marketing, like all other types of marketing, will involve a little trial and error to see what works for your brand. The trial and error period will be a lot shorter if you use your Pinterest Analytics to get a good idea of what’s actually working.

  Pinterest’s native analytics is available for all business profiles, and it will give you a crystal-clear view of how your audiences are engaging with your pins. In the analytics, you should be looking at a few essential metrics, including:

  • Your impressions, to get an estimation of which pins are getting the most reach. Look for trends in keywords or subject
  • Your saves, which showcase relevance and value to your target audience
  • Your clicks, telling you how many people were interested enough in the pin to view it up close

  In addition to getting a look at all of these numbers individually, you’ll also want to see how they interact. Do certain pins have insanely high impressions, but they don’t seem to perform well in saves or clicks? Do certain topics have higher ratios of engagement or saves? Look for trends and patterns, and focus on creating more high-engaging content.

  Automate your posting

  Did you know that scheduling and posting content to Pinterest accounts (especially if you have many) has become so much easier with the help of social posting automation tools? Tools like Buffer and Social Media Poster will help you plan and schedule your Pinterest content for months ahead and automate your posting routine.

  For example, here’s how it works with SEMrush: once you connect your account, the tool will automatically find your Pinterest boards, so you can choose the board you’d like to post to in the dropdown menu. You will then be able to post your content immediately, schedule it for later, or save it as a draft:

  

  There are Google Chrome extensions for both Buffer and Social Media Poster.

  Conclusion

  Pinterest is different from all other social media sites,  but that’s exactly why you take notice. Different use cases, after all, mean different sales and marketing opportunities if you know how to tackle them. One principle, however, holds true across all platforms: produce strong, engaging content that’s tailored to the platform and your audience on it.

  Follow these best practices to create clickable, savable pins that your audience is looking for, track their performance, automate your posting, and you’ll start seeing the results in no time.

• If you need any help with Pinterest marketing just give call us at SPYDER – 833 3 SPYDER / 833 377  9337