If you are using Pinterest for marketing, don’t negate the need to perform research.
Social Media can have the tendency to feel extremely informal and therefore feel a need to not perform formal research. Diligent research on all social streams is very important, I will discuss 3 musts for Pinterest Research. There are always more research techniques that can be performed, but here are the essential techniques that will affect your bottom line. Remember the profitability of Pinterest. Pinterest has the highest average order amount from any social media referral.
Before you start your Pinterest research the first step that every research must do, is identify the end goal. The end goal for pinterest may be an increase in re-pinning, it may be an increase in sales from pin board referrals or simply brand awareness. After you have identified your goal(s), let the research begin!
3 Musts for your Pinterest Research
1. Research Competition for Re-pins
To the left are two pins, both are purses against a blank background. One is for Coach, the other is for Gucci. Coach has 35 repins while Gucci has 17 repins. What makes the difference?
Business Perspective: Even though this is not a large difference on numbers, the question is the reach of the people who repinned it. There is not a consistent ratio in repin:reach, for example every 1 repin you reach an extra 300 people. It is all dependent on who repins, so 2 repins for Gucci could mean an extra reach of 1500 people, but 2 repins for Coach could mean an increased reach of 25 people.
But, people see the likes and repins not the reach.
Followers Perspective: I am more likely to re-pin and like if I see a large numbers of repins. It’s the crowd mentality of, “it is popular I want to share it as well”. Keep in mind that although as a business you want the more profitable followers (ones with a greater network) you also are able to acquire new followers through popularity so any re-pin is a good pin.
Down to the Research: Research your competitors and view their pinning tactics. If they have high re-pins on certain images, analyze what it is about that image that is appealing followers to re-pin. Often, I see clothing items with a price being re-pinned at a higher rate. Also boards that are taken with a more artistic flare are re-pinned more often than the same product looking like a catalog image. Performing the research to see what is working for your competition is worth your time, and will change your process to create more profitable pins.
2. Is Pinterest Driving Traffic & Conversions?
No matter what your goal with Pinterest is, driving traffic to your boards is key to achieving that goal. You can track the performance of Pinterest by viewing your site referrals through Google Analytics.
Business Perspective: Driving traffic to your site is a two way process. Having the ability to pin directly from your site allows users to interact more with your site, and in return increases your follower reach. Pinterest has already done a great job of linking users Facebook accounts to the Pins. You can thank Pinterest for that one. This is part of the reason Pinterest has increased their customer base so rapidly is the use of an existing social base. To maintain traffic and conversions continue to make boards that are pinworthy.
Followers Perspective: If your pins are interesting, I will repin them and share them with my friends. If I continue to follow your pins, I will have a higher chance of buying something some day.
Down to the Research: Research your pin tactics, view what is being re-pinned. What products are actually converting for you? Is it because of the artistic twist? Is it because you clearly stated a price? or was it just luck? Try to narrow down the solid correlations between your pins and conversions. This can be done by isolating the pins and conversions over time. As with any research, you must achieve a standard sample size in order to draw conclusions. Patience and consistency are they keys to this research step.
3. Do your Keyword Research
Don’t think you got away with not having to perform keyword research. Pinterest still is a website, and performing the correct keyword research still plays a roll even in this world of boards and pins. There is an increase of search trends within a webpage. In Pinterest, there is a search bar in the top left that trigger your keywords.
Business Perspective: Keywords are not your enemy. In Pinterest they are not subject to the same rigid rules of Google Algorithms. They work more as “category tags” you can write “lemon cake” 15 times on the description and you will still show up for the search query “lemon cake”. There is no downside to using keywords on Pinterest. You want to make it as easy as possible for the users to find the product they are looking for, and if you create great pins, you should not be threatened by keyword searches.
Followers Perspective: Instead of searching through pinboard after pinboard to find what I am looking for, I can easily type my search query in the top left. The business that grabs my attention is the one I click on. Usually Pinterest is a game of browsing and seeing what grabs my attention, but sometimes there is a purpose to find a new idea, a new concept that I can use. So Pinterest, what do you have for me?
Down to the Research: Research your keyword options for each of your boards. Most likely the keywords that are used for searches in the Google search bar are going to be predominately the same ones used for any search bar. Choosing keywords with higher effectiveness can directly increase your visibility and follower reach. It’s as simple as that, target the searches with high volume, create an appealing pin and see your followers increase.
With these 3 tips for your Pinterest Research, you will create higher quality pins, drive more traffic & conversions and ultimately provide followers with the perfect pin for their search query.