If you’re running a business, then you know how important word-of- mouth advertising is to your bottom line. This is particularly true when your business is online. Unless your business is very new, you
‘re probably already sharing on social media
While not a social media site, Pinterest is an integral part of online ecommerce. In 2010, this new site gave the public a place to pin (as in bulletin board) their favorite ideas, photos and content as a visual idea board.
Creatives will recognize this as an inspiration/design board and wedding planners may have been the first to really grasp the concept. Once people realized they could visualize their ideas, Pinterest took off.
As a jewelry designer and bead maker, I was on board from the beginning. Pinterest has made some changes over the years, but for the most part, pinning still offers artists and online sellers a great place to show off their wares.
Here are some pros and cons that I have found over the years:
Pros
- 433 million global users a month;
- Qualified audience with an average income of $75,000;
- The search engine is accurate without any “suggestions” from the site;
- Conversions are higher;
- Marketing budget can be almost zero;
- Photographers and graphic designers can set up a samples board for clients;
- Private boards can be set up for clients where ideas can be worked out;
- All boards are public, so everyone has a chance to see your content;
- You can add a link to your photo driving traffic to your site;
- Users find it to be a positive site without negative images or advertising;
- Posts have a longer life-span around 4 months;
- It is a great source of inspiration and mood for artists and designers.
Cons
- It takes a while for a post to gain traction;
- It can be very niche oriented, which is good if you have a niche;
- You need to constantly share in order to get traffic;
- Images can be shared without the link to your site;
- Images can be stolen and uncredited later;
- Design ideas can be copied without your knowledge;
- There are specific image requirements such as size and dimensions;
- It can be time consuming to post several times a day;
- Scheduling software can be expensive.
I know that Pinterest drives a lot of traffic to my site, but it’s also very easy to get into trouble with the site. They only want certain content, products and information on their site, so it can be tough to get your site okayed.
I’ve run afoul of their requirements by having the same “About Me” across the internet. I’ve been selling online since 1996, so yeah, it can be a duplicate. If they send you a rejection, just comply, as they are a great source of traffic and sales.
If you need a site, then check out Shopify. They have a free trial.
With Shopify, there is an addon that will do scheduling for you. I use Outfy to run all of my product posts. If you need help, you can hire a freelancer to do things for you.
