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Pinterest is a very useful tool for business owners who are looking to expand their audience and grow their revenue. However, as with any content marketing, there are as many ways to be successful as there are to fail. In order to succeed, it is important to be aware of the common Pinterest mistakes to avoid. This will help you reduce wasted marketing expenses and maximize your reach and engagement. Check out these common mistakes and how they can harm your Pinterest strategies.
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Pinning Your Products (and Nothing Else)
When you are creating content for your Pinterest page, remember that it is a place for customers to interact with your business – it is not just for selling your products. Keep the product promotions on your website and use your Pinterest profile as a gateway to those products. That’s not to say that you can’t include snippets of information about your products, but it should not be the focus of the page. People want to feel like they are interacting with a company, not being sold on one.
Including Weirdly Unrelated Boards
On the flip side of that, you want to make sure that you are communicating the values and purpose of your business on your page. Analyze your Pinterest board names and consider if they fit into your niche. If not, get them out of there. For example, if you are selling natural supplements there is no reason to be talking about your favorite TV shows through your boards. Keep that for your personal page. You can, however, talk about other wellness systems such as yoga or meditation as those are adjacent to the naturopathic category.
Leaving Your Business Profile Blank
Perhaps one of the most common Pinterest mistakes businesses make is not completing their business profile. It doesn’t take long and it can make all the difference when attracting paying customers. A completed business profile can provide your customers with all the information they need to be informed about your business all in one place. If they have to go looking for the information themselves, chances are they will just look for another business with similar offerings that has all these resources at their fingertips.
Make sure you tell your customers about your business, verify your website, use a relevant business name and profile image, link your social media accounts, and include attractive Pins and board covers with the most relevant boards at the top. It should only take a few moments for your customer to recognize who you are, what you offer, how they can find products and the quality of your offerings.
Not Including Engagement Content or Call to Actions
One of the most important things to consider when creating Pinterest strategies is how you are going to convert your Pinterest audience to a profitable customer base. The best way to do this is to make sure you are getting clicks that turn into conversions.
If you do not give your customers a reason to click on your content, they will bypass it and go elsewhere. You must include content on your page that will promote engagement. A great way to do this is to include a clear call to action in your pins, such as offering free resources or telling them exactly where to go to find something they need.
Not Including Links to Product Pages
While we stated not to include only product promotions, that is not to say that you should not provide the resources for your customers to find your products. Rather than filling your page with advertisements about your products, briefly mention products and include links to product pages. This helps ensure that the traffic that is coming to your website is more likely to result in a purchase.
Not Including Image Descriptions
A simple image is not enough to entice your audience to engage with your content, you must walk them through your process. Including descriptions with your images is a must to guide customers to find out more. In contrast, not having descriptions with your images could easily lead customers to click on your page and realize they have absolutely no interest at all. This will essentially drive up your cost per click since the majority of your clicks will not turn into conversions.
For example, if you include an image of a person meditating with no description, there is no reason for someone to click on it. However, if you include the description, “How can 10 minutes of guided meditation help you achieve a more restful sleep?” you now have identified a problem the customer may have and a solution to solve it.
Including Bad Visuals in Pins and Profile Pictures
Pinterest is a very visual platform so it stands to reason that you want your visuals to stand out. You want to make sure that your visuals are high quality and clear. There are thousands of images on Pinterest and if your visuals are not matching the quality of your competitors, the credibility of your business will suffer.
Not Taking Advantage of Analytics
Tracking not only your data but also your market data is key to developing successful Pinterest strategies. If you are not taking advantage of the analytics tools available to you, you can not address the market in real time. As much as you may think you know what your target audience is looking for, it can change in the blink of an eye. Luckily, there are many tools on Pinterest, Google, and other content marketing platforms to help you get a clear, real-time view of your niche.
The bottom line is, if you want to make the most of your Pinterest business page, you will need to make sure you are catering to your audience and engaging with them. Additional things to consider may include including Rich Pins, focusing on conversions rather than followers, having a stable content schedule, and incorporating current keywords in your content. A good practice is to take a look at what successful companies in your niche are doing and develop your strategy accordingly.
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