6 Strategies for Pinterest Buyable Pins Pinterest is no longer just a shopping list. It's a shopping site. Move over, Amazon.
By Neil Patel Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Pinterest just became massively valuable. The brand itself is valuable enough already, with a valuation around 11 billion. Now, they're valuable for you.
Two words: Buyable pins.
In June, Pinterest rolled out the highly-anticipated buyable pin feature. Buyable pins are select pins with a "buy" button, allowing users to purchase what they see in select Pinterest pins.
Here's how Pinterest explains it:
When you spot a Pin with a blue price, you'll know you can buy it right from the app.
Pinners are shoppers. A full 87 percent of Pinterest users admit to making a purchase because of Pinterest. And for the few Pinterest users who haven't made a purchase, they are planning on it. Ninety-three percent of Pinterest members use Pinterest as their de facto shopping list.
Pinterest is no longer just a shopping list. It's a shopping site. Move over, Amazon.
Using Pinterest's mobile app, users can make purchases, adjust price filters and product colors, input their credit card information (once), and happily keep shopping and pinning to their heart's content.
Until now, buying via Pinterest has been a clunky and disjointed process. With the introduction of buyable pins, buying is seamless, safe, mobile-friendly, and likely to bring in millions of additional sales to retailers.
Is your business ready for buyable pins? Here are the top six strategies for implementing buyable pins as part of your commerce strategy.
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1. Use a Pinterest-ready commerce platform (or wait patiently until Pinterest is ready for you).
Are buyable pins right for you? Not unless Pinterest is ready for you. Only select big-box retailers and a few ecommerce platforms have access to buyable pins.
Shopify retailers are in luck. Pinterest has chosen to partner with Shopify and Demandware at the outset of the buyable pin era. If you use Shopify or Demandware to power your store, you can easily add the Pinterest sales channel to sell products.
Demandware users must contact their customer success manager to learn more. Shopify users can begin using buyable pins immediately.
As it is, Pinterest boosts ecommerce sales without a buy button. Now, the boost will be even bigger than before. Shopify users are already pushing out buyable pins and enjoying the revenue difference that it makes.
If you are not using Shopify or Demandware to power your store, you can join Pinterest's waiting list for buyable pins.
2. Plug into Pinterest Analytics.
To use Pinterest as a serious marketing channel, you'll need to sign up for their analytics platform. Pinterest Analytics gives actionable information such the number of impressions, views, repins and clicks. Demographics such as countries languages, metro area, gender, and interests are also available.
Marketers act on data, not hunches. If you want to hone your Pinterest strategy and to maximize your buyable pin strategy, you're going to need data.
To use Pinterest Analytics, all you need is a business account and a verified website.
3. Watch your Pinterest audience carefully.
Since 93 percent of Pinterest users are planning their purchases using the platform, it's up to you to listen to them. What products interest them? What are they repinning? What are they liking? What are they sending to their friends?
The information you gain will turn into future sales. You no longer have to guess at what your customers want. They're telling you. They are pinning it right on their Pinterest boards.
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4. Expand your Pinterest activity.
Pinterest is now a sales channel. How big of a sales channel? You get to decide.
The only way that buyable pins will be valuable is if you are actively using Pinterest as a marketing platform right now. Already, the research indicates that Pinterest is the most buy-prone social media platform on the planet.
All you have to do is meet those purchase-happy pinners on their turf, amp up your engagement, and flip the switch on buyable pins.
Never before has Pinterest held such appeal. It's no longer just a social platform. It's a sales channel.
5. Test your Pinterest approach on mobile.
Seventy-five percent of all Pinterest daily traffic is from mobile devices. Mobile Pinterest users are three times more likely to pin and repin than desktop users.
As a mobile-driven social site, you must be tuned in to your Pinterest mobile strategy. Pinterest buyable pins are designed to play directly into the platform's mobile users. Buyable pins are first rolling out on mobile before they hit the desktop platform.
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann explained their mobile-centric approach: "Right now...everyone uses their phone, but it's still a pain to buy things. There are fiddly menus. You have to squint to see the images."
How mobile is your Pinterest strategy? Hootsuite advises businesses, "Check out how your Pins stack up against others on a smartphone screen—you may be surprised at what you see."
6. Optimize your promoted pins.
Your promoted pins are a great place to introduce your buyable pin strategy. With promoted pins, you can select your best pins, adjust your target audience and pay for impressions or clickthroughs. By tracking the performance of your promoted pins, you can discover their value and ultimate effect.
To make use of buyable pins, use the information that you've gained from your promoted pins to enhance your buyable pins. You already know the best targets and the right level of engagement. Now all you need to do is make them buyable.
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