Until recently, very few people have heard of Pinterest. But now it is up there with the big boys of social media networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
For business owners, this is great news because Pinterest is now a top referral traffic goldmine that converts visitors into buyers at a much higher rate than any other social media platform.
According to a study by RichRelevance, Pinterest drives larger orders – nearly double that of other social channels. While shoppers who come to retail sites from Facebook and Twitter purchase more often, Pinterest users spend dramatically more than either ($168.83 average order value vs. $94.70 for Facebook and $70.84 for Twitter).
Before Pinterest came along it was Facebook that held the number one position for referral traffic and conversions. It is still a very important platform as its conversion rates are high, but Pinterest is better.
Below are 14 tried & tested tactics that have been proven to be effective for driving quality Pinterest traffic to your website.
Tactic #1 – Let your customers know you are on Pinterest
Notify your list and customers, letting them know that you are on Pinterest. Be sure to include an exclusive invitation for them to join you. For extra impact, inset a screen shot of one of your boards, giving them a sneak peak of all of the great content that you feature on Pinterest.
Tactic #2 – Use Pinterest invite button on your site
Pinterest has a built in “invite” function on the site. This is perfect for inviting your Facebook and Twitter followers to join you on Pinterest.
Tactic #3 – Ask visitors to follow you
Add a “Follow Me on Pinterest” button to your blog or website. This makes it easy for your visitors to follow your boards
Tactic #4 – Add CTAs with links to your pins
Always add a message and a CTA (Call To Action) to the image itself. This simple tip will result in an 80% increase on engagement with your followers.
Tactic #5 – Leave comments on repins
This is a great tip for raising your profile and making you more visible to a wider audience: Whenever someone ‘repins’ you, take a few minutes to leave a comment so that your image appears below the “pinned from” link.
Tactic #6 – Give freebies
Everybody loves a freebie. Post an image of something that you are giving away. Then add a call to action so that they know to click on the image to claim their free copy.
Tactic #7 – Sync your pins with other social media accounts
Make good use of social media by posting news of your Pinterest account on all of your other social media accounts such as Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, YouTube, Facebook etc.
Tactic #8 – Make your links clickable
Make it a habit to include a clickable link in the description box below your image, making sure that you also include http:// before the website address.
Tactic #9 – Link to other pages
Remember that this is a social bookmarking site so be strategic with the links that you add to your images. For example, don’t just link to your main URL address. Instead link to a specific page or post within your site relating to the image that you posted. This will help you get more sales.
Tactic #10 – Time your pinnings
Saturdays are great days to pin as there is more activity on a Saturday which will result in higher engagement than other days.
Tactic #11 – Give a good first impression
First impressions are very important so make sure that you organise your boards so that your niche specific boards appear in the top row. It will look neat and organised and make it easier for your followers to find what they are looking for.
Tactic #12 – Pin educative materials
Pin tutorials, guides, how-to’s and recipes if you want even more activity. These 4 categories are proven to get a 42% higher click through rate.
Tactic #13 – Be sociable
Follow popular Pinners in your niche who target the same audience as you do. Then make a point of commenting on their board, ‘liking’ them and repin their pins. You will attract a new following very quickly.
Tactic #14 – Incorporate QR codes in your pins
Here is a really clever idea: pin QR codes to your boards and include a written call to action. Not only will you get people clicking on the image itself but you will also drive a lot of traffic to your site from those who choose to scan the code.
Conclusion
It has been proven that Pinterest users spend more than twice as much as Facebook users. What this means is that you need to incorporate Pinterest into your marketing mix right now. It is the perfect time as Pinterest is still evolving, so it is vital to get in early so that as it grows and expands, your business and sales will too.
The post 14 Tried & Tested Pinterest Traffic Tips appeared first on DeyanSystems TechBlog.