Before investing the time and knowledge into learning a new social media platform, we often want to know “Will it work for me?”. Let’s discuss who will benefit from Pinterest marketing, and what types of business owners can trust that their time investing in Pinterest will pay off in the long run.
What type of businesses benefit from Pinterest
Some gurus tend to go over the top and say “Pinterest is for everyone”, when in reality, some businesses don’t benefit from marketing with Pinterest.
Listen Here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/charissemerrill/episodes/Who-Benefits-From-Pinterest-Marketing-e2lvank
Watch Here: https://youtu.be/k6sqRKZhUkE
Who Does NOT Benefit From Pinterest…
It’s much easier to start off with those who don’t benefit because the list is much shorter. The quick answer is, that any local product or service-based business, which thrives on local-only customers. Some examples are:
- Hair & nail salons
- Bakeries (which don’t ship)
- Little snack, soda or ice cream shops
- Tattoo parlors
- Lawn care services
With Pinterest, it’s hard to target “local only” pinners. Even with promoted pins, you won’t find much success. Read more about promoted pins here.
Now, I’m talking about local customers… tourist shops and well-visited/vacation sites, could potentially use Pinterest, but you wouldn’t want it to be your ONLY social media platform. I’ve seen successful AirBnB places take off with Pinterest marketing.
Who DOES Benefit From Pinterest…
Many companies do benefit from marketing with Pinterest. The short answer is, if you sell any online products, ship products across the country, or do virtual services, you can use Pinterest marketing to grow your business.
Online Businesses. If you have a website, and even better a blog (although a blog is not needed), you could attract hundreds of cold leads from Pinterest. Pinterest is not a “brand-specific” platform. Pinners aren’t looking for a brand, they’re looking for answers to their problem. They don’t care how big your email list is. You can showcase your website, content, and products all through Pinterest.
Ecommerce Shops. If you ship across your country, or worldwide, then Pinterest marketing will be so good for you! They’ve improved a lot over the years helping e-commerce sites upload their product list when you sign up as a merchant. Digital or physical products, both work.
Product Based Business. If you sell specific physical products, that are able to be shipped (even if you have a local store), you’re able to market with Pinterest. For example, Target. It’s a physical store, but also has online shopping. Product-based businesses like this could use Pinterest marketing (no matter how big or small).
Service-Based Business. If you are a service-based business where you’re able to serve online to benefit others, Pinterest marketing will work. Local service-based businesses, like lawn service, or healthcare workers, Pinterest would not work for you. But, there are some exceptions. If you have a hair salon, and you sell physical products from your website, you could market your product with Pinterest, but it’ll be hard to get new, local clients, from Pinterest. Another example. You are a personal trainer at a gym. It’ll be hard to get new local clients, but if you have an online meal plan, or consulting services, you could use Pinterest for that. (If you aren’t sure if your business will work, comment below about your business and I’ll answer you back.)
Affiliate Based Business. If your business is based on selling affiliate products, you can lead people to your website and sales pages with Pinterest marketing. I see this all the time, and it works well! Influencers who talk about makeup and clothing, share links all the time. I see it with moms and all of their “must haves” from Amazon. The options are endless.
The bottom line is, if your business solves a problem, and you’re able to serve/sell/ship products/services via the internet, then you can use Pinterest marketing.
How? You post pins that add value. The pinner clicks on your pin and is taken to your website. From there, they learn what you have to offer, learn more about you, sign up for email, and start purchasing products, there are endless opportunities.
Action Step:
Take a look at your current business model. Ask yourself these 3 questions.
- Do I need to increase brand awareness?
- Do I need more website traffic?
- Would I like more sales?
If you answered YES to any of these, and you aren’t strictly a local business owner, then I highly recommend learning Pinterest marketing.
In conclusion,
What’s the best way to start? With so much outdated Pinterest information, it’s hard to sort out the new, the used, and the good. You’ll want to follow current Pinterest best practices and the 3 pillars of success. Profile. Organized Pinning. Growth. The Pinterest Organic Growth Academy WILL get you there.
I love to answer readers’ questions, join my free Facebook community, and ask any Pinterest questions you have.
