When shoppers search for the perfect item, they’re not doing it on foot anymore.

Consumers are researching products online — on the go or in the comfort of their homes — and they’re using Pinterest. A lot.

73 percent of Pinterest users have purchased something they’ve found on the site. They’ve also stopped using other traditional researching methods like magazines and catalogs.

And they’re going directly to the websites of their favorite stores. Two-thirds of all pins created are from business websites.

If you’re not using Pinterest to promote your products, you are potentially losing out on a lot of sales.

But if you’re late to the Pinterest game, don’t worry. Now is a great time to start because Pinterest has developed a lot of great tools and features that will help get your products found.

Here are five ways your business can sell with Pinterest:

1. Buyable Pins

If your online store uses e-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce, Demandware, and Shopify, you qualify to use Pinterest’s Buyable Pins.

Once your account is set up, pins created from items on your online store will be marked with a bright blue “Buy it” or “Add to bag” button and the price is listed right underneath the image of your item.

Buyable Pins are easy to spot and make it simple for pinners to purchase. Shoppers can add items from multiple businesses to their Pinterest shopping cart and check out on mobile or desktop.

2. Rich Pins

Connecting Pinterest’s Rich Pins code to your Pinterest account and website makes pinning your products easier for you and your customers.

The Product Pin pulls in information on images pinned from your website, such as real-time price information, availability, location, and description. It guarantees that anyone who pins your products will automatically have the most up-to-date information on the pin.

3. Promoted Pins

Businesses can purchase ads on Pinterest, which are known as Promoted Pins.

You can purchase ads based on one of three different marketing goals: awareness, engagement, and driving traffic to your website. Choose to put your pins in front of the audience most likely to purchase your products by targeting relevant keywords, interests, and locations.

4. Keywords

Using Pinterest’s tools will give your business an advantage in the Pinterest feed, but there are a few things you can do to give you even more of an edge, starting with keywords.

Remember, people are using Pinterest to do research on things they want to buy. Use the keywords that you already may be using in your email marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimization in your website product descriptions and pins.

Test these keywords by looking them up yourself on Pinterest — what products come up in searches for these terms? Are there other keywords being used on those pins that you can add to your list?

Tip: Not sure what keywords are right for your business? Use these keyword research tips!

5. Visuals

Think carefully about the visuals you use on your website that could be pinned and the pins you’re creating.

Pinners have certain preferences when it comes to the visuals they save on their boards. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Height: Taller images on Pinterest are more appealing and they get noticed more in the Pinterest feed. Pinterest recommends an aspect ratio of 2:3 for your images. They should be at least 600 pixels wide by 900 pixels tall.
• Color: If your branding or your products use reddish-orange colors, you’re in luck. Curalate found that images that are reddish-orange get twice as many repins as blue images. Multiple dominant colors are popular as well — they get 3.25 more repins than images with a single dominant color.
• Faces: Pinners prefer images that don’t have a face. Photos that show people using your products are fine; just make your product the focus when you can.
• Background: A product shot with a white background won’t get pinned as much as an image with a multicolor background. Give pinners some visual interest — show them the environment that your product will be used in.

It’s time to pin and win!

Now you have the tools and tips you need to use Pinterest to sell your products. Set yourself up for success, get your products in front of pinners, and watch your business grow!

Need more Pinterest help?

Check out our Social Media Quickstarter resources on Pinterest — you’ll learn how to create the perfect pin, how to get found on Pinterest, and much more.

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