When it first launched, brands weren't sure how to sell on Pinterest. It wasn't immediately clear if the company was trying to be a social media platform, an e-commerce platform, a search engine, or something else. Over the years it's become clear that Pinterest is a unique visual search platform – and with this comes some great opportunities for brands.
Over time, Pinterest has evolved into a dynamic image search engine and a powerful sales channel. With millions of shoppers researching their next purchase on Pinterest, brands have an enormous opportunity to reach a highly engaged, purchase‑ready audience. Pinterest also offers exclusive features through its Verified Merchant Program (VMP), enhancing visibility and branding for businesses.
In this guide, we’ll cover the steps you should take to turn your business Pinterest account into a thriving sales channel for your brand. From setting up your Pinterest business account and creating engaging product Pins to advanced strategies and data‑driven optimizations – we'll share all the tricks.
In this guide:
- Why sell on Pinterest
- Setting up your Pinterest business account
- Creating and optimizing your product pins
- How to use Pinterest advertising and analytics
- Content planning and scheduling
- Advanced strategies for encouraging Pinterest sales
- Pinterest catalogs and product feed optimization
- Common pitfalls and troubleshooting
- Case studies: Brands sharing visual inspiration on Pinterest
- Frequently asked questions
Why sell on Pinterest?
Pinterest isn’t just about inspiration, since there's plenty of proof that spending time on this visual search engine often translates to real sales.
According to Pinterest Business Insights, people on Pinterest are 90% of searches to say they’re “always shopping”, compared to audiences on other social media sites. That’s despite 97% of searches on Pinterest featuring no brand terms. Users go to Pinterest for inspiration and start their product research on the platform, making it a high‑ROI channel for brands. The Pinterest search bar is crucial for discovering trending search queries and long-tail keywords, which can significantly enhance visibility and engagement.
This strong purchase intent, combined with its visual appeal, makes Pinterest a digital commerce powerhouse. For brands that want to use it to increase their sales, there's a lot of potential.
Setting up your Pinterest business account
1. Create your business account
First, you'll need to set up a dedicated Pinterest business account or convert your existing personal account. If you need to convert, you can do this through the settings menu and then account management.
Once your business account is active, this will unlock features like Pinterest Analytics, promoted Pins, and rich Pins.
Beyond all that, having a business account builds credibility and provides the tools needed to boost engagement. Creating a Pinterest shop allows you to sell products directly on Pinterest, leveraging integrations with e-commerce platforms like Shopify for seamless transactions.
2. Claim and verify your website
Before you start pinning, you'll have to claim your website by adding a meta tag or uploading an HTML file.
It's worth completing this step since verification not only authenticates your brand but also lets you track detailed analytics. This means you can be sure that your Pins are directing users back to your online store.
Creating and optimizing your product Pins
High‑quality, engaging Pins should always be at the heart of a successful Pinterest strategy.
To make sure your Pins perform at their very best, there are a few strategies to keep in mind.
Post photos that stand out
If you want your photos to perform well on Pinterest, you should invest in high‑resolution, vertical images (ideally at a 2:3 aspect ratio) that reflect your brand’s style.
While these are great for sharing directly to Pinterest, they should also be prominent on your website so that anyone else saving your content to Pinterest has suitable imagery to choose from.
Ultimately, consistent visuals will make your Pinterest business profile look more professional and help bring more potential customers to your page. In addition, featuring Pinterest-friendly imagery on your website will mean that your brand stands out even if someone else is doing the pinning.
Take advantage of Rich Pins
Rich Pins automatically sync details – such as pricing, availability, and product descriptions – from your website to your Pins.
To take advantage of this feature, you'll need to make sure that all the relevant information is available via the use of rich meta tags on your website. As a bonus, this means that if any of the details on your website change, the synced data will automatically update on Pinterest too.
It's worth taking the time to set all this up, as having all the necessary information immediately available can make users more likely to hit purchase.
For more information about how Rich Pins work, head to Pinterest's help center.
Create product Pins that convert
You can also optimize your product Pins by writing clear, keyword‑rich titles and descriptions with compelling calls to action. As a rule, each Pin should link directly to your online store for a streamlined purchase experience.
To create Pins from scratch, head to the Pinterest menu and then select “Create Pin”.
See our tips on creating product Pins for more insights on crafting high‑converting Pins.
How to use Pinterest advertising and analytics
To take your Pinterest activity up a notch, you'll need to embrace a combination of paid strategies and data-led decision-making.
There are plenty of strategies that can further boost your Pinterest profile. Here are two core ones to get you started.
Utilize promoted Pins and shopping ads
Investing in Pinterest ads – including promoted Pins, carousel ads, and shopping ads – is a great way to extend your reach. The nice thing about Pinterest ads is that they appear mid-feed and blend well with organic content.
The difference is that your ads will be shown to a lot more people than you might usually reach, while you can use targeting tools to make sure that they reach the right audience. You can get pretty precise with Pinterest's advertising tools, including targeting based on user interests and search queries.
Monitor performance with Pinterest Analytics
Pinterest Analytics allows you to track metrics like impressions, outbound clicks, and engagement rates. Regularly analyzing these insights allows you to refine your strategy and improve conversions.
Checking in on these stats regularly can help you refine your strategy. For example, if you see that a particular Pin is getting a lot of outbound clicks and leading to conversions, you could plan more content in that specific style.
To dig a little deeper with analytics, third-party tools like Brandwatch allow you to create custom reports in order to track your progress over time and ensure you meet your targets.
Content planning and scheduling
As with other social media platforms, consistency on Pinterest is the key to success. That means posting regularly and generally staying present so that your brand remains visible.
To achieve this, you'll need a robust content plan. This should cover the following:
Develop a content strategy
As part of your wider social media strategy, you probably already have a detailed social media content plan outlining your goals and target topics. If you don’t, then it’s time to create one.
It’s crucial to stay on brand, so you’ll need some key messages that you want to share across all channels, a style guide for tone, and a brand aesthetic to keep in mind.
You also need to cover factors such as how often you post, what type of content should be shared, and a reminder to make sure that all products are tagged and linked back to your site.
You can then share your Pinterest strategy with others in your team to ensure it’s rolled out smoothly.
Use a post scheduler to save time
A social media posting schedule – or content calendar – can help maintain a steady flow of content.
Since content on Pinterest is generally evergreen, it's a good place to automate a batch of posts so you don't have to remember to upload them one by one.
To do this, you'll need a third-party social media management tool – like Brandwatch – to help.
Embrace AI tools
If you're stuck for ideas on Pinterest and looking for creative inspiration, AI can help.
For example, AI might be able to suggest a range of Pinterest boards that would likely be popular among your target audience based on emerging trends or come up with some search-friendly keywords for your latest Pins.
We've got a few more ideas in our social media managers’ guide to ChatGPT.
Advanced strategies for encouraging Pinterest sales
Once you're both familiar and comfortable with the basic functions of Pinterest, you can elevate your strategy with a few advanced tactics. Selling on Pinterest comes with its own set of challenges and advantages, which often comes back to audience engagement and working out how to convert interested users into customers. Here are two tactics to try:
Dynamic retargeting
Dynamic retargeting allows you to reconnect with users who have engaged with your Pins but haven’t yet completed a purchase, effectively closing the gap in the buying process.
Keep in mind the “seven-touchpoint rule,” whereby customers typically interact with a brand seven times before they make a purchase – making retargeting a key strategy.
A tool like Brandwatch can help your retargeting efforts and ensure you reach the people who have already shown an interest in your Pins.
Influencer collaborations
Partnering with influencers can be a great way to produce authentic content that resonates with your target audience. This strategy can boost engagement and drive higher conversions.
To get started, look for some influencers who feel like the right fit for our brand and approach them to see if they would like to work together.
This collaboration could take various forms – perhaps they would be up for sharing some of your content to their own Pinterest boards, or creating some exclusive content that could be shared on both your channel and theirs. The idea is that you tap into their audience through their introduction and connection.
Pinterest catalogs and product feed optimization
Pinterest catalogs are another good way of promoting specific product content.
These let you upload your entire product feed so that details like pricing and availability are automatically updated. This seamless integration is vital for brands with large inventories.
Setting up Pinterest catalogs
To start setting up a Pinterest product catalog, you'll need to go to the Pinterest Business Hub and then click on “create catalog.”
From there, you can add a data source for your product pins, and there are a few options to choose from. You can either upload manually, link to a spreadsheet, or use a shopping API for automatic updates if you have the tech in place. Alternatively, you can link your product catalog to Shopify.
Keeping catalogs up to date
To make sure all your product Pins display accurate price tags and details, you'll need to regularly update your product feed to keep it consistent with your website. If you're using a shopping API, this will update automatically – if not, you might need to update the information manually or through your linked spreadsheet.
E-commerce integrations can help with this too. For instance, platforms like Shopify offer built-in tools that simplify catalog management and streamline product data maintenance.
Common pitfalls and troubleshooting
Even the best strategies can encounter challenges. Here are some common pitfalls and how to overcome them:
- Low engagement: If your Pins aren’t generating enough clicks or saves, you might need to check your image quality and keyword optimization. Making sure you have a few calls to action can help with this, too.
- Technical issues: If you're finding that your Pinterest Analytics aren't fully loading, you should check that your website is properly claimed and your Pinterest tag is correctly installed. This is the only way you'll see who is finding their way to your website directly from Pinterest and what products they are clicking on.
- Ad spend optimization: To get the best results from your ads, monitor each paid post closely and adjust your targeting or budget based on performance data. If one ad is working particularly well, make a note of it for next time. Use Advertise to oversee this process.
- Content saturation: One of the unique things about Pinterest is that there is so much high‑quality content on the platform. To be favored by the algorithm, you'll need to focus on unique, stand-out visuals and a clear brand message.
Case studies: Brands sharing visual inspiration on Pinterest
Visual inspiration is critical on Pinterest. Here are two brands that have shone on the platform.
Ruggable
This home textiles brand, known for its washable rugs, worked out how to sell on Pinterest by specifically seeking out “quality customers” on the platform. This meant that they wanted to find pinners who were actively in the market to buy a rug and show them what they had to offer.
By embracing ads on the platform, they soon got to the stage where Pinterest was the top traffic driver to their website.
They now have over 80,000 followers on the platform and over 10 million monthly views on their Pins. They have a huge range of boards, focusing on everything from exclusive product collaborations with other brands and influencers, to both practical and seasonal decor.
Pretty Wire
French clothing company Pretty Wire transformed its acquisition strategy with Pinterest's Performance+ campaigns – an AI and automation-based optimization tool that matched their goals of increasing conversions.
By using a mix of compelling, on‑brand images with consistent color schemes and clear messaging – combined with precise audience targeting – the brand managed to double its click-through rate and reduce its advertising spend. Though they only have a few thousand followers, their reach is impressive – over 10 million Pinterest users see their Pins every month.
Frequently asked questions
As we reach the end of our guide on how to sell on Pinterest, let's make sure that we've covered the most important questions.
How much does it cost to sell on Pinterest?
Setting up a business account on Pinterest is free – and you can sell on Pinterest without spending anything at all. You only incur costs if you opt for paid promotions, such as promoted Pins.
Does Pinterest take a cut of my sales?
No. Pinterest earns revenue through advertising rather than transaction fees. Read more about Pinterest’s business model.
What are Rich Pins, and why should I use them?
Rich Pins automatically sync extra product details from your website (such as pricing and availability) directly to your Pins, boosting buyer confidence and conversion rates.
How do I integrate Pinterest with my online store?
E-commerce platforms like Shopify offer seamless integration with Pinterest, automatically syncing your product catalog. But even if you don't use Spotify, there are other integration techniques.
For example, you can upload your product catalog manually, or via a Google spreadsheet. Even better, if you have a tech team, they connect your shopping API to Pinterest, which means all the relevant information will update automatically.
What should I do if my Pins aren’t performing?
If you're not seeing the results you were hoping for, the first thing to check is your visual quality, keyword usage, and calls to action.
A closer look at Pinterest Analytics could help to diagnose issues and refine your strategy. For example, you might find that some images are performing better than others – perhaps these show your products more clearly, or the lighting and colors might be more appealing.
You can also use Brandwatch analysis to diagnose issues and refine your Pinterest strategy.
