Pinterest has become a powerful social media platform for discovering new ideas, planning projects, and driving business growth, with 570 million monthly active users. Unlike traditional social media platforms that focus on real-time updates and social connections, Pinterest operates as a visual discovery engine, where users curate and organize inspiring content for future reference.
This also makes it a great tool for driving traffic to your website and business pages.
Familiarize yourself with Pinterest so you can leverage it to build brand awareness, reach targeted audiences, and boost your sales and conversions.
How does Pinterest work?
The Pinterest experience is different depending on whether you have a business or personal account. But at its core, Pinterest is a visual platform that lets users “pin” images and videos to themed boards, creating personalized collections of ideas.
Pinterest for individual users
Pinterest users begin their journey by creating digital boards: themed collections that organize content around specific interests or projects. To create boards, users design them around a specific topic, such as “Kitchen Renovation Ideas,” “Fall Fashion,” “Workout Routines,” or “Small Business Tips.” The users then populate these boards by “pinning” content they discover while browsing the platform or external websites using the Pinterest save extension.
Pinterest users can also create secret boards. Your secret Pinterest boards are ones that only you can see, making them perfect for planning surprises or organizing private projects.
Pins are the fundamental unit of Pinterest content. Each pin consists of an image or video and can include a title, description, and website link back to the original source. When you find content you love, you can save pins to your relevant boards with a single click. This creates a personalized library of inspiration that you can reference anytime, whether you’re using the Pinterest app or accessing the platform through your web browser.
Pinterest for business and ecommerce
Pinterest has evolved into a powerful business platform because of its unique position in the customer journey. Unlike other social media platforms where users connect with friends, Pinterest users actively search for products, services, and solutions. This makes it an invaluable tool for businesses looking to reach their target customers who are already in a shopping or planning mindset.
A Pinterest business account provides access to detailed analytics, Pinterest ads, and custom audience insights that personal accounts don’t offer. For ecommerce businesses looking to make money on Pinterest, the platform functions as a visual catalog where shoppable product pins can drive traffic directly to their destination website. The platform’s shopping features let businesses create product catalogs, add pricing information, and enable users to purchase directly through Pinterest.
Content creators and service-based businesses also benefit from Pinterest’s visual nature. Interior designers, wedding planners, fitness coaches, and consultants can showcase their work through compelling visuals that attract potential clients. The platform’s longevity (pins can continue driving traffic for months or years) provides sustained value that exceeds that of most other platforms.
The Pinterest algorithm
The Pinterest algorithm determines what appears in your home feed, operating differently from other social media platforms. Instead of showing chronological updates from your friends, Pinterest uses a sophisticated ranking system to display pins based on your interests, previous activity, and trending content. It also predicts the popularity of pins by analyzing elevated engagement rates, frequent saves and interactions, relevant keyword optimization, superior visual content quality, and regular posting behavior.
The platform encourages exploration through features like “See more like this” suggestions and related pins that appear when you’re viewing individual content. This creates an endless discovery experience in which you move from one idea to the next organically.
Pinterest vs. Instagram: What’s the difference?
While both Pinterest and Instagram are image-focused social media platforms, their fundamental purposes and user behaviors differ significantly. Understanding these differences is crucial for businesses developing their social media marketing strategy. Here are key areas in which the two platforms set themselves apart:
Content lifespan and discovery
Instagram operates on an immediate social timeline, whereas Pinterest content typically has a longer lifespan. Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours, and feed posts quickly become buried. Pinterest works differently. A well-optimized pin can continue generating traffic and engagement for months or years as new users discover it through the platform’s search and browse features, much in the same way they might via a search engine.
User intent
Instagram users primarily engage for entertainment and social connection, scrolling through updates from friends and influencers. Pinterest users approach the platform with a specific intent to find online solutions, gather inspiration, or plan future activities. This intent-driven behavior makes Pinterest users more likely to take action on the content they discover.
Algorithm and reach
The Instagram algorithm heavily favors recent content and accounts with high engagement rates, making it challenging for smaller businesses to achieve organic reach. The Pinterest algorithm focuses more on content quality and relevance to user searches, providing more opportunities for new business accounts to gain visibility when they pin regularly.
Business applications
Use Instagram for brand building, community engagement, and influencer partnerships; consider using Pinterest for lead generation, website traffic, and direct sales conversions. You may find that Pinterest drives higher-quality traffic for you than other social media platforms.
Benefits of using Pinterest for your business
- Website traffic and SEO benefits
- Highly qualified lead generation
- Cost-effective advertising options
- Brand authority and trust-building
While Pinterest can be a fun visual playground for creative inspiration, it can also be a valuable marketing channel—one that business owners often overlook. Here are some ways you can leverage Pinterest to drive traffic to your web pages, increase brand awareness, and more:
Website traffic and SEO benefits
Pinterest consistently ranks among the top traffic drivers for many websites. According to a report by Pinterest and Ruggable, the addition of direct links via Pinterest facilitated a 145% increase in site visits for the rug company.
Because each pin includes a website link back to your site, active Pinterest marketing can drive traffic to your business. Additionally, search engines like Google index all the pins you create. According to SEO experts, these backlinks can bolster referral traffic, thanks in part to the fact that trends last 21% longer on Pinterest than they do elsewhere online.
Unlike social media posts that quickly disappear from feeds, Pinterest content has incredible staying power. A single high-quality pin can continue driving traffic for months or years after its original posting. This evergreen nature means your Pinterest marketing efforts compound over time, creating a library of content that works continuously to attract new customers when other pinners discover and save your pins to their own boards.
Highly qualified lead generation
Pinterest users often visit the platform when they’re actively planning purchases or life changes. Whether someone is planning a wedding, redecorating their home, or starting a fitness journey, they’re in a research and shopping mindset. This makes Pinterest traffic high quality, with users likely to engage with your business and make purchases. According to Pinterest, 44% of millennial Pinterest users say they have made a purchase based on branded content they saw on Pinterest.
Cost-effective advertising options
Pinterest ads tend to be more affordable than other social platforms while delivering strong results. According to the platform, these ads bring in 11.4 times more prospects than ads on other social media sites and at a cost of conversion that is 1.3 times lower.
Pinterest ad formats include promoted pins, Shopping ads, and Idea pins (multipage content that can contain video elements). Because Pinterest users are already in a discovery mindset, they’re more receptive to promotional content, leading to higher engagement rates and better return on ad spend (ROAS) for businesses of all sizes. According to a Nielsen analysis, Pinterest translates to a 32% higher ROAS than other digital platforms.
Brand authority and trust-building
Consistently sharing valuable, inspirational Pinterest content positions your business as an authority in your industry. When users repeatedly encounter your helpful pins in their feeds and search results, it builds familiarity and trust. This organic brand building is particularly valuable for service-based businesses and B2B companies looking to establish thought leadership through their own pins and curated content.
How to get started on Pinterest
- Sign up for a business account
- Create a pin strategy
- Start making pins
- Engage in Pinterest communities
- Study your competitors
- Experiment with different content formats
Getting started on Pinterest requires a strategic approach that begins with understanding your audience’s wants and needs and ends with consistent, optimized content creation.
1. Sign up for a business account
Begin by setting up a new business account, which provides access to analytics, advertising options, and business-specific features that a personal account doesn’t offer. Choose a clear, professional profile picture and write a keyword-rich Pinterest profile bio that explains what visitors can expect from your content.
2. Create a pin strategy
Develop five to 10 specific boards that align with your business offerings and customer interests. Board names should be descriptive and searchable. Do keyword research to determine which terms your target audience members use when they search Pinterest. Then incorporate these keywords into your board names and descriptions. The descriptions for your boards should explain the content theme and include relevant hashtags to help people find your content. The Pinterest Trends tool is a good place to discover popular keywords within specific interests.
3. Start making pins
Create pins using a mix of your own content and curated content from other sources. Pinterest rewards accounts that publish content and share valuable pins regardless of the source. When you add pins to your boards, ensure all your original pins link back to relevant pages on your website. Pinterest users respond well to vertical images with a 2:3 ratio, bright colors, and clear typography. Unlike Instagram, where heavily filtered photos perform well, Pinterest users prefer authentic, actionable content. Try using infographics, step-by-step tutorials, and inspirational quotes with branded backgrounds to generate strong engagement.
4. Engage in Pinterest communities
Consider joining group boards in your niche, where multiple users can pin things to shared boards. This strategy helps expand your reach by exposing your content to other people’s audiences. You can also schedule pins using Pinterest’s native scheduling tool or a third-party platform to maintain consistent activity.
5. Study your competitors
Research your competitors and other successful accounts in your industry to understand what visual styles and content types resonate with your target audience. Use Pinterest’s search function to explore trending topics and popular pins in your niche. Pay attention to pin descriptions and hashtag usage to understand how others are successfully optimizing their content for discovery. Study other boards in your category to see what types of pins people are saving frequently.
6. Experiment with different content formats
Pinterest offers various content formats beyond traditional pins, including idea pins. An idea pin lets you create a pin with multiple pages or even video elements, with the goal to create content that is even more interactive for the user. This format is particularly effective for tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, and step-by-step guides that provide helpful tips to your audience.
How does Pinterest work FAQ
How much does it cost to use Pinterest?
Pinterest personal accounts and business accounts are free. You can create boards, pin things you find interesting, and access basic analytics without any cost. However, Pinterest offers paid advertising options called promoted pins. On average, companies pay between $0 and $1.50 per 1,000 impressions, or between $0 and 20¢ per click. These relatively low rates make Pinterest advertising accessible for businesses of all sizes.
Can I use Pinterest for business?
Absolutely. Pinterest business accounts are specifically designed for companies and entrepreneurs. Business accounts provide access to detailed analytics about pin performance, audience demographics, and website traffic. You can also access advertising tools, shopping features, and the ability to claim your website to track all pins from your domain across other boards on the platform.
Can I sell on Pinterest for free?
It’s free to sell products on Pinterest. You also have the option to run paid advertising campaigns.
