Have yourself a very Pinterest Christmas
‘That’ time of year is slowly creeping up on us again (I know, I know – I’m still recovering from the last one too!) So, with Christmas comes a nation of shoppers looking for gifts for loved ones. Not to mention people desperate to spend their Christmas money in the post-Christmas sales. If you own a business that sells products (or services), you are, of course, going to want a chunk of those sales – but what is the best way to go about that, utilising the power of social media? In particular, how can Pinterest be of help?
Is Christmas really such a big deal?
In 2014 UK shoppers spent a whopping £74.261 billion on presents for others and themselves – alongside Christmas trimmings, travel, and food for the big day. Go on, read that figure again.
What percentage of Christmas spending is done online?
23.4% of that spending last year was done online – just to clarify, that’s nearly a quarter of that crazy sum of money above going to online retailers. Christmas 2014 saw a growth of 19.5% in online spending on the festive period of 2013, and it is thought that 2014’s figures were negatively affected by the distribution issues made public in the news.
It’s worth noting that mobile spending was high too; nearly 30% of 2014’s online Christmas shopping was done on a mobile phone or a tablet. That figure will no doubt be increasing year on year, which is why it is so important that your website be ‘mobile-ready’.
But how can Pinterest help me?
Whilst Facebook and Twitter are more about social interactions, Pinterest’s users are pretty much logging on to shop – or at least to create shopping lists for the future in the form of boards. I’m not telling you to forget the other platforms – indeed, they can successfully support your Christmas Pinterest campaign, and drive sales in their own ways – but if you have a product or service, Christmas is the time for you to really sell yourself on Pinterest. The majority of small businesses aren’t on Pinterest, so if you’re one of them, get on it today and make yourself known. A quick search on Google will return lots of tips for setting up a business account.
60% of Pinterest’s users rely on the site at Christmas time for inspiration and for finding gifts. 60% of 70 million monthly active users is a lot of users. Not only do people create boards for gift ideas they see for others, but they also create boards for Christmas outfits, gifts for themselves from others, treats for themselves, Christmas dinner ideas, party planning, and so on. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get your images pinned in these boards.
The ‘buy it’ button
Pinterest is currently rolling out ‘buy it’ buttons in the US (and further afield soon, I am sure), and therefore becoming even more shopper-friendly than it already is. This a game changer for small and large businesses alike. Soon, people will be able to buy your products at the click of a button, through Pinterest. This point alone stresses how important the quality and style of your images are – they can literally sell your product (or not).
So, how do I use Pinterest for my Christmas campaign?
This infographic of statistics is great as a reminder of what to focus on with your Pinterest campaign in general. Pinterest is a visual marketer’s dream, so try some of the tips below to make the most out of it for your business this Christmas season:- Pin as often as you can, but only if they are relevant and quality images.
- Ensure all of your own photography is high quality. Pinterest IS photographs, so if you fail at that aspect, you may as well give up now!
- Make sure all your photographs are aspirational or inspirational, and artistic; a photograph like the below will not sell your product if you are a teddy bear business (or a carpet or door business!) If you’re not sure what I mean, take a look at what your competitors are pinning. I recommend doing this anyway, as you may find inspiration for boards.
You need to be aiming more for this type of thing, which Pinterest users love:
- Educate users. People love instructables and how-to guides. Get inventive and produce some festive versions on your blog to pin.
- Be subtle – create festive boards that are peppered with your products, rather than boards just full of your products and nothing else.
- Continue your Pinterest campaign into the new year – savvy shoppers buy what they really wanted for Christmas in the new year sales, which start on Christmas Day online, and continue into January!
- Try a Pinterest-only festive competition, to generate a buzz.
- Include prices in your pins – pins with prices get 36% more likes than those without, so it is something worth doing.
- Repin the Christmassy pins of others, to bring people to your boards.
- Use animals, babies, and happy couples and families in your Christmas pins. People love all of these images when they’re in the festive spirit!
- Ensure your festive boards are at the top of your Pinterest page. A simple but vital step.
- Change your older board names to include keywords people will search for during the festive season.
- If you ship to the US or your service is available to people there, remember to include the word ‘Holidays’ in your pin descriptions alongside ‘Christmas’.
- Try adding a call-to-action in your pin descriptions (e.g. “click here to see why this pillow would be a perfect Christmas gift!”)
- Keep your descriptions between 100 and 200 characters long, as pins with descriptions of this length get repinned most often.
- Share your Pinterest boards on all of your social media accounts.
- Aim for a trending topic board – this would increase your click through rates by nearly 100%. It can be done!
Good luck with your campaigns. This article took me a very long time to complete, as I had to log into Pinterest, therefore losing hours of my day there looking at glittery, shiny Christmassy things. Is it December yet??
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Featured image credit: Pixabay
