From exploring their interests and finding desired products to connecting with people with similar passions, millions of users use Pinterest every day to benefit from its interesting content. Owing to its fan base, Pinterest could be an ideal launching and marketing platform for your Etsy business. Have a look at a handful of our tips to effectively promote your Etsy Shop on Pinterest.
Start by using the ‘Etsy Attribution Icon’ on Pinterest and the ‘Pin It’ button on Etsy!
Confused much? It’s okay, read on!
Copyright infringement has previously been a cause of concern for artists on Pinterest. In their attempt to address the issue, Pinterest has introduced attribution icons to pins from various retail and blog sites, including Etsy. As these attributions occur automatically, once you generate a pin from your Etsy shop, it will instantly include the icon, regardless of a specified source. Etsy Attribution Icons have been really instrumental for Etsy sellers as they acknowledge their potential customers that their re-pinned items can be easily purchased from Etsy.
In conjunction with the Etsy attribution icon, the Pin It button on Etsy’s products allows pinners to easily pin products from the site with direct backlinks. This further allows Etsy shop-owners to provide an automatically generated caption for the product pins.
Think your shop is really cool? Make Your Boards Cooler!
- Make your range of boards reflect your Etsy shop’s personality, taste and ideology. Also, make sure each of your boards includes enough pinned content to make it worthy of following.
- People are more likely to not follow a board titled with a Shakespearean phrase, so make it a point to label your boards clearly using an easy vocabulary. However, being creative won’t really harm your Pinterest presence so feel free to use your creative flair.
- Pinterest users do judge a book by its cover so for each board, choose a compelling cover picture that instantly attracts users to follow that board. Using a pin with most re-pins may work well for this purpose.
Grab some attention for your unbeatable offers
Over time, Pinterest has introduced some really business-friendly features like Rich Pins and Pinterest Messenger. Another great feature that is particularly helpful to Etsy sellers, and generally to all brands, is the option to add a price tag to a promotional or salesy pin. For example, if an Etsy seller lists a product for $55, he can simply type in “$55″ in the caption field and Pinterest will automatically add a banner across the pin with the price. This not only provides instant price information to potential buyers, but also categorizes the pin as a “Gift” on Pinterest which ultimately gains it more exposure.
Pin Professionally, Responsibly, and Consistently
What could be more fatal for your Etsy business than letting your potential customers forget you? You need to pin at least once daily so your followers wake up to find a fresh image of your latest product in their home feeds. Instead of indulging in a pinning frenzy, it is more sensible to spread your pins throughout the day to avoid overwhelming your followers.
Pinning can be your visual way of telling your brand’s story to your customers. Use attractive images to capture their imagination and aim to establish a deeper connection with your pinners. For example, if your shop sells women’s coats, experiment with pinning a product photo in conjunction with some images of breathtaking winter scenery, or even winter escapes, to inspire your pinners’ imagination of the season. That being said, remember that most pinners usually discover pins individually so make sure to add a logo, signature, backlink or other branding elements to all your images.
As with boards, careful and well-thought-out descriptions make pins more understandable, inspiring and easy to find. So, invest some time and energy to write descriptions for your pinned products. Descriptions from your Etsy product listings may come in handy as they are automatically included in the description field once a pinner uses the ‘Pin It’ button on Etsy to pin them.
Pinterest can surely be instrumental in promoting your Etsy business, but remember the ‘No Pain No Gain’ expression? Mark these tips as holy commandments to use the power of Pinterest to its full potential:
- Pin several images daily, but at different times.
- Do your homework on the what’s trending on Pinterest and plan your content accordingly
- Add your latest Etsy items, especially those that genuinely contribute to the community, such as environment- friendly products.
Don’t Be Shy of Repinning
As long as you don’t come across as nosy or extra chummy, get into a habit of following other pinners’ boards and like, repin, and comment on the pins that relate to your shop or inspire your product ideas.
One of the best ways to get your followers to re-pin your stuff is to actively pin yourself and let your presence be felt. If you are still wondering what kind of pins to like and repin, or what to say in the comments, take mom’s advice: “Just Be Yourself!”
Take a hint or two from other pinners
Stay a step ahead of what’s resonating with your target market by keeping an eye out for other pinners’ activities and content. You can do this by searching for similar products being offered by competitor brands on Pinterest to find which boards they appear on, what keywords and hashtags they use, and most importantly, what followers pin along with those products. These insights will not only help you in evolving your pinning and re-pinning strategies, but also direct your decisions on what to manufacture and sell.
Remember that Pinterest communicates through pictures
As a final point, remember that Pinterest is a graphic medium that communicates with pictures, and therefore, you need to make sure that your Etsy items undergo high-quality product photography before they are featured on Pinterest.
You will definitely need more than plain products set against a white background, which is a norm on Etsy, to make a perfect attractive pin. Experiment with different lighting, close ups, lifestyle images, and filters to make your offering visually appealing.
Don’t forget to Pin and Follow!
