I see it in forums and Facebook groups all the time – “Help! I have 1M Pinterest views but my blog isn’t getting any traffic. What should I do?”
The answer is simple. Stop focusing on Pinterest views.
Views are a (fairly) meaningless metric that doesn’t tell you how effective your Pinterest strategy is at putting your content in front of readers, to drive page views and ultimately, revenue for you as a content owner.
Case in point: My Pinterest views are 200k. I’ve spoken to several other bloggers with views of 3M+ – however my website receives a greater number of total visits from Pinterest, and has higher sales conversion rates. Here’s why.
To determine how to unlock the power of Pinterest and how to turn views and saves into clicks and buys, we have to first understand how a user engages with Pinterest.
WHAT PEOPLE SEE
When someone searches Pinterest, they’re presented with a series of images that have similar text to their search terms or images to other posts with those search terms. Their feed is then a mix of posts from people they follow and similar posts to what they’ve searched for and pinned.
So, if you’re getting a lot of views, it’s because you’ve pinned content that people are searching for – but that doesn’t mean it’s content you own! Most “views” for bloggers actually come from pins on other people’s sites, which is why even when they’re clicked, they’re not resulting in blog traffic or sales.
WHAT PEOPLE SAVE
Pinterest is the mood board of the 90’s, meant to save reference content for when you want to act on it. So, if you want people to save your pin after they’ve found it in the search, it needs to be something they want to reference in the future. What people want to save are typically (a) not time sensitive, (b) not common/easy to find with a Google search, and (c) something of value to your audience. That Black Friday sale? Not likely something they want to save. The best way to find sales on Black Friday? Worth the pin.
An easy way to figure out what people are saving? Hop into the Pinterest Newsroom, click Pinsights, and get information straight from the source on what people are pinning.
WHAT PEOPLE CLICK
Users don’t click everything they save, and not everything they click gets saved. It’s a tricky game to play, driving traffic from Pinterest. But, when we delve into user behavior, the answer is pretty clear. People click when they are interested in the content and believe the post underlying the pin will add more value that the image itself.
This is the #1 reason that fashion bloggers struggle to convert pins to page views. If the full value of your content is available in the pin image itself, then there’s no incentive to click! Outfit inspiration images are just that – idea to build an outfit around later, often using things you own.
This is my top converting pin. It was published more than a year ago and still receives hundreds of clicks each day. The conversion rate for sales is more than 50%, too!
WHAT PEOPLE BUY
What turns that click into a sale? It meets their needs and budget, they have a reasonable expectation of what they’ll be getting when they purchase (and what to do with it), and the purchase decision and process are both easy. It’s a simple enough concept on paper, but executing against it is tough.
So forget your Pinterest monthly views. How do we make your pins to your site what people see, save, click, and ultimately buy from?
We’ve got six tried and true strategies to increasing your Pinterest sales conversions.
1 // Use your text and captions to hint at more value. Add some overlay text to that great outfit picture with “the best jeans under $40” or “10 ways to style ankle boots with dresses”. Stand out from the same “how to wear ankle boots” that everyone is sharing and add unique value to your readers. The text doesn’t have to match the post perfectly – but the content on your page should meet the readers’ expectation from the text.
2 // Design that language to target specific buyers and what they’re searching for online. Build a list of terms that you think your target audience is searching for related to that topic. Be specific – add brand names, descriptive terms (“flared, bell bottom jeans” instead of “jeans”), and use hashtags. Conduct Google searches and Pinterest searches to identify similar terms and expand your list.
3 // Search out the “riches in the niches”. Stand out from the crowd with unique posts that are likely to surface higher in search results due to their specificity. Let’s build on our jeans example. Rather than posting about “my favorite fall jeans”, consider posting about “how to style colored jeans for fall” “the best fall denim under $40” or “fall jeans for petite girls”. You’ve honed in on your target buyer and created something of greater value to them – and something they’re more apt to click.
4 // Create a few different pins for each piece of content. This will allow you to test keywords and see what’s most popular with users. It’s also a great way to target different readers to your blog.
Four different pins, each with a different title linking to the same cookie post.
5 // Ensure the content is easy to access on click. Link directly to the article or post, not your IG feed or blog’s main page, where someone six months from now will have to dig to find that post. Generally, if someone clicks a Pin and doesn’t immediately go to more content, they won’t keep reading or searching, and if they don’t read the post, they’re not buying from your links.
6 // Pin other people’s content – but only for the purpose of driving more eyes to your posts when you have similar content. Stop chasing pin views and invest time in a few high-quality pins of your content that have a greater chance of bringing your target audience to you. One of my top performing pins is about DIY dip nails, so I maintain a dip nail board where I pin seasonal inspiration. People repin those posts, and then see my DIY dip nail pin on the same board and pin it too!
Want more advice on how to improve your Pinterest game and increase your blog’s revenue stream? Read Using Tailwind to Drive Sales.
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About Ashley
Ashley is a negotiation strategist and management consultant with more than a decade of experience advising Fortune 500 companies and small businesses on how to creatively solve their most pressing business challenges. She’s a published author and frequent speaker on negotiation, collaboration, and influence.
You can find Ashley on LinkedIn, or here at Life on Beacon where she shares advice on how to have it all.
