Recipe for Pinterest Success
Pinterest is planning life's moments. And 'tis the season for planning, making Pinterest the perfect place for brands. 1 in 2 Pinners make a purchase after seeing a promoted pin. Searches for Thanksgiving content start in June, but the frenzy doesn't reach well done until the turkey is gone! Dive in with confidence with this three-step process.
Step 1: Mise en Place
Start by making a list of all the things your target audience is looking for during their Thanksgiving planning. Pin point 3-5 ways your brand can help them achieve their goals this season, and make content related to those items. When in doubt, look at what sort of content is doing well for your brand organically, and use that as a starting point. When creating pins, try to keep a 2:3 aspect ratio. Pins that include text overlays tend to see a 6% increase in sales, and Pins that go to landing pages with similar imagery tend to have 13% higher online sales. Get creative! Try Pinterest's new max width video ads, and use buyable pins.
Step 2: Turn Up the Heat
Getting the most out of your content requires amplifying it. On Pinterest this means using the right keywords in your description and promoting pins. There are 29M searches for Thanksgiving content a year, so narrow down your target audience to make sure you're reaching the right niche. To do this, write down specifics about who you're talking to: What are they interested in? Use Pinterest's Audience Insights tool to really dig in and consider Actlike targeting to find more users like those you already engage with. You'll see higher clickthrough rates and conversation rates if you get your content in front of the people that care the most.
Step 3: Season to Taste
Watch your ads for several days, and then optimize your targeting. This might mean expanding or refining the targeting you have on each ad. If you're seeing tons of impressions but not enough clickthrough, consider more acute target interests or a smaller demographic group. If your clickthrough rate is healthy but your ad just isn't reaching enough people, expand your targeting. After several more days, look at performance again. Consider allocating more money to the winners and turning off underperformers.
The Proof is In the Pudding
This recipe doesn't only apply to Thanksgiving. Compile your learnings from this month, and carry them through to the holiday season, the start of 2019, and onward. Remember to listen to what your consumers (and the data) are telling you.