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Are you utilizing Pinterest for your small business? Heck. Did you even know Pinterest could help potential customers find your products, services, and content? Well, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, Chelsea de Araujo of Chelsea Joy Creative is breaking down exactly how to use Pinterest to attract and serve prospective customers and how to use Pinterest to help your small business make more money in 2022!
Chelsea is an elementary school teacher turned Pinterest manager. Seeing the potential Pinterest had for small businesses, Chelsea became an expert in all things Pinterest and channeled her teacher organizational skills to start Chelsea Joy Creative, where she helps creative entrepreneurs grow their businesses through the same platform where you likely save recipes and inspiration.
Because Pinterest is an ever-changing platform, creative entrepreneurs tend to shy away from using Pinterest to its full capacity. But, in this episode of Priority Pursuit, Chelsea makes Pinterest approachable and offers strategies for both service- and product-based creative entrepreneurs. If you want to know how to use Pinterest to attract and serve your ideal clients and ultimately make more sales, keep reading, or listen to Chelsea’s interview via the audio at the top of the page or wherever you listen to podcasts!
Side note: This blog post is a brief overview of what Chelsea shared in this episode of Priority Pursuit. For a more in-depth explanation of how to use Pinterest to help your small business make more money in 2022 and what it would look like to hire a Pinterest manager, be sure to listen to Chelsea’s full interview via the audio at the top of the page!
Why should service- & product-based creative entrepreneurs use Pinterest?
Before we get into Pinterest strategies, we need to discuss why both service-based and product-based creative entrepreneurs should be utilizing Pinterest.
In this episode, Chelsea shares that in 2020, Pinterest experienced its biggest year of growth with so many people at home due to the pandemic, and in 2021, Pinterest became the third most popular social media platform with 90 million viewers in the US alone. Then, in 2022, that number skyrocketed, and there are now more than 440 million users worldwide. As a result, Pinterest is kind of a big deal.
That’s great, but why do these statistics mean that you should use Pinterest for your business? According to Chelsea, there are three reasons why you should be using Pinterest as a creative entrepreneur:
- Whether your business is service or product based, with so many users, there’s a good chance your ideal clients are on Pinterest. And, because few creative entrepreneurs are using Pinterest, you have an opportunity to tap into an unreached audience that’s just waiting to be served by you.
- Although Pinterest gets labeled as a social media platform, it really isn’t. Pinterest is a visual search engine and a discovery platform. People use Pinterest to find ideas for solutions to their problems and to plan. There is likely a huge group of people who are actively looking for a solution to their problem that you can solve with your service or product.
- Pinterest is an untapped, long-term marketing strategy for your business. Chelsea shares platforms such as Tik Tok, Facebook and Instagram only market your content for brief periods of time, whereas once Pinterest gets started (e.g. recognizing your pins and sharing your content with the right people), your content is out there for at least six months and even years.
Basically, Pinterest has the unlimited potential to help you reach your ideal clients with your service or product and grow your business.
What are the best practices that work for both service- & product-based businesses?
According to Chelsea, service-based and product-based businesses need to use Pinterest a little differently. But, before we dive into specific strategies for these different kinds of businesses, there are a couple things that both kinds of businesses will need to do to find success on Pinterest in regards to their websites.
And, in this episode, Chelsea shares the following best practices to help you utilize Pinterest effectively and drive traffic to your website:
1. Have your own website & verify it with Pinterest.
In order to be successful on Pinterest, you have to have a website. According to Chelsea, the purpose of using Pinterest for your business is to get people onto your site where they can see that the service or product you’re selling is the solution to their problem.
But, having a website alone isn’t enough. You need to make sure your website is verified and claimed on Pinterest. Claiming your website on Pinterest essentially helps Pinterest verify that your business is legitimate and will help your pins and content be seen by more people.
2. Create a steady stream of content.
In this episode, Chelsea also explains that Pinterest shifted its platform in 2021 from encouraging people to repin pins while occasionally offering their own content to pushing original content (content you create on your website and then add to Pinterest). Instead of just repinning pins from someone else, Pinterest wants you to create “fresh pins” (new pins).
Now, please don’t panic and think that you have to create 20 fresh pins per day linking to 20 new blog posts or pieces of new content, because according to Chelsea, creating a fresh pin is more simple than it sounds. To get started, Chelsea offers four suggestions:
- Create one or two new pins a day to get your content streaming consistently. (These pins can link to the same or already existing content. The content doesn’t have to be brand new. You’ll find more information about this in the next tip.)
- If you already have a piece of content on Pinterest and you want to make it “fresh,” you can simply pin the piece again and add a text overlay to the original image, use a different image or graphic, or make a collage instead of using a single image. Basically, you’re still pinning the same content (e.g. blog posts); you’re just changing the image to make the pin fresh.
- If you blog (which both Chelsea and I highly recommend), create five to eight pins per blog post that you write to maximize the content you can share for one blog post.
- Use templates for your graphics whenever possible. Have five to six solid templates ready to go that are eye-catching and make small changes to those with your content instead of starting from scratch every time.
Creating a steady stream of content that Pinterest can use effectively doesn’t mean you have to reinvent the wheel; it just means making sure that the content you’re sharing is fresh and new to Pinterest users.
What Pinterest strategies work well for product-based businesses?
With those best practices in mind, we can dive into more specific strategies that are proven to work well for product-based businesses.
As mentioned before, I highly recommend listening to the audio of this episode. Some of these product-based and service-based tips overlap and have nuances, which Chelsea explains in the full episode.
That said, Chelsea shares the following two strategies to help you connect with your clients:
1. Do keyword research before creating any pins.
According to Chelsea, you need to know what your clients are looking for and how your product can meet their needs. In other words, think about what your clients would be searching for to get to your product.
For example, if you sell jewelry and would like to pin a necklace, go to the Pinterest search bar, type in “necklace” or what you think your customers might search for to find a product similar to yours, and see what search items appear (e.g. gold necklace, short chain necklace, or bohemian necklace etc.). Chances are, you’ll find a trending search that describes your product. Then, when you create your pin with an image of your jewelry, make sure the description includes relevant keywords that you know Pinterest users are searching for based on your keyword research.
Chelsea argues that if you do the keyword research up front before creating your pins, you can reduce the amount of clicks it takes to get to your website where your products are being sold, and a sale is just waiting to happen.
2. Create pins that show your clients how your product can work for them.
Something that’s important to keep in mind is that your client isn’t just searching for a product by itself. When they search for a product, they want to know how it’s going to work for them (e.g. visualize themselves with that product).
Chelsea explains that creativity with your pin creation is key to attracting clients, because they don’t just want to see a picture of a necklace. They want to know if that necklace is going to match their favorite shirt or go with a pair of earrings they like. Basically, you want to create pins that show how your product can be used in a variety of ways.
Chelsea also recommends using different types of pins (e.g. static, video, motion, or idea pins). The more diverse you can make your pins and show how your product can work for your clients, the more likely they’re going to click on your pin, go to your website, and want to purchase what you’re selling.
What Pinterest strategies work well for service-based businesses?
According to Chelsea, strategies for a service-based business involve cultivating a relationship with your clients and using Pinterest as a way to pull them in and show them the expertise and services you have to offer to meet their needs.
Chelsea shares the following two strategies to help you connect with your clients via Pinterest as a service-based create entrepreneur:
1. Create pins that build a relationship with your clients & connect to their pain points.
In this episode, Chelsea explains that whether you’re a health coach or photographer, you’re selling a service that can’t be cataloged like items from a product based business. This means your strategy is about putting content on Pinterest that connects with your client’s pain points and speaks about the solutions they’re looking for.
For example, if you are a health and fitness coach, you could create pins that talk about wellness routines, fitness plans, and/or common challenges when trying to get healthy or fit. This is where your keyword research is going to be key because you want to know exactly what your clients are looking for so you can connect with them in a meaningful way through your pin creation.
Basically, if you have a service-based business, Pinterest can help you create connections with potential customers, get them to your website, and show them how you can solve their problem.
2. Create freebies or opt-ins that help you build your email list.
Pinterest is also an excellent tool to help you build your email list. Simply create graphics for your freebies, downloads, etc. and create a pin with the link to your opt-in page.
Using Pinterest to connect with potential customers is a great way to offer them value, continue to connect with them via email, and ultimately make a sale.
You may not see a sale immediately, but Pinterest will likely continue to share your pin and help you connect with more and more potential customers.
Tap into the unlimited potential that Pinterest has to help your small business make more money in 2022 & beyond!
Okay, friend, are you feeling more confident about why you should be using Pinterest for your small business and how to use Pinterest to help your small business make more money in 2022? I hope so, because with these strategies Chelsea shared, you’ll be able to better serve your clients and increase your revenue.
However, managing your Pinterest account might seem like a lot. If that’s the case, be sure to listen to the full audio of this episode at the top of the page or wherever you listen to podcasts, because Chelsea shares some great time management strategies that will help you stay on top of your Pinterest account.
At the end of the day, Pinterest is a visual search engine where your future clients are waiting to find your content and to see that your product or service is the solution to their problem. Don’t let your fear of trying something new prevent you from utilizing Pinterest to its full capacity!
Want to hear more from Chelsea
If you’d like to hear more from Chelsea, you can find her on Instagram at @chelseajoycreative, on Facebook, and at chelseajoycreative.com
Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- Chelsea’s Pinterest Management Packages
- Amy Leblanc Pinterest Course and Facebook Group
- Jenna Kutcher Pinterest Lab
- Pinterest Marketing and Strategy with Meagan Williamson
- Pinterest for Bloggers and Business Owners
- Receive 50% Off Your First Order with Photographer’s Edit
- Join the Priority Pursuit Facebook Community
- Follow or DM Victoria on Instagram
