Selling with

Increase revenue with the top-selling social network.

Experience Level: New to Moderate Users

Is this eBook for Me?

Whether you’re starting from scratch or trying to improve your existing strategy, this ebook will help you develop a plan of action to increase your sales using Pinterest.

Get answers to questions like:• Do my current and prospective

customers use Pinterest? • Is Pinterest right for my company?• How can I get more people to click on

my Pinterest posts?• How do I measure my success on

Pinterest?

Let’s get to it!

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In this eBook

Part 1 | The Basics: What Is Pinterest?........................................................................................................................4What Is Pinterest?.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................5

Part 2 | Facts & Figures: The Sales Opportunity.....................................................................................................7Who Is on Pinterest? ........................................................................................................................................................8Pinterest & Sales...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................9

Part 3 | Setting a Strategy: Using Pinterest for Your Brand..................................................................................11Who Sells on Pinterest?................................................................................................................................................................................................................12Pinning Your Products..................................................................................................................................................................................................................13CASE STUDY: Using Themes.....................................................................................................................................................................................................14Preparing Your Store.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................15Prepping Your Pinterest Page....................................................................................................................................................................................................16Engaging Your Customers: Strategy.........................................................................................................................................................................................17CASE STUDY: Building Engagement.......................................................................................................................................................................................18Engaging Your Customers: Content..........................................................................................................................................................................................19CASE STUDY: It’s Not About You............................................................................................................................................................................................20CASE STUDY: Beyond Pinterest................................................................................................................................................................................................21

Part 4 | Measuring Success: Pins + Engagement = Sales...............................................................................22Measuring Success.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................23

Pinterest Checklist..........................................................................................................................................................25Want to Dig Deeper?......................................................................................................................................................26Bigcommerce Free Trial.................................................................................................................................................27

Part 1: The BasicsWhat Is Pinterest?

5

25%of Pinterest visitors make purchases from pins.

Like most popular social media sites, Pinterest was founded as a consumer platform. But it was quickly adopted by businesses as a way to reach their customers and prospects.

It’s a visual, online pinboard where people can post images and share them with other people. These images can be static or hyperlinked to webpages with more info.

>OH[�4HRLZ�7PU[LYLZ[�+PќLYLU[&• It is focused exclusively on communicating through

images.• It has a relatively homogenous user base in the

United States.• In addition to relationship- and brand-building, it is

JVTTVUS`�\ZLK�[V�KYP]L�[YHѝJ�[V�VUSPUL�Z[VYLZ��

Pinterest Is a Visual, Online Pinboard for Social Bookmarking.

What Is Pinterest?

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Getting to Know the Site

BoardA board is a page that features a collection of pins related to a certain topic.

PinA pin is an image that a user posts on Pinterest. It can be static or hyperlinked to another page featuring more details about what’s being shown.

Common Topics• Clothing & style inspiration• Recipes• How-Tos• Infographics• Furniture & decorating ideas• Photography & artwork

What Is Pinterest?

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Part 2: Facts & FiguresThe Sales Opportunity

8

Who Is on Pinterest?

80% of American Pinterest users are women.(Source: Internet Marketing)

Getting to Know Pinterest Users

In the U.S., 30% of users are in their late 20s to early 30s and 25% are in their late 30s to early 40s. They are also more likely to live in the Midwest than the average social networker. (Source: Internet Marketing)

Moms are 61% more likely to visit Pinterest than the average American. (Source: Nielsen)

Internationally, Pinterest users skew younger and include more men than in the U.S.

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Pinterest & Sales

E-commerce on Pinterest

Pinterest Draws ShoppersAnd those shoppers are big spenders. The average order value from a Pinterest user is about $170, handily beating Facebook’s $95 and Twitter’s $70. (Source: RichRelevance)

Pinterest accounts for 28% of social shopping referrals. What the window display did for retail shopping, Pinterest is now doing for e-commerce. (Source: AddShoppers)

Pinterest Fosters Brand LoyaltyWhile consumer trust of traditional advertising continues to hover in the 60% range, 81% of women trust the information and advice they get on Pinterest, a rate close to that of word-of-mouth. (Sources: Nielsen, BlogHer)

$170 $95 $70

Average Order Value

Pinterest shoppers spend an average of $170 per order.

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“I’m probably spending more [money] now on the couch at night, after having two glasses of wine. I tell everyone that Pinterest has changed my life.”

Becca Bijoch, Publicist & Pinterest Shopper

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Using Pinterest for

Your Brand

Part 3: Setting a Strategy

12

Who Sells on Pinterest?

Is Pinterest a Good Fit for Your Brand? >OH[�PM�`V\Y�WYVK\J[Z�VY�ZLY]PJLZ�HYL�KPѝJ\S[�[V�YLWYLZLU[�PU�a visually interesting way? What if you’re a new company with limited brand recognition? Can Pinterest really work for you?

As the case studies in this ebook will demonstrate, brands of HSS�ZPaLZ��VќLYPUN�H�^PKL�]HYPL[`�VM�WYVK\J[Z�HUK�ZLY]PJLZ��HYL�ÄUKPUN�JYLH[P]L�^H`Z�[V�LUNHNL�^P[O�J\Z[VTLYZ�VU�7PU[LYLZ[��

Pinterest Isn’t for EveryoneSince women still make the majority of household purchasing KLJPZPVUZ��THU`�)�[V�*�IYHUKZ�ÄUK�NYLH[�]HS\L�PU�LUNHNPUN�^P[O�MLTHSL�ZOVWWLYZ��/V^L]LY��PM�`V\Y�VќLYPUN�ZRL^Z�[V^HYKZ�predominantly male decision makers, you might get better results focusing on other social media channels.

Pinterest is for anyone who wants to:• Reach an audience of

female consumers• Build brand loyalty• +YP]L�[YHѝJ�[V�HU�

e-commerce website

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Pinning Your Products

Creating Pinterest Boards

How to Pin7PU[LYLZ[�VќLYZ�this in-depth tutorial on how to create a board.

What to PinIf you’re an e-commerce retailer, the most obvious way to drive [YHѝJ�HUK�ZHSLZ�^P[O�7PU[LYLZ[�PZ�[V�JYLH[L�IVHYKZ�[OH[�MLH[\YL�images of your products. But before you pin, it’s important to understand how people browse Pinterest.

Think of your Pinterest posts as visual inspiration for your ]PL^LYZ��;OL`�\Z\HSS`�HYL�UV[�SVVRPUN�MVY�ZWLJPÄJ�WYVK\J[Z��I\[�rather for ways to connect with a positive lifestyle or identity.

The most successful Pinterest boards use themes to bring in a narrow but targeted group of shoppers.

Clothing Retailer ExampleDon’t: “Ladies’ Shirts,” a board featuring all of your ladies’ shirt options.

Do: “Upscale Bohemian,” a board featuring mixed patterns, free-ÅV^PUN�NHYTLU[Z�HUK�S\ZO�MHIYPJZ�

Home Furnishings ExampleDon’t: “New Couches,” a board featuring your latest stock.

Do: “Clean & Modern,” a board featuring your selection of minimalist furnishings.

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How to Reach and Inspire Your Audience

Mannequin Madness

www.pinterest.com/mannequinmadnes

When Pinterest burst onto the social media scene with its visualfocus, mannequin vendor Mannequin Madness saw an opportunity to reach new audiences that might be interested in the company’s very visual products. But they had a challenge on their hands—how do you make a variety of interesting pins from such a vanilla product?

¸;OL�TVZ[�PTWVY[HU[�[OPUN�0�KPK�^HZ�JYLH[L�ZWLJPÄJ�JH[LNVYPLZ�HIV\[�THUULX\PUZ�[V�THRL�P[�LHZ`�MVY�WLVWSL�[V�ÄUK�^OH[�[OL`�want,” said owner Judi Henderson Townsend.

Using themes like Bridal Store Displays, Bath & Body Displays, and even quirkier categories like Earth Day Displays, Mannequin Madness built more than 50 boards and became the go-to source for mannequin images in the US and abroad.

Using Themes

15

Preparing Your Store

Is Your Store Pinterest-Ready?Ideally you won’t be the only one pinning your products onto boards. Users, not brands, drive 70% of brand engagement on Pinterest. (Source: Digitas)

This includes repinning your pins, but also pinning directly from your website.

How To Encourage Pinning from Your Online Store• Include multiple images for each product and format them to be

Pinterest-friendly (at least 200px wide, 800px high).• Include the price on the image—it’s been shown to increase likes

by 36%.• Enable sharing of your product pages by connecting the Pinterest

widget. Pinterest provides a widget builder to help you do this, found here.

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16

Prepping Your Pinterest Page

.L[�@V\Y�7YVÄSL�>VYRPUN�MVY�@V\@V\�HSZV�^HU[�`V\Y�7PU[LYLZ[�WYVÄSL�[V�IL�JSLHYS`�SPURLK�[V�`V\Y�^LIZP[L�[V�LUHISL�LHZPLY�ZOHYPUN�HUK�[YHJRPUN��<ZL�[OL�,KP[�7YVÄSL�KPHSVN�IV_�[V�ÄSS�V\[�`V\Y�LU[PYL�WYVÄSL�HUK�YLNPZ[LY�`V\Y�^LIZP[L�

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Engaging Your Customers

Getting Your Customers to Pin: Strategy6UJL�`V\Y�Z[VYL�PZ�YLHK`�HUK�`V\Y�WYVÄSL�PZ�\W�HUK�Y\UUPUN��[OL�UL_[�Z[LW�PZ�[V�KYP]L�WLVWSL�[V�`V\Y�pins. You can start by asking people you know to follow you, but reaching a wider audience might take some creative thinking.

Contests and Social MarketingAs with other social media, contests are a popular way[V�H[[YHJ[�UL^�MVSSV^LYZ�VU�7PU[LYLZ[��,ќLJ[P]L�7PU[LYLZ[�JVU[LZ[�formats include:• Asking visitors to share their favorite pin from your contest board

to “vote on” the winner• Asking visitors to upload a pin about a certain topic for their

chance to win

Real-Life Product Usage and IdeasHow-Tos are hugely popular on Pinterest, and one variation for businesses is showing your products in every-day use. You can pin yourself or ask your customers to submit their ideas and examples.

Tip:The best time for retailers and fashion brands to pin is Friday @ 3 p.m. ET.(Source: Digitas)

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Encouraging User-Submitted Photos

The Home T

T-shirt maker The Home T specializes in one simple t-shirt design: an outline of one of the 50 states with the word “home” printed across it.

Recognizing they’d need to be creative in order to drive unique sales, The Home T set up individual Pinterest boards for each of the 50 states and Canada. Within each board, they posted pins that featured state parks, beautiful street scenes and other locally relevant images.

Then, they invited people to submit photos of themselves wearing their Home T. Nearly 2,000 pins later, the Home T was able to turn a single WYVK\J[�PU[V�H�YPJO��]PZ\HS�Z[VY`�HUK�H�Z[LHK`�PUÅ\_�of sales. www.pinterest.com/thehomet

Building Engagement

19

Engaging Your Customers

Getting Your Customers to Pin: Content

Forget the Products—Pin Something Fun>OPSL�7PU[LYLZ[�VќLYZ�H�NYLH[�KLHS�VM�VWWVY[\UP[`�[V�ZOV^JHZL�HUK�ZLSS�`V\Y�WYVK\J[Z��[OH[»Z�UV[�YLHSS`�why it was founded. Many Pinterest users still go to the site to be inspired, see beautiful photography or get ideas for DIY projects.

That’s why several of the most popular boards on Pinterest, even some run by major retailers, don’t feature products at all.

Just like Home T did with state photography, think of creative interpretations of your brand that might interest your prospects.

Most Shared Types of Pins• How-Tos• Photography• Infographics

Tip:You don’t have to create all your pins. You can (and should) also repin content from other people and brands.

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Adding Value to the Community

L.L. Bean’s Woodland Creatures

Outdoor clothing retailer L.L. Bean runs the most popular board on Pinterest, with 4.7 million followers. But the “models” in their pins aren’t wearing their newest fall line—in fact they aren’t wearing any clothes at all.

The brand recognizes the importance of reaching their customer base with images they’ll enjoy and share, even if it means L.L. Bean’s products are not front and center. The company’s Woodland Creatures board draws thousands of views every day from Pinterest users who are interested in wildlife. And, hey, if they’re fans of wildlife, maybe they’ll be fans of L.L. Bean’s clothes too.

http://www.pinterest.com/llbean/woodland-creatures/

It’s Not About You

21

Using Pinterest with Other Social Media

Kiss My Southern Sass (KMSS)

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that clothing and accessories company Kiss My Southern Sass (KMSS) specializes in creating sassy shirts for college-aged women. The company’s ZWV[�VU�IYHUKPUN�L_[LUKZ�IL`VUK�P[Z�UHTL�HUK�PU[V�[OL�ZVJPHS�TLKPH�WYVÄSLZ�[OH[�KYP]L�[OL�THQVYP[`�VM�its sales.

24::»Z�7PU[LYLZ[�WYVÄSL�MLH[\YLZ�[VWPJZ�[OH[�THU`�JVSSLNL�HNLK�MLTHSLZ�ÄUK�PU[LYLZ[PUN·YLJPWLZ��JVSSLJ[PVUZ�VM� �Z�nostalgia, engagement rings, and even a collection of male models and celebrities labeled “man candy.” Visitors see H�SPUR�[V�24::»Z�;̂ P[[LY�WYVÄSL�^OLYL�[OL`�JHU�SLHYU�TVYL�about the company and get real-time updates and product promotions.

24::�\UKLYZ[HUKZ�[OH[�KPќLYLU[�ZVJPHS�TLKPH�ZP[LZ�WYV]PKL�KPZ[PUJ[�^H`Z�[V�LTIVK`�[OL�IYHUK»Z�JVUÄKLU[��ZV\[OLYU�ILSSL�WLYZVUH��;OPURPUN�SPRL�H�J\Z[VTLY�OHZ�led not only to exposure for the relatively new company, but to sales.

http://www.pinterest.com/kissmysthrnsass/

Beyond Pinterest

Pins + Engagement = Sales

Part 4: Measuring Success

23

Measuring Success

Is Your Pinterest Strategy Working?(Z�^P[O�HU`�THYRL[PUN�WYVNYHT��P[»Z�PTWVY[HU[�[V�KLÄUL�OV^�[V�TLHZ\YL�`V\Y�Z\JJLZZ�Otherwise you might be wasting time creating content that isn’t working.

Common Ways to Measure Pinterest Success• Number of pins from your store• Number of repins of products from your store• Top pins from your store Tip:

You can see all the pins from your store that currently exist by visiting:pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com(enter your URL)

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Measuring Success

What Is “Success” on Pinterest?As a standard for comparison, the top fashion brands andretailers average 46 repins for each pin, indicating an engaged following.

For those industries, 18% of that engagement is driven by pins that the brand posts, while 82% is driven by community-generated pins. (Source: Digitas)

Other Measures of SuccessTracking the number of visitors coming to your storefrom Pinterest will tell you how many potential sales thesite is bringing you. Pay attention to which postsgenerate the most clicks and try to imitate them.

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Pinterest Checklist

A Step-by-Step Guide to Start Selling � Create boards on themes, not products

� Use high-quality, Pinterest-friendly product images on your site

� Connect the Pinterest sharing widget on your product pages and store

� Register your store domain with Pinterest

� Engage members with contests, how-tos, infographics and other fun content

�Measure reach and engagement

�Measure clicks back to your store from individual pins

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Want to Dig Deeper?

Taking Your Pinterest Strategy to the Next Level

Helpful Blog Posts

Rich Pins: How to Sell on Autopilot with Pinterest

Mobile and Social Selling: Entertainment Meets E-commerce

0UZWPYPUN�7PU[LYLZ[�7YVÄSLZ

The Curious Pancake Illustration Shop http://www.pinterest.com/curiouspancake/

Rocker Ragshttp://www.pinterest.com/rockerrags

Soaps To Live Byhttp://www.pinterest.com/soapstoliveby/Share this ebook

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Start Selling with Pinterest

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Get everything you need to create and manage your store, including:

• A securely hosted site and shopping cart• Themes and point-and-click design features• )\PS[�PU�THYRL[PUN�HUK�:,6�[V�KYP]L�[YHѝJ• Conversion best practices that help you sell more• Easy integrations with top-selling social networks

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