Founded in 2010, Pinterest has been around for a long time. In that time, the platform has established itself as a great opportunity for B2C brands and creators. However, the offer is less clear cut for B2B.

It's impossible to rule a potential channel in or out of your social media marketing strategy if you don't understand it. So how do you know whether Pinterest it is worth your consideration? In this article, we’ll help you get an overview and answer some of your questions.

What is Pinterest?

While many would categorise Pinterest as a social media platform, it doesn't fit comfortably in that mould. Pinterest itself is clear. The platform is a visual search engine - albeit one with a social element.

Pinterest can be thought of as a visual pin board. The home feed and search results are presented as a smörgåsbord of ideas and possibilities, rather than a single timeline of posts. Users can create and save pins, organising them on boards that create visual inspiration or moodboards.

433 million people use Pinterest every month, making it larger than Twitter. Its users are there for a very specific purpose - to find inspiration for projects and life's milestones. They're also there to research future purchases.

This is what makes Pinterest such a compelling proposition. It helps companies to build brand awareness with an open-minded, positive, future-focused, high-intent audience. And they're people who are looking for actionable ideas.

B2B Content Strategy on Pinterest

Could Pinterest offer a new dimension to your content marketing strategy?

If you're looking for another channel for content distribution, it's worth considering. You can use Pinterest like a typical social media platform, with specific advantages.

One reason Pinterest is a preferred platform for some content marketers is the longevity of pins.

The half-life of content tells us how long it takes to generate 50% of its total engagement. Generally, social media posts have a very limited lifespan. The half-life of a Tweet, for example, is around the 20 minute mark. A Facebook post gives you slightly longer, at 90 minutes.

The half-life of a pin, on the other hand, is around 3½ months. Each time you create a pin, it is out there working for you for longer. With each pin linking back to its original source, that means more potential for increasing visibility and driving traffic back to your website.

Your content marketing efforts on the platform should include a mixture of original content creation and content curation. You don’t always have to come up with unique content yourself. Repin content from other users to help support your vision.

You can also reshare and repurpose your own content. By using a single piece of content to create pins across multiple Pinterest boards, you create multiple opportunities for potential customers to connect with your brand.

You can create individual pins one at a time, or upload assets in bulk. You can also link your website's RSS feed so that new pins are created automatically whenever you post a new article to your blog.

As a visual platform, eye catching graphics and video tend to work best on Pinterest. When creating your Pinterest strategy, consider how you will infuse your pins with your brand identity and grab attention in a visually busy environment. Remember that this is a mobile first platform, so plan for vertical images.

It's not all about the visuals, though. You also need to pay attention to your captions and match your copy to your audience's purpose. Remember that Pinterest's users are looking for potential. Your visual content acts as a headline to entice a user to click and open your pin to full view. Your caption is what will entice them to click through to find out more on your site. 

As well as making your copy search friendly, focus on creating captions that help your audience connect with the idea you're presenting. This might look like a step by step "how to". Equally, you could provide inspiration on how your pin is applicable to their business or career.

You can also enable Rich Pins on your account to help your content to stand out and be found. These are different types of organic content that automatically sync information from your website. For example, Article Rich Pins draw in the headline, description, and author of an article on your site's blog.

A Pinterest business account gives you access to Pinterest analytics. These stats will allow you to see what content your audience is engaging with, helping you to gather ideas for future content marketing campaigns.

Ecommerce and Advertising

Beyond content marketing, there are other ways Pinterest can benefit brands.

Businesses can sell directly through Pinterest. Buyable pins allow customers to purchase seamlessly through the app and can be integrated with major e-commerce platforms. If you're a product-based B2B business, they're worth considering.

Pinterest ads also offer solutions for all stages of the customer journey. Depending on your objectives, you can use video ads, carousel ads, or app install ads to help advertise your brand. Canva is an example of a business focused brand using Pinterest advertising to great success.

Does Pinterest Work for All Businesses?

It's safe to say that the opportunities are more immediately evident for some than others. But, if your brand’s customers are the type of people who spend time on Pinterest, it's worth experimenting.

Take companies that serve the small business and freelance community, for example. We've already talked about how Canva is active in the space. You could also consider brands like Shopify, Adobe, or FedEx.

Beyond directly marketing their services using visual content, these brands can use their Pinterest accounts to educate and empower potential customers. They can highlight customer use cases, and demonstrate the value of their offering

Product based B2B businesses can also have success on Pinterest. Office Depot and Staples are both active on the platform. While they create pins to attract office managers and small business owners, they also post speaking to a B2C market. So you'll see them showcasing office furniture in different business settings, as well as 'Back to School' and 'Learning from Home' boards.

Other types of B2B businesses also have multiple audiences. Think about architects who handle both domestic and commercial projects. It's accepted that Pinterest is a great space for home owners seeking inspiration for their renovation projects. If you're using the platform to reach a consumer audience, don't forget that they have jobs and businesses too. Never miss the opportunity to talk to them about the breadth of your offering.

Professional services firms who service clients in the B2C space can also find Pinterest valuable. Digital marketing or creative agencies targeting clients in fashion, beauty, food or lifestyle are a great example. Having a presence could put you in touch with brands researching their audience on the platform. Understanding the space will help you to talk not only their language, but that of their end user.

You might also want to consider using Pinterest to humanise your brand and highlight your brand personality. Many B2B companies struggle to connect with younger audiences because of their overly corporate image. Using platforms that demand a less formal approach can help to bridge the gap.

Have a look at Microsoft. The tech giant decided to create a board that focused on life at Microsoft that wasn’t related to the products or services. Instead, it focused on office design, geek humour, and office architecture to connect with a different type of audience.

Visual Research and Collaboration

Another way B2B companies can use Pinterest is for visual research and collaboration. Group boards, and secret boards that aren’t available to the public, allow colleagues and clients to gather ideas and inspiration together.

Work With Your Colleagues

Pinterest can be used internally to create visual pin boards and to share ideas and research with employees and colleagues.

For example, let’s say you are an office manager overseeing a refit. You can create a collaborative board and invite others on the project team to contribute ideas. This creates a single source of creativity for your project.

Another example would be if you work for a creative, branding, or web agency. You can use Pinterest as you prepare to pitch to your clients. A secret board can organise your initial research and moodboarding early on.

Work With Clients and Contractors

Pinterest can also be used to share research and ideas with external client teams or third party contractors. That way, you have a place to work collaboratively in the gathering stage without cluttering up private platforms.

Pinterest can also be used for trendspotting. If your business needs to keep up with new trends or find ideas that are becoming popular, Pinterest Predicts and analytics can be a great research tool. You can search for different keywords and use that information to help inspire you and keep you involved with the trends that matter to your customers.

Pinterest vs. Instagram for B2B

Can Pinterest Work for Your B2B Company?

Pinterest offers many fantastic opportunities for B2B companies that are willing to experiment and think creatively. It's worth remembering that your B2B buyers live their lives as consumers too. If they're on Pinterest researching ideas and possibilities in other aspects of their life, and you're able to create a point of connection with them, this unconventional platform might pay dividends.

However, understanding if Pinterest marketing strategies are for you might take some help.

1827 Marketing is a digital marketing agency that looks beyond the obvious. To learn more and see how we can help you create amazing campaigns and deliver excellent customer experiences, book a demo and let's have a conversation about what we can accomplish together.