Pinterest is ideal for businesses to showcase their products and services while engaging with current and potential customers through eye-catching images.

Many businesses have a presence on Pinterest, but only some are using Pinterest to its full potential as a social media marketing tool. Follow these pro tips to help your business get the most out of Pinterest:

1. Verify Your Website on Pinterest

The Pinterest for Business Blog recommends verifying your account and making sure your business name is in your profile name and username. This will help your business profile increase when people search for you on Pinterest. You can see step-by-step instructions for verifying your website on Pinterest here.
  • Why It Matters: Verifying your website signals to Pinterest that you’re a legitimate business, giving you access to powerful features like Pinterest Analytics and Rich Pins. Verification also means your website link shows on your profile, making it easier for users to visit your site.
  • How to Verify: Go to your Pinterest settings, under “Claim,” and select “Claim your Website.” Pinterest will guide you through either adding an HTML tag to your website header or uploading an HTML file to your website’s root directory. Once you’ve done this, Pinterest will confirm ownership, and you’ll see a verification checkmark on your profile.

2. Use the Pin It Button

While it’s great to pin images of your products and services on Pinterest, it’s even better when your loyal customers share your photos with their own friends and followers. You can install the Pin It button on your website so that people visiting it can quickly and easily pin the images they like to their personal Pinterest boards. Pinterest provides handy instructions for installing the Pin It button, and a recent blog post walks you through how to install the Pin In button on WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger, and Wix.
  • Why It Matters: The Pin It button is a quick way for website visitors to share your content on Pinterest, making it easy for your products or posts to reach new audiences without extra effort on your part. This encourages organic pinning, which can snowball into broader visibility and potential sales.
  • How to Add It: Most website platforms, such as WordPress and Shopify, have plugins or integrations for adding Pinterest buttons. Once added, the button will appear on images when users hover over them, allowing a seamless pinning experience. Ensure that you encourage pinning of high-quality visuals and optimize image dimensions (typically 1000x1500 pixels for the best Pinterest performance).

3. Use Hashtags on Pinterest

Hashtags aren’t only for Twitter and Facebook — Pinterest lets you use hashtags, too! Hashtags can help your pins turn up when people search Pinterest using terms that describe your products or services. For instance, if you run a professional photography business, you might consider using #NewbornPhotos or #SeniorPortaits to drive traffic to your Pinterest profile. Remember not to overdo it; using too many hashtags is considered spammy.
  • Why It Matters: Hashtags on Pinterest work similarly to Instagram—they categorize your content, making it discoverable in specific searches. While Pinterest primarily uses keywords, hashtags help your pins show up in real-time trending searches, especially for timely content.
  • Best Practices: Include relevant and popular hashtags in your pin descriptions (5–10 per pin is ideal). Use specific hashtags related to your niche, products, or seasonal trends (e.g., #HomeDecor for general appeal or #HalloweenDecor for seasonal). Avoid overloading with hashtags, as Pinterest prioritizes high-quality, specific tags over general or overly used ones.

4. Use Rich Pins

You can use Rich Pins to include greater detail on the Pins you create. Currently, Pinterest allows five types of Rich Pins: Product Pins, Place Pins, Article Pins, Recipe Pins, and Movie Pins. How much value you get out of Rich Pins will depend on the nature of your business, but we think Product Pins are a great way to showcase what you sell, and Article Pins are a great way to showcase your business’s blog content. Significant companies like Four Seasons, Virgin America, Nestle, and Netflix already use Rich Pins to their advantage. Why not you?
  • Why It Matters: Rich Pins pull extra information from your website, automatically updating pins with the latest product or article details. They enhance pins with up-to-date product pricing, availability, or descriptions, which can increase engagement and conversion rates.
  • Types of Rich Pins:
    • Product Pins: Show real-time pricing, availability, and where to buy.
    • Recipe Pins: Highlight ingredients, cooking time, and serving sizes.
    • Article Pins: Provide headlines, authors, and story descriptions.
    • How to Enable Rich Pins: To set up Rich Pins, ensure your website has the necessary metadata (available through plugins on platforms like WordPress). Then, validate your Rich Pins on Pinterest by entering a link from your site in the Pinterest Rich Pin Validator. Once validated, Pinterest will begin updating all relevant pins automatically.

5. Optimize Your Pinterest Profile and Boards

  • Why It Matters: An optimized profile helps users instantly understand your brand and its value. By organizing boards by themes, categories, or product types, users can navigate your profile easily and find what interests them.
  • Profile Tips: Choose a profile picture that aligns with your branding—either a logo or a professional photo. In your bio, use keywords related to your industry and describe what your business offers.
  • Board Optimization: Create boards for specific themes, products, or solutions you offer (e.g., “Fall Fashion Trends” or “Home Office Essentials”). Write keyword-rich board descriptions and use relevant board cover images to maintain a cohesive look. Consistency with branding colors and font styles helps create a professional, polished look.

6. Create Seasonal and Holiday Pinterest Boards

By staying in tune with seasonal topics that interest Pinterest users, you can drive traffic to your business profile. For example, the next three months are perfect for creating boards related to fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other end-of-year holidays. Don’t forget to reference these holidays in hashtags to draw traffic from those specific searches. Learn more about how major companies like Home Depot and Jo-Ann Fabric have used these boards to their advantage.
  • Why It Matters: Pinterest users often look for seasonal inspiration. Having themed boards ensures your pins appear in searches and feeds as people look for holiday or seasonal ideas, giving you a boost in engagement at key times of the year.
  • Tips for Seasonal Content: Plan your seasonal boards at least a month or two in advance. For example, start pinning holiday-related content by October. You can use Pinterest trends or analytics to find out which holidays or seasons are popular in your niche and create targeted boards (e.g., “Winter Home Decor,” “Back to School Supplies,” or “Summer Travel Outfits”).

7. Keep an Eye on Pinterest Analytics

Businesses can use Pinterest Analytics to see which of their pins are most popular, explore topics their audience is interested in, and gauge any new traffic they get from adding the Pin It button to their website. You can also see how your Rich Pins perform compared to your regular pins. Learn more about all the insights and metrics at your disposal through Pinterest Analytics here.
  • Why It Matters: Pinterest Analytics gives you insights into what’s working, including impressions, engagements, link clicks, and audience demographics. Understanding which pins and boards drive the most traffic or sales lets you refine your strategy.
  • Key Metrics to Monitor:
    • Impressions: See how often your pins appear in users’ feeds.
    • Engagements: Track how often users save or click on your pins, which helps you understand what content resonates.
    • Audience Insights: Review the demographics of people engaging with your content to tailor future pins to that audience. For instance, if your audience primarily consists of women aged 25-34, you might focus on content, products, or messaging that appeals to that demographic.
    • Using Analytics to Improve: Regularly analyze which boards and pins have the highest engagement. Double down on those content types, experimenting with similar themes, hashtags, and visuals to optimize reach and conversion.