Pinterest is still fairly a new platform for quite many businesses. It has over 300 million active users monthly, yet its potential for business sales is untapped. That is why there is not a lot of guidance for beginners and they end up making rookie mistakes when it comes to using Pinterest for increasing business sales.

Some statistics about Pinterest as a marketing medium:

• 84% of users look through Pinterest to try and decide what to buy
• 94% of Pinterest users bought and used something new that they came across on this platform
• 77% of Pinterest users came across a new brand here and started following it
• Pinterest can help marketers achieve $2 profit for every $1 that they invest in advertisements
• By 2020, the ad revenue from this platform will reach $1 billion

These statistics show the importance of Pinterest for a business irrespective of its size and nature. All business and that includes a B2B business can find a way to promote and market their business on this platform.

That is why in this blog we will learn about common mistakes that can cause you, followers, on this visual platform.

Ignoring this platform as your business is B2B

A lot of B2B businesses don’t include Pinterest in their social media marketing strategy thinking it as a tool that is fit for chefs or home renovators and more. Sure, you will indeed find more pins and boards for these types of things, but even a B2B company can find relevant content to share.

Don’t ignore this platform without talking to your team or a social manager about how you can use it for your business.

Not sharing original or quality content

Pinterest is a serious marketing platform, and you have to look at it that way only. Promoting your brand on Pinterest due to head mentality won’t work. Thus, make sure you don’t end up pinning the content of other people on your boards.

You need to pin and share original content. If you are already making images or infographics for your other social media channels or blogs/websites, you won’t be short on original content.

Also, using Canva you can create original images or edit the existing one as per the standard requirements of Pinterest.

Not making use of keywords

Remember that Pinterest is similar to a search engine, but it is more visual. Thus, not using keywords is a big mistake as it is stopping your customers from finding your pins and boards.

The best place to include keywords is pin and board description, and/or names and the brand’s bio.

Whatever name and description you choose for your bio, organically place some keywords in it. The same goes for your board names and description. Search for popular keywords in your niche, which are bringing traffic for your competitors and use them strategically.

Not being consistent or posting too much

The curse of social media is that it can make people love your brand and get irritated too. If you post too little, people will think that following you is a waste of time. If you post too much, it will overwhelm a viewer so much that they might end up blocking you. So, what to do?

Well, the key is to find a balance. You cannot post two pins a week and call it a day it will barely be noticeable. Similarly, posting ten pins within five minutes is not a great idea.

Thus, it is better to post consistently throughout the day instead of once at a time. For instance, maybe two pins in the morning and two in the evening or when your viewers are more active on the platform.

Using horizontal or square pins

If you have been using Pinterest for a long time, you will be aware of this common mistake. If not, keep in mind that posting square or horizontal pins is not a great idea. The best way to pin your content is to use a vertical pin. They make your content more readable and visible, and since most people are using that, your horizontal or square pins will get lost in it.

Incomplete or empty boards

You cannot get a high number of followers if you have incomplete or empty boards. Don’t keep creating boards if you are unable to pin items to it. When you create a board, dedicate some time to it and have at least five pins in it before you go and make another.

Not using hashtags

Hashtags are vital as they work in similar nature to that of keywords. But a lot of social media managers avoid using hashtags or use them wrongly. Use the same trick as Instagram. Make use of popular and trend hashtags that are relevant to your business. Also, make sure you branded hashtags in your board description and while pining.

Using short links

Most platforms frown upon the use of bulky and long URLs. It makes it unprofessional and full of characters that are never appealing. But on Pinterest, it is the opposite. Here if you try to put a short URL on a pin or description, the platform won’t allow it. It will provide a message saying it is spammy and will block the short link 99 out of 100 times.

Therefore, it is crucial that you use long URLs for Pinterest. Don’t worry about them not looking appealing enough, that won’t matter as Pinterest doesn’t show long URLs on a pin in any case.

Pinning just your products

One of the reasons people use social media is to connect with people. It helps them relax and find new things. So, if they come across numerous pins from your company which is only about your products and starts with ‘buy this’ or ‘we are selling this’, it won’t do you any favors. No customer likes to be pushed to buy things, and pins like these do just that.

So, try to pin other things to which relate to your business as well. For instance, if you are in the fitness industry, don’t just pin about the exercise or diet you follow. Pin recipes or pin benefits of asana and other things which don’t say, come workout with us. Try selling the whole lifestyle, instead of just your product.

Not posting prices

If you want to sell your product, post prices in the description, or the image that you are pinning. Using comments and DMs to reveal prices is tedious. People want immediate response and thus, it is best to put the prices on the image itself or while writing a description for the pin.

Not making use of Pinning analytics

Pinterest is providing a new feature to improve and enhance boards and pins, and you must use that to your advantage. Pinterest analytics is a great feature that lets you monitor and test repin, pins, and board for your business. With the help of this data, you can improve your strategies for better results.

Now, that you know what mistakes we’re making you lose traffic, you can count on Pinterest to get high traffic or conversion rates. We are still learning about this platform, so keeping your eyes and ears open about any tips is imperative. Maybe they work, maybe they don’t, but you will come to know this only when you use them.