Pin It To Win It: The Affiliate Marketing Power of Pinterest

When it comes to making money as a Creator, Pinterest is a total secret weapon. Yes, the platform has been around for a while. But like all things that withstand the test of time, Pinterest is still beloved by Creators, and for good reason. 

With the help of expert input from Collective Voice Ceators Jessica Camerata and Shelby Vanhoy, we’ve put together a handy guide on why Pinterest is such a powerful marketing channel for Creators, and how you can use it to drive follower growth, blog clicks, affiliate sales, and more.

Capitalize on its organic reach

On Pinterest, having a large following isn’t necessary for content to reach a broad audience. That’s because Pinterest’s algorithm is all about organic reach. It’s based on a mix of different factors that determine how any given piece of content is displayed to other users. Like most social media algorithms, Pinterest isn’t entirely forthcoming with the specifics. That said, it doesn’t hurt to focus on the following elements:

• The quality of your Pins: If your Pin is visually appealing, it’ll naturally get more attention. This can lead the algorithm to start showing it to broader audiences, giving it a reach and engagement boost. 
• Relevance to your own Pinterest history: If a Pin is totally unrelated to what you’ve Pinned in the past, it may not be favored by the algorithm. Point being – stay true to your brand, and followers will follow. 
• Quality of domain: The algorithm considers the website that a Pin is linked to. So when you’re attaching links to your Pins, make sure they’re driving to reputable sources.
• Engagement: More likes, comments, saves, and engagement tell the algorithm this is quality content, which encourages Pinterest to show that pin to more people.
• Recency & consistency: The algorithm likes to be fed with fresh, new content, so be sure to Pin frequently (without sacrificing quality, of course!). Pinterest’s algorithm wants to see that you’re active, as active users tend to bring more value to the platform. You can use an automation tool to batch schedule your Pins.

Looking to make your content go viral on Pinterest? It’s very doable, as long as you stick to some key tips. If you see a pin gaining traction, for example, schedule it to be pinned to another board if possible and continue pinning it. And don’t forget about the comment section within a Pin – engaging with comments can always provide a quick boost. 

Treat Pinterest Like a search engine

Did you know that you can optimize content on Pinterest by using SEO and keyword strategies? It’s true, and it’s very effective. Take it from Creator Jessica Camerata: “Pinterest is my #2 traffic-driving source behind Google. To me, it’s not even in the ‘social platform’ category. It’s in the ‘search engine’ category.” 

In order to make the most of this traffic opportunity, consider the context of the platform. People are visiting Pinterest to search for images, inspiration, and products. And strategically crafting the titles and descriptions of your Pins can help you capture some of that search interest. 

Here’s what we suggest:

• Leverage specific and relevant keywords, the same way that you would for any SEO-driven content. 
• Use as many characters for as possible – max out the character count! –  when describing a photo.
• Create strong call-to-actions, whether in the actual image that’s being pinned or in the description, to drive more click-throughs. 

Boost your blog traffic and drive sales

Here’s the thing – users are 1.4 times more likely to take shopping-related actions from Pinterest than on other platforms. And shoppers on Pinterest spend 2x the amount as shoppers on other social media platforms. Why? For one, consider the audience. Most people are coming to Pinterest with an intention. They want to act on something in real life, and just need inspiration to get it right. This naturally means that the users are more engaged, instead of passively scrolling like on other social media platforms.

You can decide where your Pinterest page links to – and your blog is always a strong choice. That’s because your blog is a space that’s controlled by you, not algorithms, and where you can host content for as long as you’d like. You can also include links back to your blog in your pins’ descriptions, driving more traffic to your website and increasing sales.

In terms of monetizing blog content by way of your Pinterest pins, Jessica suggests: “I go into my top-performing Pins and add products to shop with my affiliate links. I then refresh those blog posts so that items in my widgets show up as in stock. If there are top blog posts from Pinterest referrals, then I want to be sure that those posts are converting sales for my business – so I refresh them every few months based on my Pinterest analytics.” 

Embrace Idea Pins

Idea Pins are almost like Instagram Stories, but for Pinterest. You can use multiple images or video content to create an Idea Pin. Best part? They’re great for bringing traffic to your Pinterest page, which leads to more followers. Shelby points out, “Idea Pins are helpful because they ultimately drive back to your Pinterest page, which can then direct people to other websites. I still try to share all my content from other platforms on Pinterest to reach more people. It also helps your content live longer.”

Dive into your stats

Shelby’s tip for maximizing your Pinterest potential? Know your numbers – and Pinterest makes it easy. “The analytics that Pinterest provides are incredibly insightful. They teach me what types of content I should be making to get more clicks – even down to the text overlay font.” 

Maybe you already have an established Pinterest presence. Or maybe Pinterest is a platform you’re just getting started with. Either way, it’s a proven powerhouse for affiliate marketing sales, boosts in blog traffic, and overall growth. Repeat after us: Pin it to win it.