How to Get the Most Out of Pinterest for Businesses & Brands

With over 500 million active users, Pinterest has become a key platform for businesses looking to grow their online presence. As a visual search engine, it offers brands a unique way to connect with an engaged audience actively searching for inspiration, products, and ideas. Whether you’re looking to refine your Pinterest strategy, boost your brand, or set up a Pinterest business account, you’re in the right place. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make the most of Pinterest for businesses and tap into its full potential.

Why is Pinterest Important for Businesses and Brands? 

Pinterest isn’t just another social media platform—it’s a powerful visual search engine where users come to discover, explore, and get inspired. 

Unlike traditional social networks, Pinterest allows brands to showcase their products, ideas, and lifestyle through striking visuals that users can actively search for, saving them for future reference or purchase. This makes it a unique opportunity for businesses in sectors like lifestyle, fashion, and home décor, where visual appeal is crucial. 

With a highly engaged audience that uses Pinterest as a tool for inspiration, businesses can tap into a growing market eager to discover new products, trends, and brands.

Here are some Pinterest statistics outlining why it’s an essential channel for businesses:

• Increased Referral Traffic: External website clicks from Pinterest have surged by 55% in 2024, making it a top driver of organic traffic.
• Access to Gen Z and High-Income Audiences: 42% of Pinterest’s 500+ million monthly active users are Gen Z, and 28% of users are high-income earners.
• Unbranded Search Dominance: 96% of top Pinterest searches are unbranded, meaning users are open to discovering new brands.
• Higher Spending Power: Pinterest users spend 80% more per month than users on other platforms, making it a valuable channel for e-commerce brands.

How to Create a Pinterest Business Account

Using a Pinterest Business account helps brands, businesses, and content creators who want to maximize their reach and track their performance. A business account gives you access to Pinterest Analytics, allowing you to measure engagement, see which pins drive the most traffic, and refine your strategy based on data. Additionally, you unlock features like Rich Pins and advertising options that help boost your visibility and conversions.

Create a New Pinterest Business Account

To start using Pinterest for business, you’ll need a Pinterest Business account. Here’s how to set one up:

1. Go to Pinterest for Business: Visit Pinterest for Business and click on “Join as a Business.”
2. Enter Your Business Details: Provide your business name, website URL, and a short description of what your brand offers.
3. Choose Your Goals: Decide whether you want to run ads, grow organically, or both. You can always change this later/
4. Select Your Industry: Pick a category that best represents your business, such as retail, e-commerce, or professional services.
5. Claim Your Website: Verifying your website allows you to track performance, enable Rich Pins, and establish credibility with Pinterest users.
6. Set Up Your Profile: Upload a high-quality logo or brand image, write a compelling bio, and include relevant keywords.
7. Start Pinning: Create your first boards, add high-quality pins, and optimize them with descriptions, hashtags, and links to your website.

Link Your Personal Pinterest Account to a Business Account

If you already have a personal Pinterest account and want to maintain both personal and business content separately, you can link a new business account to your existing login.

1. Go to Pinterest Settings: Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner and select “Settings.”
2. Add a Business Account: Under “Account settings,” find the option to “Add a Business Account.”
3. Fill in Business Details: Provide the necessary information, including your business name and industry.
4. Switch Between Accounts Easily: Once linked, you can toggle between your personal and business accounts without logging out.

Convert a Personal Account to a Pinterest Business Account

If you’ve been using Pinterest personally but want to shift to a business-focused presence, converting your existing account is a straightforward process:

1. Log Into Your Pinterest Account: Open Pinterest and go to your profile.
2. Access Settings: Click the drop-down menu in the top-right corner and select “Settings.”
3. Select “Convert to Business Account”: Pinterest will guide you through the steps to transition your account.
4. Update Your Profile: Ensure your profile reflects your business by adding a brand-appropriate profile picture, updating your bio with relevant keywords, and linking your website.
5. Claim Your Website: Complete the verification process to gain access to analytics and additional business tools.
6. Explore Business Features: Once converted, you’ll unlock tools like Pinterest Analytics, Rich Pins, and the option to run paid advertisements.

How to Use Pinterest for Businesses

Pinterest is a powerful platform for businesses to expand their reach, attract potential customers, and drive conversions.

Here’s how to maximize your presence:

Set SMART Goals

Start by defining clear, measurable goals that align with your business objectives. Setting SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—helps guide your Pinterest strategy. Whether you want to drive traffic to your website, boost product sales, or raise brand awareness, well-defined goals are the foundation for success.

Know Your Target Audience

Understanding who engages with your brand is key to creating effective content. Research Pinterest’s user demographics and use Pinterest Analytics to analyze audience behavior. This data reveals what types of content and keywords resonate with your audience. Building detailed audience personas will also help refine your messaging and content creation strategy.

Understand the Pinterest Algorithm

Pinterest’s algorithm rewards content based on four key factors: domain quality, pin quality, pinner quality, and topic relevance. Focus on creating engaging, clickable pins that resonate with your target audience. Consistent activity and relevant content aligned with users’ search behaviors will increase your visibility on the platform.

Analyze Your Competitors

Look at what similar brands are doing on Pinterest to identify trends and strategies that work. By examining your competitors’ top-performing pins and overall presence, you can learn what resonates with your shared audience and adapt those insights to fit your brand’s unique style.

Create Engaging Content

Pinterest is a visual-first platform, so high-quality, eye-catching content is essential. Use clear, high-resolution images with compelling descriptions. Experiment with a mix of content types—videos, carousel pins, and infographics—to keep your audience engaged. Incorporating trending topics and popular keywords into your pin descriptions will improve your content’s discoverability.

Optimize for SEO

Pinterest SEO plays a significant role in boosting your content’s visibility. Research Pinterest-specific keywords and include them in your pin titles, descriptions, and board names. Additionally, Rich Pins, which pull data directly from your website, can help elevate your credibility and engagement on the platform.

Set Up a Pinterest Shop

For e-commerce businesses, Pinterest offers a direct shopping feature through its Pinterest Shop. By claiming your website and uploading a product catalog, you can enable shopping features and create Product Pins. This makes it easier for users to discover and purchase your products directly from Pinterest, turning it into a sales channel.

Monitor Your Performance 

Track your progress regularly using Pinterest Analytics and Metricool. These tools provide insights into how your content performs, audience demographics, and engagement trends. Analyzing this data helps you understand what works and where you can optimize your strategy to achieve better results over time.

Promote Pins and Utilize Pinterest Advertising

To expand your reach, consider using Pinterest Ads to promote your top-performing content. Promoted Pins can increase visibility, while ad formats like Video Pins and Carousels offer opportunities for dynamic storytelling. Targeting ads based on user interests, demographics, and search behavior can help you reach the most relevant audience and boost conversions.

How to Post on Pinterest for Businesses 3 Ways

Posting on Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic and connect with your audience, but the way you post can make all the difference. Whether you’re creating Pins from scratch or sharing content directly from your website, there are a few ways to make the most of the platform. Here are three simple methods to get started.

1. Create a Pin Directly on Pinterest

Start by clicking the “Create” dropdown on Pinterest and selecting “Create Pin.” You’ll be taken to a screen where you can input all the details for your Pin.

Here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Choose a board to publish your Pin to (or create a new board right there).
• Write a title and description for your Pin using relevant keywords.
• Add alt text for accessibility.
• Include a link to where you want your Pin to lead.
• Upload an image or video that aligns with your brand or product.
• Publish or schedule your Pin.

2. Save a Pin Directly from Your Website

If you want to save content from your website to Pinterest, you can use the Pinterest Chrome extension. When you hover over an image on any website, the “Save” option will appear. Click it and choose the board where you want to save the image.

Once saved, go to your Pinterest profile to adjust the Pin’s title and description, and don’t forget to add relevant keywords to increase search visibility.

3. Use Metricool to Schedule and Post Pins

To simplify your Pinterest strategy, use Metricool to schedule and publish your Pins. This tool allows you to manage your Pinterest account alongside other platforms, making it easy to plan your content calendar, schedule posts, and track performance all in one place. Just upload your images or videos, add titles, descriptions, and links, and schedule your content to go live when your audience is most active.

Best Practices for Success on Pinterest for Businesses

Follow these best practices to make the most of Pinterest for your business:

1. Create High-Quality Visuals: Use crisp, bright images with a 2:3 aspect ratio (1000×1500 pixels).
2. Pin Consistently: Aim for 15-25 pins per day, focusing on peak engagement times (2-4 PM and 8-9 PM EST).
3. Diversify Your Content: Mix product pins with lifestyle images, infographics, and video pins.
4. Optimize Boards: Create themed boards that align with your brand and target audience’s interests.
5. Engage with Users: Respond to comments and interact with other users to build a community.
6. Leverage Rich Pins: Automatically sync product details, recipes, or article metadata from your website.
7. Add Save Buttons to Your Website: Encourage visitors to share your content on Pinterest.
8. Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with Pinterest influencers to extend your reach.
9. Use Video Pins: Showcase products in action or share tutorials to capture user attention.
10. Follow Seasonal Trends: Align your content with trending and seasonal topics for maximum engagement.

Why Metricool is the Best Pinterest Marketing Tool for Businesses

Managing Pinterest efficiently requires the right tools, and Metricool is the ultimate platform for businesses looking to grow on Pinterest.

Here’s how Metricool can help:

• Create and Schedule Content: Save time by planning and scheduling your pins in advance, ensuring a consistent presence without daily manual uploads.
• Track Analytics and Performance Metrics: See which pins perform best, analyze audience engagement, and adjust your strategy with real-time data insights.
• AI-Powered Content Generator: Struggling with content ideas? Use Metricool’s AI content generator to get inspiration for engaging pin descriptions and board titles.
• Seamless Integrations: Connect Metricool with Canva and Google Drive to keep all your branded visuals organized and ready to post.

By using Metricool, businesses can simplify their Pinterest marketing strategy, maximize reach, and drive more traffic to their websites with data-driven insights and automation.

Gretchen Oestreicher , 03 March 2025