Pinterest is quickly becoming the shopping platform in 2023. With platforms like Instagram pulling back on their integrations, Pinterest is the next best place for you to market your products.
In this podcast episode, Kate talks with e-commerce product and business educator, Kerrie Fitzgerald about how she grew her e-commerce business to six figures. And is now teaching others how to grow their business. Kerrie shares how she learned to use Pinterest to sell products and grow her business, and why she thinks Pinterest is under-utilized.
Kerrie is a coach, mentor, and educator who works with mostly female, product-based businesses. Her goal is to help them get visibility in their business and create a brand that customers are really obsessed with.
using pinterest to sell products
Kerrie’s first business was a subscription box business, catered to pets and pet parents. She had a background in marketing, but mainly in higher education. She knew how to market in general, but not necessarily how to sell physical products or get people to find her website.
The first year of her business, she focused on Instagram and used a customer referral program. As she started to get more into SEO and blogging, she found Pinterest as a way to get people to her website.
She had a blog post that was doing well, so she created a few Pins for it. Along with the other things she was already doing to market her business. Potential customers were finding the blog post from either Pinterest or Google, because that’s where they were searching for the specific thing they wanted.
Pinterest was driving traffic to her posts, where they could join her email list, or shop at her online store.
Writing blog posts and creating content can feel labor intensive, but with the nature of a search-forward platform like Pinterest or Google, this is how new people will find you.
RELATED: It’s time to sell on Pinterest, E-comm business owners! (podcast/blog post)
getting found in search
Kerrie says that to grow your business long-term, creating search-forward content is absolutely key. She says that if you don’t want to spend all your time, every day, posting on social media and marketing your business, creating this time of content will help the long game. Platforms like YouTube and Pinterest work in conjunction with Google, so the more you can get your name and business out there, the better off you will be in the long run.
This is another reminder to create content that you OWN. Instagram seems to change every day, TikTok might be banned soon. Blog posts are yours and they can work for you. If you want to build a business that doesn’t rely on social media, then creating content like this can only help you.
Does your product solve a problem? Can it help people find a quick solution to an issue they have, answer a question, give them a “hack” to make things more efficient? Write a blog post about how that specific product can help! Then create Pins that point back to that blog post. People will have more information about your product, plus more context around how it can help them.
RELATED: How a subscription box business is using Pinterest to sell products
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ASKED
- Any aspects you did wrong on Pinterest that you wished you hadn’t done?
- What do you feel went right for you in terms of images and keywords?
- Have you leveraged the Verified Merchant Program? What’s your experience been?
- What are your favorite tools that help you be more productive with your Pinterest marketing?
- Have you outsourced any components?
- If you had to share one experience with a new product seller starting out on Pinterest, what would that be?
Kerrie shared that it can feel frustrating when business owners give up on Pinterest after trying to pin a few Pins. Or when she hears that the platform is only for the party business, weddings, or recipes. She said that Instagram can feel like the place to be for so many people because it’s more well-known and easy to post.
But she knows the potential of Pinterest, and thinks that people misunderstand what it is and how to use it.
Understandably, business owners can feel really stretched thin with all the hats they wear and balls they are constantly juggling. But Pinterest is a long game. If you put a little time in in the beginning, it can reap rewards for months and years to come.
are your customers buying right away?
Kerrie shares that her marketing philosophy is that people don’t buy right away. It’s all about visibility and getting your name and business out there. People will discover you, maybe follow you on Instagram, and then eventually join your email list. They might not purchase for 6 months, even a year or two. Playing both the short and long game are essential.
If you want to learn more or find out how Karrie can help in your business, check out her E-commerce Society. It’s a membership that helps brands grow their traffic, sales, and visibility without using advertising. They have live calls, guest experts, courses, and other foundational training for an e-commerce business.
You can also find her at kerriefitzgerald.com.
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Additional Resources Covered in Podcast:
- Simple Pin Media’s Pinterest Marketing Services
- Pinterest TV
- Tailwind – Pinterest scheduling tool
- Canva – Multi-purpose design tool, editor, and video software
Simple Pin Products and Resources:
- The e-commerce features you should know about on Pinterest (YouTube video)
- E-commerce tools and products in the Simple Pin Shop (workshops, templates, full bundle)
- Using Pinterest to Sell Products – Free email training
- How to Market Your Products During the Holidays (podcast/blog post)
