Sell Your Product With Pinterest's 'Shop The Look'

• Date: 01 April 2019
• reading time: 5 Minutes
• Blogger: Francisca Zimmermann
• E-mail: [email protected]

Pinterest is one of the best platforms for direct sales through social media. Pinterest, often described as a 'digital scrapbook,' has been growing rapidly over the past years and is still growing every day. Currently, around ' 250 million people use Pinterest every month ' and there are around 175 billion pins on the platform. The number of pins increased by 75% since 2017.

An intention to buy

People love spending time scrolling through the many beautiful boards on the platform, which are usually filled with great ideas.

One of the most interesting things about Pinterest, apart from its beautiful looks, is the intention of its users. While for instance Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram users are often visiting their profiles for pure entertainment, to read the news or to connect with friends, Pinterest users mostly visit the platform because they are actively looking for something. If you are using Pinterest, you probably have spent time on the platform to find great outfit ideas, inspiration to decorate your new house or garden, or to find beautiful looks for the wedding or event you are organizing. And the best thing is, in most cases you can buy what you like most.

This makes Pinterest a perfect place for online sales. Brans can convince potential customers with beautiful images, while adding a 'price tag' to their products to be able to sell them directly.

Are you thinking of using Pinterest to sell your products? There are several ways to do this: By simply referring customers to a website or webshop, by adding 'rich pins' to your boards, or by adding a 'shop the look' option to your product images.

Shop the Look pins are pictures of an outfit or a beautiful interior, with dots on the individual items. By clicking on the dot, you can see all product information and click on the 'tag' to go directly to the sellers' website.

Why use 'Shop the Look'?

In a recent study by Pinterest Business, 90% of Pinterest users interviewed said they made purchase decisions on the platform before, and 70% said they use it to find new products. Impressive right?

We can only imagine how high these percentages would be among the Shop the Look pins. Olapic, one of the partners that works with Pinterest to set up Shop the Look accounts for businesses, found in one of their studies that Pinterest users' engage with Shop the Look Pins three to four times more than they do with Pins without the feature, save those Pins five times more, and drive exponential traffic to brands 'websites'.

This makes Shop the Look a great opportunity for e-commerce stores in fashion or design as well as for influencers and affiliate marketers who would like to collaborate with brands to share their look on Pinterest.

How do I set up 'Shop the Look'?

Depending on the type of business you are running, there are three ways to set up Shop the Look for your Pinterest account.

Shop the look for influencers and creators

Are you an influencer or creator with a large number of boards, images, and products to refer to? Then you may want to work with Pinterest's partner ShopStyle Collective. This platform allows you to be rewarded for the content you share through collaboration with big brands. It's a great way to make money with your successful Pinterest page by simply adding your looks to your profile. To set up Shop the Look for your account, all you have to do is touch with ShopStyle Collective, and they will guide you through their process.

Shop the look for retailers

Are you a retailer with a large online shop and many products to sell? Then Pinterest suggests working with Curalate or Olapic. These two content creation agencies can help you design beautiful looks that people almost have to buy.

Shop the look for small businesses

Are you a small business and not interested in working with an external partner? In 2018 Pinterest launched their tagging tool, which allows businesses to create their own Shop the Look pins.

Adding a Shop the Look pin is easy. All you have to do is add a pin to one of your boards and click on the little shopping label. This will allow you to tag a product and directly link your product to the image. For a step-by-step guide through the tagging process, have a look at this description by Pinterest.

Overall advice

We love Pinterest as a selling platform and think Shop the Look is a tool with great potential for e-commerce businesses or affiliate marketers. However, apart from the great opportunities, there are a few downsides to keep in mind.

If you are planning to work with the Shop the Look feature on your Pinterest account, be aware of the fact that it is very time-consuming to set up. Each product needs to be tagged individually unless you work with one of the agencies Pinterest suggests.

Another important downside, for some, is the fact that the tool is not available for everyone. Only business accounts in the US can use the feature, as well as specific business accounts in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the UK.

Are you located in one of these countries and are you running a business account? Then Shop the Look is an option for you.

Would you like to learn more about social media and the best ways to use different platforms for your business? Take a look at our '10 fast social media tips' and 'ways to get more out of your social media by playing with these 7 personality types'.

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• Blogger: Francisca Zimmermann
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Social media manager & content creator at Social Media Gids
• Francisca Zimmermann is a social media expert with a background in research and a love for learning new things. She travels the world looking for beautiful places and interesting cultures, while she dives into the world of her clients to be able to write about them and their interests as a real 'insider'.
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