Take advantage of Pinterest for your retail store.

Retailers have discovered Pinterest, in a big way. Happily, there are several ways you can take advantage of Pinterest for retail, whether you’re a big name brand or a smaller niche enterprise. You want to do that, because Pinterest is now the third most used social platform, and the one generating the highest percentage of both traffic and sales.

Pinterest has been proven to generate significant traffic for online retail sites, but did you know, you can use Pinterest for retail can also drive traffic to your brick-and-mortar store.

You’ll be especially successful if your products are lifestyle-related, with a broad audience. And of course the more visually appealing your products -- or your creative use of images to express the value of your products -- the more excitement and interest you’ll generate. Pinterest is nothing if not a visual medium.

Your goal is repins.

Pinterest offers users a chance to either “like” or repin an image, but you want those repins, because that means somebody is reusing your content, not just enjoying it. You can reach a broad, new audience that isn’t already part of your brand following, and those third-party repins have much the same marketing value as a testimonial or review.

People can follow you, too. So be sure to display Pinterest’s “follow” button as well as the “pin it” button on your website and other social media pages. Thank your followers and those who repin your postings by following them as well.

“Rich pins” for retail.

As of last October, Pinterest for retail includes a particularly useful new feature, rich pins. Of the five types of rich pins, the one most on-point for retailers is the product pin. You can add information to images about product availability and pricing, even a “buy this” link.

Rich pins augment Pinterest for retail in two ways: they provide more information to users who are pinning your images, and they connect your pins back to your website.

Pay special attention to the real-time pricing tool, because pins that include pricing have been shown to generate 36% more likes that images without pricing. You can change the price on a pinned item, and everyone who has repinned your image will receive a real-time email alert about the change.

“Trending products.”

You can also integrate rich pins and related data right on your website, using Pinterest’s trending products widget. You can see which products are being pinned most often and display that information as a suggestive selling tool for online shoppers.

Promoted pins.

Another new feature Pinterest is currently trying out is paid pins with a “promoted” label. This advertising option has proven popular with some retailers on Facebook and Twitter, so it may become another tool for your retail marketing kit in the near future.

Track your followers.

You can analyze your Pinterest data to see other products that are being pinned by people who pin your products. And you can see what other retailers they follow. This deepens your visibility into product popularity trends, etc. rather than relying solely on sales.

The average Pinterest user follows 9.3 retailers. Within the U.S., Pinterest shoppers spend between $140-180 on an average order, whereas Facebook and Twitter shoppers spend just $60-$80. What would that difference mean to you over a year’s time?

Pinterest for retail enables you to create strong brand and product advocates, not just friends and fans. Considering that more than 80% of the site’s content consists of repins, site users are doing your marketing for you. Harness that support and you can win big.

If you have additional questions about retail solutions, connect with us on our website at www.palmerretailsolutions.com. Keep current with industry discussions and product information on Twitter: @PalmerPRS. Palmer derives great satisfaction from designing unique interactive kiosks that incorporate maximum functionality, ergonomics and offer long-lasting service. Click here to receive a USB FLASH DRIVE containing great examples of retail store design, display fixtures and mall kiosks.

Palmer Retail Solutions strives to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service, and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. For more information about our designs, retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks, or point of purchase displays, visit our website at http://www.palmerretailsolutions.com.