From Inspiration to Shopping

The way consumers shop today is driven by four core behaviours: Streaming, Scrolling, Searching, and Shopping, which often overlap. In this non-linear landscape, winning over customers means being present at every twist and turn of their journey. Sometimes they are just scrolling for inspiration, other times searching with purpose, and often, they’ll buy in a flash when inspiration strikes. Shopping success on Pinterest boils down to meeting customers in these different modes of engagement and making your products discoverable. 

Pinterest is a visual discovery engine where inspiration meets intent, and with over half a billion monthly active users coming to find ideas, Pinterest provides a massive opportunity. Below, we break down how to set up your profile for shopping success on Pinterest using ad products, creative features, data-driven tactics, and strategic collaborations with partners. 

Step 1: Upload your product catalogue

Your product catalogue, or data source, is the foundation of your Pinterest presence. It enables the creation of discoverable product Pins for shopping ads.

• Create your feed: Upload directly, connect via the Pinterest API, or integrate with platforms like Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Shopify, and WooCommerce

Step 2: Optimize for success

Enhance your catalogue to increase visibility and performance.

• Improve product metadata: Use detailed descriptions (80+ characters) with relevant keywords, high-quality visuals, and comprehensive titles including brand, color, pricing, and sizing
  
• Monitor feed health: Leverage Pinterest’s catalogue diagnostics dashboard to identify and resolve issues proactively
  
• Update ingestion frequency: Schedule regular updates to keep your content relevant, especially with frequent inventory or pricing changes

Step 3: Turn inspiration into action

Convert passive browsing into active shopping experiences.

• Make all Pins shoppable: Product tagging allows you to add products from your catalogue to lifestyle images, making it easier for users to find and purchase items they love
  
• Connect your Instagram content: Connect your Instagram account to Pinterest to turn your recent posts into Pins, driving traffic directly to your product pages
  
• Create ads at scale with Creative Catalogue: Automate the creation and distribution of thousands of Pins using images and videos to build diverse ad types like lifestyle, UGC, or influencer ads

Step 4: Launch smart shopping campaigns

Use Pinterest’s technology to amplify reach and connect products with interested users.

• Use Pinterest Performance+: Leverage AI and automation to create and enhance catalogue ads, optimizing for conversions and reaching a wider audience
  
• Drive urgency with promotions: Activate time-bound promotions on standard or shopping ads, or import them directly from Shopify. Sales indicators automatically highlight price changes in relevant shopping ads
  
• Use mobile deep links: Simplify the shopping journey by directing users to a URL in your native app. Advertisers using mobile deep links have seen a 235% lift in conversion rates and 34% lower CPAs.

Step 5: Measure, learn, grow

Implement tracking and analysis to understand Pinterest’s impact and optimize performance.

• Install tracking tools: Set up both the Pinterest tag and Conversions API to capture customer interactions. Advertisers using both tools together have seen nearly 10% improvements in CPA
  
• Embrace A/B testing: Conduct experiments comparing different creative approaches and targeting strategies to gain actionable insights
  
• Leverage measurement partners for deeper insights: Collaborate with measurement partners to understand Pinterest’s role in your broader marketing ecosystem and customer journey

If used strategically, Pinterest offers an invaluable convergence of inspiration and intent. It’s a place where a user planning a dream kitchen can go from admiring a photo of a gorgeous backsplash to clicking “Add to Cart” on the tiles in that photo within minutes. Your brand would not only be inspiring consumers but also converting them; whether they stumble upon your product while streaming content, save it while scrolling casually, find it while searching intentionally, or buy it while shopping on an impulse.

Is your brand ready to inspire, inform, and convert on Pinterest? Your customers are already out there looking for ideas. Make sure you’re the one they find, love, and buy from.