Pinterest Guide: How to Use One of the World's Largest Visual Search Engines
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 9:05 am
Doesn't anyone use Pinterest? Many people think that it's a social network only for a very segmented audience, that it's only useful for looking for nice decoration images or recipe ideas. In any case, it may seem that there is no space for marketing your company.
Are you one of those who think this way? Or do you not have this thought, but you are not sure? If so, we have prepared this content where we review the key concepts of this platform.
While many brands ignore Pinterest, the social network is becoming increasingly relevant for businesses.
Yes, it is totally visually oriented. Yes, you will find photos of how does cash app work? well-decorated apartments, DIY ideas, destinations to visit and thousands of images of design, illustration, travel, fashion, cooking and other diverse topics.
The great thing about Pinterest is that it has become a great reference catalogue for users. And it is in these references that your brand can appear to get closer to the public, reinforce your branding and influence users' purchasing decisions.
So forget about prejudices against this social network! Now we will show you how Pinterest can be interesting for your business; in this post you will see:
What is Pinterest?
How to use Pinterest?
How to use Pinterest’s main features for business?
How to optimize posts on Pinterest?
Pinterest Analytics: How to track statistics?
How do Pinterest Ads work?
How to make money on Pinterest?
Bonus: Cases of companies that use Pinterest and have good results
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a social network that allows you to discover, share and save ideas . By browsing the Internet or posts on the network — called pins — users can find inspiration and create folders (public or private) that gather various references on topics of interest.
And it is to facilitate this discovery that Pinterest works today. Although it emerged in 2010 as a social network, the company is now positioned as the world's leading visual search engine.
Several tools have been launched to strengthen the intelligence of visual search and differentiate itself from any other search engine.
Inspiring people's lives: That's what Pinterest is all about!
Pinterest for business
Like every social network, Pinterest was created primarily for people. But it's clear that brands have taken advantage of its potential to get closer to their audience, and it has also entered the marketing spotlight.
Recognizing this movement, the social network also developed new features for companies, such as the business account and measurement tools, which we will learn about later. That is why Pinterest is also a great business platform.
Okay, so Pinterest's user base isn't anywhere near that of Facebook and Instagram , which have 2.9 billion and 1.478 billion users respectively. But that's not the reach that brands are looking for on this social network.
The great benefit of being part of people's plans when they are looking for references to carry out their life projects.
By posting inspiring ideas and engaging with users, brands can be discovered by new audiences, strengthen relationships with them, and send more visitors to the site.
They are also able to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers, who are willing to buy what they find on Pinterest. Some user statistics show this power:
84% use Pinterest to decide what to buy;
98% tried something they found on Pinterest;
77% discovered new brands or products on the platform.
On the other hand, we can check out some interesting information in which this social network reached 400 million active monthly users .
Plus, the idea that “Pinterest is only for women” can now be revoked forever. Yes, they are the majority (around 60%), but the male audience is also there: the growth of this target audience has increased by 48%.
So, did you enjoy learning about Pinterest and the audience that uses the platform? Below, you'll better understand how to exploit its features.
How to use Pinterest?
Creating a Pinterest account is simple, but it's important to know that in order for your brand to take action online, you need to have a business account. To do this, choose the "create a business account" option on the Pinterest home page .
But if your brand already has a personal account, you can add a business profile to it. To do this, log in to your account and click on settings (the three dots in the top right corner of the screen).
To set up your business account, Pinterest wants to know a few questions, such as your name and the type of business you represent. You can also add a link to your website, integrate with other social networks, and select topics that best describe your business (humor, architecture, nature, pets, etc.) to receive suggestions for pins from the platform.
That's it, your business account is now created! If you created this account from a personal profile, Pinterest gives you the option to choose 20 boards to add to your business profile, and only the first 250 pins from each board are copied.
After that, you can start creating pins and boards for your profile.
For each folder, you can define a name, description and category, add a cover, keep it public or private and even invite collaborators.
When creating the pin, you can:
choose an image from your device or your website;
select the folder to add (or create a new one);
add a title and description (with hashtags if you wish);
add a destination link;
publish on time or schedule publication.
Besides posting pins and creating boards, it's also fun to interact with people. Start following brands and users who can bring good references to your brand. Use the search engine for this: enter the terms you're interested in and save whatever you find most interesting to folders.
You may also be interested in this content!
SEO for Pinterest: Understand everything about this topic to improve your positioning!
How to use Pinterest’s main features for business?
Now that you know how to take your first steps on Pinterest, let's learn about its main features.
Since its inception, the network has added many features that enrich the user experience . And Pinterest has a special eye for brands, which increasingly have more resources to do business on the network.
Discover the main ones now.
Save button for websites
One of the ways to get your branded posts to Pinterest is to have users do it, as they can save images to the platform directly from your website.
To encourage this, the network offers an interesting tool: the save button for websites . When you install it, you appear on all the images on the site, so users can click on it and save them directly to their dashboards.
Rich pins (advanced pins)
Rich Pins provide richer information about your images, beyond the title, caption, and link that exist on regular Pins .
This is done through metadata that must be added to your website or ecommerce and validated with Pinterest ( see instructions ). That way, every user who saves that image on Pinterest will automatically bring the metadata information to the platform.
Rich Pins are free and available only for business accounts. There are 4 types:
Product pins, including price, real-time availability, and purchase link;
recipe pins, which report ingredients, cooking times, and servings;
Article pins, which display the title, author, and a snippet of text;
App pins (currently only supported on iOS), which include an install button.
Shop the look
Shop the Look is an initiative by Pinterest to further stimulate shopping on the platform . With this feature, the user who likes a product in the image can click on it and be directed to the purchase link.
Shop the Look pins have white dots that identify the linked products. To add them, brands must have a business account.
When creating the pin, you need to click on the tag icon to tag the products in the image, add the destination link and a separate product image.
Here's an example of what a Shop the Look pin looks like:
pinterest
Pincode
Pincode is a way to bring Pinterest into the real world. It's a custom code (similar to a QR Code ) that carries information about the social network. When scanned with the Pinterest app, the user can be taken directly to your brand's profile or folder.
Okay, but what is that for? Imagine that you can insert this code into printed materials such as business cards, packaging or folders. Imagine also, for example, putting a Pincode on a lipstick package and directing it to a makeup-inspired folder. Pretty, isn't it?
Pincodes are available for both personal and business accounts. Any user can create the code by clicking on their profile picture and downloading the Pincode.
pinterest
If you want to create a Pin Code for a specific folder, you must access it on the platform and click on the icon to generate the code:
pinterest
Pinterest Lens
We said earlier that Pinterest sees itself as a visual search engine, and the platform has been developing tools to strengthen this solution. Pinterest Lens is one of them.
This tool, called “Search the Camera” in Spanish, allows you to search the web for objects that you find there , in the physical world.
Did you like the lamp you saw at a friend's house? Did you see a flower on the street and want more photos of it? Then, just point the app's camera at the object and it will show references similar to the one you're seeing.
This further enriches the search for ideas.
Are you one of those who think this way? Or do you not have this thought, but you are not sure? If so, we have prepared this content where we review the key concepts of this platform.
While many brands ignore Pinterest, the social network is becoming increasingly relevant for businesses.
Yes, it is totally visually oriented. Yes, you will find photos of how does cash app work? well-decorated apartments, DIY ideas, destinations to visit and thousands of images of design, illustration, travel, fashion, cooking and other diverse topics.
The great thing about Pinterest is that it has become a great reference catalogue for users. And it is in these references that your brand can appear to get closer to the public, reinforce your branding and influence users' purchasing decisions.
So forget about prejudices against this social network! Now we will show you how Pinterest can be interesting for your business; in this post you will see:
What is Pinterest?
How to use Pinterest?
How to use Pinterest’s main features for business?
How to optimize posts on Pinterest?
Pinterest Analytics: How to track statistics?
How do Pinterest Ads work?
How to make money on Pinterest?
Bonus: Cases of companies that use Pinterest and have good results
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a social network that allows you to discover, share and save ideas . By browsing the Internet or posts on the network — called pins — users can find inspiration and create folders (public or private) that gather various references on topics of interest.
And it is to facilitate this discovery that Pinterest works today. Although it emerged in 2010 as a social network, the company is now positioned as the world's leading visual search engine.
Several tools have been launched to strengthen the intelligence of visual search and differentiate itself from any other search engine.
Inspiring people's lives: That's what Pinterest is all about!
Pinterest for business
Like every social network, Pinterest was created primarily for people. But it's clear that brands have taken advantage of its potential to get closer to their audience, and it has also entered the marketing spotlight.
Recognizing this movement, the social network also developed new features for companies, such as the business account and measurement tools, which we will learn about later. That is why Pinterest is also a great business platform.
Okay, so Pinterest's user base isn't anywhere near that of Facebook and Instagram , which have 2.9 billion and 1.478 billion users respectively. But that's not the reach that brands are looking for on this social network.
The great benefit of being part of people's plans when they are looking for references to carry out their life projects.
By posting inspiring ideas and engaging with users, brands can be discovered by new audiences, strengthen relationships with them, and send more visitors to the site.
They are also able to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers, who are willing to buy what they find on Pinterest. Some user statistics show this power:
84% use Pinterest to decide what to buy;
98% tried something they found on Pinterest;
77% discovered new brands or products on the platform.
On the other hand, we can check out some interesting information in which this social network reached 400 million active monthly users .
Plus, the idea that “Pinterest is only for women” can now be revoked forever. Yes, they are the majority (around 60%), but the male audience is also there: the growth of this target audience has increased by 48%.
So, did you enjoy learning about Pinterest and the audience that uses the platform? Below, you'll better understand how to exploit its features.
How to use Pinterest?
Creating a Pinterest account is simple, but it's important to know that in order for your brand to take action online, you need to have a business account. To do this, choose the "create a business account" option on the Pinterest home page .
But if your brand already has a personal account, you can add a business profile to it. To do this, log in to your account and click on settings (the three dots in the top right corner of the screen).
To set up your business account, Pinterest wants to know a few questions, such as your name and the type of business you represent. You can also add a link to your website, integrate with other social networks, and select topics that best describe your business (humor, architecture, nature, pets, etc.) to receive suggestions for pins from the platform.
That's it, your business account is now created! If you created this account from a personal profile, Pinterest gives you the option to choose 20 boards to add to your business profile, and only the first 250 pins from each board are copied.
After that, you can start creating pins and boards for your profile.
For each folder, you can define a name, description and category, add a cover, keep it public or private and even invite collaborators.
When creating the pin, you can:
choose an image from your device or your website;
select the folder to add (or create a new one);
add a title and description (with hashtags if you wish);
add a destination link;
publish on time or schedule publication.
Besides posting pins and creating boards, it's also fun to interact with people. Start following brands and users who can bring good references to your brand. Use the search engine for this: enter the terms you're interested in and save whatever you find most interesting to folders.
You may also be interested in this content!
SEO for Pinterest: Understand everything about this topic to improve your positioning!
How to use Pinterest’s main features for business?
Now that you know how to take your first steps on Pinterest, let's learn about its main features.
Since its inception, the network has added many features that enrich the user experience . And Pinterest has a special eye for brands, which increasingly have more resources to do business on the network.
Discover the main ones now.
Save button for websites
One of the ways to get your branded posts to Pinterest is to have users do it, as they can save images to the platform directly from your website.
To encourage this, the network offers an interesting tool: the save button for websites . When you install it, you appear on all the images on the site, so users can click on it and save them directly to their dashboards.
Rich pins (advanced pins)
Rich Pins provide richer information about your images, beyond the title, caption, and link that exist on regular Pins .
This is done through metadata that must be added to your website or ecommerce and validated with Pinterest ( see instructions ). That way, every user who saves that image on Pinterest will automatically bring the metadata information to the platform.
Rich Pins are free and available only for business accounts. There are 4 types:
Product pins, including price, real-time availability, and purchase link;
recipe pins, which report ingredients, cooking times, and servings;
Article pins, which display the title, author, and a snippet of text;
App pins (currently only supported on iOS), which include an install button.
Shop the look
Shop the Look is an initiative by Pinterest to further stimulate shopping on the platform . With this feature, the user who likes a product in the image can click on it and be directed to the purchase link.
Shop the Look pins have white dots that identify the linked products. To add them, brands must have a business account.
When creating the pin, you need to click on the tag icon to tag the products in the image, add the destination link and a separate product image.
Here's an example of what a Shop the Look pin looks like:
Pincode
Pincode is a way to bring Pinterest into the real world. It's a custom code (similar to a QR Code ) that carries information about the social network. When scanned with the Pinterest app, the user can be taken directly to your brand's profile or folder.
Okay, but what is that for? Imagine that you can insert this code into printed materials such as business cards, packaging or folders. Imagine also, for example, putting a Pincode on a lipstick package and directing it to a makeup-inspired folder. Pretty, isn't it?
Pincodes are available for both personal and business accounts. Any user can create the code by clicking on their profile picture and downloading the Pincode.
If you want to create a Pin Code for a specific folder, you must access it on the platform and click on the icon to generate the code:
Pinterest Lens
We said earlier that Pinterest sees itself as a visual search engine, and the platform has been developing tools to strengthen this solution. Pinterest Lens is one of them.
This tool, called “Search the Camera” in Spanish, allows you to search the web for objects that you find there , in the physical world.
Did you like the lamp you saw at a friend's house? Did you see a flower on the street and want more photos of it? Then, just point the app's camera at the object and it will show references similar to the one you're seeing.
This further enriches the search for ideas.