While it used to be your job to come up with ideas for clients, more and more clients are picking up the phone with ideas in hand, already knowing what they’re looking for—largely thanks to visual-based social media platforms like Pinterest.
Of course, there are so many social media platforms you can use to market your home remodeling company. Most marketers will tell you to focus on Facebook and Instagram because of their popularity—but your social media marketing strategy shouldn’t end there. Once you’ve mastered your Facebook strategy and gained an Instagram following, it’s time to branch out to other platforms.
Believe it or not, Pinterest is one of the best tools for lead generation and brand awareness. It’s home to over 444 million active monthly users. What’s more, over 40 percent of Pinterest users have household incomes over $75,000, making Pinterest advertising a goldmine for home remodelers.
Maybe you’ve been ignoring Pinterest because you think it’s only effective for eCommerce brands—or you’ve been using Pinterest to showcase your portfolio without any success. Regardless of your current strategy, it’s time to start using Pinterest to get leads. Here’s how to cut through the digital noise with compelling, captivating Pinterest ads.
While everyone else is competing for ad space on Facebook, it’s time to turn your attention toward Pinterest. Why? It’s a relatively untapped market, which means less competition and cheaper ads than most other social media platforms. On top of that, Pinterest’s ad targeting options hold their own against Facebook, so you can leverage both keywords and demographics to get in front of your target audience.
Speaking of your target audience, they’re already on Pinterest. The majority of Pinterest’s audience—women between the ages of 50 and 64 years old—are a home remodeler’s target market. Studies show that women are more likely to make the final decisions on home renovations, so it only makes sense to build a strong social presence where the decision-makers are.
And when it comes to home renovations, Pinterest can help bring in big-time sales—87 percent of Pinterest users have purchased a product because of Pinterest, and 93 percent of users have used the platform to plan a future purchase.
Still not convinced? Case studies show that Pinterest ads drive more traffic, subscribers, and sales than Facebook ads. At the same time, Pinterest brings in more website traffic than Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn combined. It’s time to start working smarter, not harder.
Pinterest search ads, or “promoted ads,” are displayed after a user types a query into Pinterest’s search bar. Let’s say you’re planning to renovate your bathroom. You might type “bathroom renovation ideas” into the search bar to search for inspiration. Once you hit enter, Pinterest will display pins that use “bathroom renovation ideas” as a keyword.
Unlike Google, Pinterest doesn’t just display search ads in the top results. Instead, they’re spread throughout the user’s feed, mixed between organic pins and other paid pins. They don’t interrupt or distract users—the only difference is the “Promoted by” text at the bottom of the pin.
They’re a great way to get in front of your target audience—all while offering some influence over the early stages of the decision-making process. According to a Pinterest study, 97 percent of the search terms on Pinterest are unbranded. That means you have the opportunity to captivate users, capture their attention, and showcase your brand while they’re still considering their options.
The best part? Pinterest search ads won’t leave a huge dent in your advertising budget. Pinterest is also a fairly intuitive platform, so you don’t need the marketing experience that comes with running Facebook ads to start driving web traffic. Our clients tell us that they’ve grown a strong following on Pinterest without sacrificing time away from the field. So, what are you waiting for?
Now that you’re familiar with all the benefits of Pinterest, let’s figure out how to use it. Pinterest can be a tricky channel to master since there’s no real linear newsfeed like you’d find on Facebook or Twitter. Instead, Pinterest is all about boards and pins. You can create boards, and then pin articles and images to those boards.
To master Pinterest and start driving qualified leads to your website, it’s best to start small. Here’s how to build your Pinterest presence from the ground up.
To create your first Pinterest search ad, make sure you’ve set up a Pinterest Business Account. Then, click Ads and choose Create Ad.
Now it’s time to create your first Pinterest campaign. If you’re a Facebook ad veteran, you’re already familiar with the basic structure of Pinterest ads: campaigns, ad groups, and pins.
The first step is to choose the objective of your ad campaign. Then, type in your campaign name and choose your daily and lifetime budget. Even though you don’t have to set a daily budget, it’s a good idea to avoid wasting your budget right off the bat.
Then, select your campaign placement. This determines how your ads are presented: either in the home feed as users browse Pinterest (“browse”) or in search results when users search specific keywords (“search”).
Pinterest ads make it easy to place your ads in front of custom target audiences. Like Facebook and Instagram, when you create a new Pinterest ad, you’ll want to be intentional about who your target audience is.
To create your first ad group, name the group, set a schedule, and then choose your daily budget. Next, use the Add Keywords tool to enter the keywords you want to target. You can enter keywords directly or search for related keywords using the Extend Your Reach tool. If you want to target specific phrases or leave out keywords, you can also adjust your keyword match types.
Once you’re finished tweaking the keywords you want to target, refine your target audience by geographic location, language, device, and gender. If you’re just getting started, we recommend creating separate ads for keyword and demographic targeting to figure out what works best for your brand.
Now it’s time to set your maximum cost per click (CPC) bid. If you’re not sure where to start, Pinterest will suggest a CPC bid based on your targeting parameters that can help guide your budgeting decisions.
If the suggested bid is outside of your advertising budget, you’re free to enter whatever bid amount you want. Your bid amount is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend per impression, click, or engagement.
To maximize your ROI, start by determining your conversion rates for every stage of the conversion funnel. This way, you can calculate a maximum bid for every ad that creates a positive ROI.
The last step is to choose the pins you want to promote to your target ad group. When you’re finished setting your budgeting parameters, click Pick a Pin. Then, you can create new pins or promote pins you’ve already posted.
For pins to be eligible for Pinterest ads, they must meet the following criteria:
Congratulations! You’ve created your first Pinterest search ad—but your hard work isn’t over yet. You want your Pinterest ads to drive traffic and sales, and you’re going to need to put some extra effort in to start driving the right results.
Here’s how to create engaging, conversion-driving Pinterest ads that cut through the digital noise and crush the competition.
Your target audience is scrolling through Pinterest, searching for home renovation ideas, remodeling tips, and inspiration for their dream home. With so many beautiful homes and DIY guides to compete with, how can you cut through the noise and capture their attention?
It’s simple: You need to add value. You need to use your ads to showcase how your product or service fits into your target audience’s life to create a quick connection. How-to pins, listicles, checklists, and guides are all great tools for the job.
For example, you might overlay text over a picture of a finished project that links your blog post on “10 Most Popular Home Renovation Projects of 2022” or “How to Choose the Right Contractor for Your Kitchen Renovation.” You don’t have to limit your pins to static pictures, either. Don’t be afraid to experiment with video ads and carousel ads to boost engagement.
Pinners are getting tired of static images, simple product shots, and brands using the same cookie-cutter content. To crush the competition, you need to do something brave and carve out your own path to success.
That’s where your brand story can make all the difference. Figure out what sets you apart from the competition and run with it. Maybe you’re the only local contractor that posts video content—or you’re a family-owned business bringing a different set of values to the table. Whatever it is, find that special something that works for your brand. It doesn’t have to be crazy, but it does need to be unique.
The best tool for the job? Video content. Pinterest users love video. According to a Pinterest study, views of organic video pins are up 240 percent year over year, particularly driven by the home décor category. They’re a great way to share more about your brand story, give users a behind-the-scenes glimpse at your process, and show off past projects.
Optimizing your Pinterest ads doesn’t end at choosing the right keywords. To upgrade your Pinterest ad and stand out from the competition, you’ll need a clear title and description. You can use up to 100 characters for your title and up to 500 characters for your description—but that doesn’t mean you should use every single character available.
Instead, keep it short and sweet. Use your pin copy to motivate Pinterest users to take a specific action. At the end of the day, Pinterest ads aren’t any different from Google or Facebook ads: a clear call to action can always help increase clicks and engagement. Encourage users to take action by subscribing to your email newsletter or visiting your landing page to learn more about your home remodeling services.
When it comes to generating brand awareness, Pinterest’s potential is unrivaled. Of course, Pinterest is a highly visual platform, and you want to take advantage of that by adding your brand name to your ads.
For the best results, position your brand logo so it’s clearly visible in the search results. Pinterest recommends avoiding the lower-right corner since that spot gets covered up by Pinterest’s product icons. If you’re running a video ad, don’t forget to include branding within the first few seconds of the video for the biggest impact.
After your Pinterest ad goes live, you can track its success in your Pinterest Ads Manager dashboard. To monitor your ad performance, navigate to Ads and view the dropdown menu. In Overview, you can set a date range and view key metrics, including your impressions, link clicks, and saves for active and completed ads. In Reporting, you can gain valuable insights into your awareness, traffic, conversions, and video views.
Once you’ve reviewed your ad performance, you can tweak your Pinterest ads to optimize your next campaign. Next time you’re creating an ad campaign, you can refine your targeting options, increase your ad spend, or experiment with different ad formats to maximize engagement.
If you’re not harnessing the power of Pinterest to grow your home remodeling business, it’s time to start. Whether you’re a social media newbie or a jack of all social media platforms, Pinterest can help you get in front of the right people at the right time.
Not sure how to get started with Pinterest? Wondering how to generate brand awareness with engaging pins? Contact us today to ignite your home remodeling Pinterest campaign and start driving the results you want.
