Pinterest for interior designers
Pinterest’s headline raison d’être is “a place for inspiration and aspiration” and as interior designers, this is exactly what you hope to provide to your clients. It’s where you save and share your latest finds and design ideas for clients and collate all those ‘nice-to-have’ additions to a room or home scheme.
However more than just a social media platform, Pinterest is in its own right, a powerful search engine and one that could elevate your interior design business far beyond mood boards.
The benefits of using this feel-good platform
Upping your Pinterest game has a myriad of benefits that many may not be aware of. From driving website traffic and high user engagement to improving your SEO and importantly, converting people from consideration to purchase quicker than any other platform, it’s a social media marketing tool that many often neglect to invest in.
Pinterest drives 3.8 times more sales than other platforms and
87% of Pinners have purchased a product because of Pinterest
(Source: Later)
You are generally less likely to see negative comments and trolling behaviour, making it a much more pleasant experience all around.
So if your potential clients are using the platform are actively searching for ideas, and importantly people who can help them achieve those, then why is it not part of every interior designer’s marketing mix?
“Your audience isn’t coming to Pinterest to hunt for likes or see what everyone else is doing. They’re looking for inspiration and ready to take action.”
(Source: Pinterest)
Pinterest Predicts – following the trends
Every year, Pinterest releases ‘Pinterest Predicts’ which looks at suggested behaviours for search terms and themes. In 2021, 8 out of 10 of these came true so it’s really worth taking note when they release new ones.
During the last ‘Predicts’ announcements, they described Pinterest as a ‘feel-good’ platform that focuses on dreams becoming reality, bucket lists becoming bookable activities and importantly for designers, those residential projects that potential clients are planning, becoming more than just a pipedream.
So what’s been suggested this year and how can interior designers maximise this opportunity?
One of the key trends is Biophilic Design and it’s certainly something we’ve seen as a thread running through many exhibitions and fairs this year already. Searches such as Biophilic architecture are up 150%, Biophilic office design have increased 3x and Biophilic design bedroom searches have increased by 100%!
Source: Pinterest
‘Barkitechture’ is another favourite of ours too. Forget pampered pets, animal-first design is on the up and people are looking for designers to support their aspirations for their furry friends!
Catchy names aside, if people are on the platform, building out those ideas on their Pinterest boards, being there at that moment when they are looking for design expertise and inspiration, will put you front and centre in their minds.
Having the right strategies to maximise the potential of every pin, will ensure you are discoverable, relevant and alongside your target audience right when they need you.
Using seasonal trends and moments to maximise exposure
It’s probably unlikely that as designers, you are going to have shoppable pins that would promote a discounted product offer for say Black Friday.
But even if you don’t, being there to inspire people with interior design ideas, styling tips and seasonal colour palettes, will generate interest as people are actively looking for these. Do you offer bespoke packages that people could make use of to style their home ahead of the family arriving?
Did you know Christmas tree decorations are one of the top searches on Pinterest over the festive period? And what about planning for new year’s resolutions and that mood board you’ve been wanting to put into action? 1 in 3 Pinners uses Pinterest to translate ideas into real-life change.
Image credit: Pinterest
Creative executions
One relatively new feature from Pinterest is Idea Pins. These allow people to be really creative in how they share their work, approach and day-to-day activities.
Source: Pinterest
These could be used to demonstrate how you style a particular room, how you select the right colour palette and so on, giving inspiration to your potential audiences. They get to see who you are and whether your style matches theirs.
These can also be turned into Idea Ads. Idea ads enable you to scale the reach of your Idea Pins to audiences that matter to you. You can leverage Pinterest trends, insights and targeting capabilities to increase the impact of your Idea ads (Source: Pinterest).
Source: Pinterest
Real-life examples
A question we always get asked at Sandford is ‘what are some good examples of social media platforms’? It can be hard to find pages that are an exact match for your business but here are just a few we think are nailing it when it comes to utilising their Pinterest boards to drive engagement and followers.
First up is US paint brand, Sherwin Williams. They use video and clear creative to illustrate how they use their colours to create different looks. We now spend so long creating Reels for Instagram but can these be adapted to show your design highlights for Pinterest too?
The queen of dreamy, neutral interiors, Sophie Paterson, has a wonderful selection of board topics that collate pins showcasing her work. These provide other pinners with inspiration and ideas for their own home interiors.
Take a look too at Turner Pocock who has built boards around topic inspiration. It’s a great reflection of what inspires their own designs and interiors. They have a great foundation on which to build, you get a sense of who they are as a brand and the look and feel they go for.
And finally, find some inspiration on the Decorex Pinterest page! We ran a digital marketing workshop with them to help the team maximise their platform strategy ahead of the show and they have done a fantastic job of bringing it to life!
Beyond the mood boards and brochures
Pinterest offers huge potential if used effectively. There is still room for your own discoveries and mood boarding but the platform can offer so much more. Think you need some help in developing your Pinterest strategies?
Get in touch today and see how Sandford can help!
