Maximize Health Food Brand Visibility with Pinterest SEO

If your food and beverage brand’s marketing mix includes social media but not Pinterest, it might be time to take a closer look. The platform’s visual-first approach and advanced searchability are successfully attracting consumer packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage brands as a creative marketplace for aligning content with real-time consumer interests through seasonal and trending keyword search engine optimization (SEO).

Pinterest’s advanced search capabilities are a win-win for consumers and marketers alike. The platform offers readily available research tools to help brands easily to tap into users’ current interests to spot what’s hot (and what’s not). It provides an ideal landscape to merge creativity and strategy to target and attract new brand engagements.

Read on to explore how Pinterest users rely on its treasure trove of unique ideas and trends, and how brands leverage Pinterest SEO to enhance their online presence, increase website traffic, and capture new audiences.

The Value of Pinterest for Marketing

With nearly 500 million monthly visitors worldwide, the popularity of Pinterest has steadily increased year over year, with the largest user group currently landing at ages 25-34. The platform boasts high-quality design, images, and videos, cultivating an environment ripe for innovation and discovery by and for users and brands. From sharing blog posts and DIY projects to introducing unique seasonal gifts, entertainment ideas, and products, Pinterest is a prime spot for increasing brand recognition through data-driven creative strategy.

Take, for example, McDonald’s. The fast-food giant turned to Pinterest marketing in an effort to engage more with the Gen Z audience. Knowing that the Gen Z demographic favors Pinterest for fashion, beauty, and home décor ideas, McDonald’s marketers created the “Inspired by Big Mac” campaign featuring pins of Big Mac-designed nail art and fashion looks. The ads drove viewers to their Big Mac board, which was organized by color to resemble the layers of a Big Mac. The brand’s goal of increasing engagement was met and exceeded at 64% higher than its benchmark.

Alex Trochut, 50 Years Big Mac

Pinterest’s diverse range of advertising and Pin formats offers plenty of opportunities for connecting with audiences. From standard vertical pins and short-form videos to carousel ads and “Idea” ads perfect for storytelling, visually compelling content with attention-grabbing imagery typically ranks well with viewers and increases shares. Opportunities abound for food and beverage marketers to serve up some unique inspiration for their brands.

The real magic for brand marketers lies in Pinterest keyword SEO. Different than website SEO (see the next section), Pinterest has its own algorithm, which works well for consumers shifting more to social channels for shopping. However, for marketers, this means Pinterest-specific keyword research and strategy is essential for getting your brand in front of the right people. Take heart — there are tools, recommendations, and success stories aplenty for those who do it right.

Pinterest SEO vs. Website SEO – Take Note

While the fundamentals of SEO remain consistent across platforms (research, keywords, and proper implementation), there are distinct differences between optimizing content for website search engines and Pinterest search engines. While website SEO is based on traditional techniques, like optimizing page titles, descriptions, and images to improve search engine rankings, Pinterest SEO revolves around post engagement and enhancing visibility through keywords within the platform’s own search and recommendation algorithms (more on this in a minute). This is important because more people are shopping than ever before on social media platforms.

As with website SEO, research is essential for identifying the right keywords for your brand’s Pinterest SEO. Luckily, Pinterest offers tips and tools to help with the process, like Pinterest Trends, which provides valuable insights into trending and seasonal topics and search queries relevant to food and beverage brands. Thus, optimizing your profile, board titles, and pin descriptions with targeted keywords significantly improves your visibility to the audience you’re targeting.

Kraft Dressing got creative in an effort to tie their product to Pinterest users’ interest in fashion through their “Well Dressed” lifestyle campaign. Hoping to connect with Gen Z and Millennials, they found through research that fashion was shared by the generations as a way to display personality and individuality. The brand used the Pinterest trend tool to research fashion keywords and then designed ads tying lifestyle images with “well dressed salads.” Using the fashion keywords to connect with target audiences, they creatively related well-dressed salads to a well-dressed life.

The results of that campaign, combined with a second round of ads targeting audiences further down the sales funnel, were a 5.9 point increase in Pin awareness compared to other Kraft Pins. They also experienced a 2.3 point increase in brand favorability with Pinterest users.

Pinterest + Seasonal SEO = Success

Identifying and incorporating seasonal trends in Pinterest is the low-hanging fruit of marketing for food and beverage brands, and Pinterest has made it easy to implement. Searching for seasonally specific keywords and creatively integrating them into content (think Halloween, Spring, seasonally fresh foods), immediately creates relevance and diversity in your marketing efforts. Sharing seasonally relevant blog posts, videos, and inspiration pins with recipes, products, or entertainment tips aligns your brand with seasonal searches. The key to success in this effort, however, depends on two critical factors — planning ahead and research.

Ever-shifting consumer preferences present real timing challenges when brands rely on connecting with the current audience interests. You’ve already missed the mark if your marketing isn’t in their hands before the season arrives.

Typically, Pinterest audiences start researching season-specific ideas and products at least a month or two in advance. That means your brand needs to already be there, proactively meeting the need. Researching ahead of time to understand when seasonal searches begin specific to your brand or product allows you to create content-specific pins and ads campaigns that will greet consumers as they begin the search process.

Research is also essential for preparing. The Pinterest Trends tool’s real-time data helps marketers track currently popular and rising search terms, visualize trending content, and identify key influencers. These insights help you plan your content strategy to match seasonal demands.

Apparently, even chocolate chip cookies need a little self-esteem lift sometimes, evidenced by a Nestlé Toll House seasonal Pinterest campaign. Their goal was to inspire renewed interest in the brand and products over the holiday season. Taking into account past holiday trends, they planned early for a fall and winter campaign ripe for holiday baking. The brand created recipe-style static and video ads through trend research with a mix of trend-inspired and nostalgic baking ideas for the holiday. The campaign resulted in an 8% increase in incremental sales, their highest ever on Pinterest. What’s more, 50% of the incremental sales came from new brand buyers. Now that’s a smart cookie!

Integrating Seasonal SEO in Your Brand’s Pinterest Content

For SEO success, Pinterest offers various opportunities for integrating seasonal keywords into Pinterest pins and ads. After researching and identifying the right seasonal or trend keywords for your brand, you can work them into pin descriptions, board titles, and even your brand profile bio.

Pin titles include 100 characters, but keep in mind that pinners typically only see the first 40 characters. Pin descriptions include 500 characters, but again, usually, only the first 50 are displayed in the preview. Work in keywords and terms that users will understand and relate to. In both cases, make the first 40-50 words count so viewers are intrigued enough to fully engage.

Pinterest also recommends boosting engagement with pins by adding calls-to-action (CTAs) in titles or descriptions—“share” or “follow our board.” Publish Pinterest content frequently because when even one of your pins does well, the algorithm may boost some of your other content. Also, make sure to add destination links for your website to your ads for crossover traffic. Take BHU Foods, for example, the healthy CPG food brand promotes their products on Pinterest with high-quality photos, clear headlines and descriptions, and a direct link to the website for purchase.

Speaking of websites, you can boost website traffic and Pinterest views by linking back-and-forth between both. On your website, include a link to your Pinterest bio. In blog posts and other social media channels, remember to link to Pinterest and vice versa. The best part about digital marketing is the time-saving, content-sharing opportunities that promote your brand wherever people land.

Measuring Pinterest Keyword SEO Efforts

The only way to know if your Pinterest marketing efforts are worthwhile is to measure them, and several tools exist for that.

First, and most importantly, get specific about your goals for your Pinterest marketing efforts. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, conversions to website traffic, interest in your products or services, or actual sales? Identifying specific goals for marketing on that platform will set you up for better success by creating benchmarks and realistic evaluation goals and even helping with the overall messaging strategy.

There are several ways to assess your efforts on the Pinterest platform itself:

Pins – get specific information on the performance of each pin, including impressions, saves, and clicks
Pinterest Analytics – a platform suite that offers deeper insight into engagements
Ads Manager – custom reports on campaign performance

Other tools, like Tailwind, can offer a more granular analysis of your Pinterest performance, including engagement rates and optimal posting times.

Google Analytics provides insights into whether Pinterest traffic is converting to your website. It’s highly recommended that you add a conversion tag (a piece of Javascript) to the brand’s website, which tracks visitor actions and page interest upon clicking through to your website.

Gathering information on actions taken from your Pinterest efforts helps determine keyword success and identify areas for adjustments or improvements.

Ready? Set. Pin!

Social media marketing proved itself long ago as a key player in digital marketing, and Pinterest is no exception. The audience is there, creativity is welcomed — in fact, it is a necessity — and the targeting is basically handed to marketers tied up with a bow. With dinner ideas one of the most-searched topics on Pinterest, the platform may just be the marketing gem you need to generate interest in your brand among a different audience set.

Looking for a partner to offer expert advice on the best strategy for your Pinterest marketing? Let’s talk! Our team is ready to help you explore how Pinterest keyword SEO can get your brand trending seasonally and year-round!