Always on the cutting edge of digital innovation, Pinterest has unveiled yet another way for its users to make the most of its platform, this time taking the power of Pinterest offline.
Following on their highly successful visual search feature, Pinterest Lens, the platform has now introduced Pinterest Pincodes. This up-to-the-minute take on QR codes opens the door to a range of opportunities for businesses of all varieties, with functionality that extends beyond the confines of the web.
Simple but effective, Pinterest Pincodes have great potential for boosting brand visibility, and taking control of your marketing funnel. Furthermore, while your competitors come to terms with this novel approach to visual search implementation, now is the time to get ahead by discovering how to make Pinterest Pincodes work for your business.
Read here for a visual graphics tutorial that will help you set your Pinterest bar high.
Image credit: Pinterest
The Evolution of QR Codes
In principle, Pinterest Pincodes are very much like traditional QR Codes. The user simply scans the image using a camera app, which interprets its meaning and relays it to the user. In the case of Pincodes, this means being directed to a specific profile or Pinterest board which relates back to the content of the Pincode itself.
However, unlike QR Codes which give no clues to their context when viewed in isolation, Pinterest Pincodes are comprised of an image selected by its creator, viewed through a circular window that represents Pinterest Lens. This means the user can immediately recognize the intention of the code, and decide whether they want to see where it leads. An example created by Nordstrom is below:
Image credit: Pinterest
You can see how it’s a visually appealing and user-friendly way to entice the user to Pinterest, and can help bridge the online/offline gap. All they need to do is go to the Pinterest app on their phones, open the camera, and away they go.
In terms of business owners, this makes Pincodes vastly more versatile, as the images largely speak for themselves and do not require accompanying text to advise users about their purpose.
They also offer a unique opportunity to highlight a specific product, feature, or event in a manner that directly invites engagement. Some retailers, such as Nordstrom, have already announced plans to use Pincodes in their physical stores, enabling shoppers to access carefully curated boards to provide them with inspiration as they shop.
This is what it looks like when you access Nordstrom’s board of Gifts Under $100:
Image credit: Pinterest
It’s sleek, eye catching, and effortlessly engaging — everything you want from your Pinterest boards. It makes the whole shopping experience more involved and can also help guide your Pinterest strategy moving forwards.
A New Dimension of Consumer Interaction
The beauty of Pinterest Pincodes is that they can be used anywhere. If you include them on your blog, website, or social media, users can simply click on them to be directed to your content. However, these codes can also be used in physical media, such as store signage, and even in brochures or magazines.
This means that customers can be browsing physical products, or see something in a catalogue that catches their eye, and be taken directly to it on your online store just by scanning the associated Pincode.
Equally, you might choose for that code to take people to your store’s main page, or to a selection of related items that might be of interest to the user. The thing that makes it so successful is that it gives you greater influence over the customer journey, while still giving the consumer a powerful sense of agency and control over their decisions.
In addition, the ability to directly access product information and make purchases simply by scanning a code adds a level of accessibility to your sales process that makes customers far more likely to proceed to the point of purchase.
This is something car manufacturer, Kia, is seeking to exploit in 2018. Kia is creating a Pinterest Pincodes display to use at the LA Auto Show. The Pincode will take users to a specifically curated board that lets them see special design features of their new 2018 Kia Stinger.
You can definitely see how Pincodes will make a difference at events and shows! Because you choose the destination of your Pincode, you gain an additional level of control over the path your audience takes through your content. This is an opportunity to provide users with carefully-selected products and features that directly relate to the Pincode they scanned.
For the customer, this fosters a more positive experience by ensuring that Pinterest Pincodes lead them to genuinely useful, interesting, or inspiring content. The benefit to you and your business is that these interactions build trust and familiarity with your brand, and make users more likely to subscribe to your boards, and pay more attention to your content.
Could you imagine creating a Pinterest Pincode on a specially-tailored business card to hand out at blogging conferences, trade shows, or networking events?
A Quick How-To
Your boards can contain a variety of different types of pins, to provide greater value to your customers. For example, you could include:
- Product pins linking back to their associated pages on your online store.
- Actionable content such as how-to guides, recipes, or instructional videos. Gift guides can be incorporated into your seasonal marketing plan and tend to have high engagement levels on Pinterest, thanks to the platform’s aspirational nature
- App pins which allow users to directly install your business app onto their device.
Varied content keeps your boards interesting and provides customers with greater choice as to how they interact with your content. You can also direct Pinterest Pincodes to highly targeted boards, designed to provide in-depth insights about a particular product or service.
This could be a great way to build excitement for a new product launch, using Pincodes to direct users to boards that reveal exclusive images and information, such as details of new product features, promotional codes, or sneak peeks behind the scenes of your business.
Creating a Pinterest Pincode is as simple as selecting a unique image, and uploading it by selecting the option “Create Pincode” which you can find by clicking on the three dots above the name of the target board. You can also generate a profile Pincode by tapping your profile image.
Remember that the images displayed in your board Pincodes need to be clear, appealing, and representative of the content in the board users can expect if they click on it. If you decide to print your Pincode in a physical publication, or onto an object, ensure that the image will be flat, and no more than 1.5 inches in diameter. This will help to ensure that the code can be scanned reliably.
Finally, keep in mind that users will only react to a Pinterest Pincode if it catches their eye and makes them want to know more. As such it is vital to use clear, high quality images, both to illustrate the contents more vividly, and to make the Pincode more visually appealing.
How can this work for my blog?
By having a series of curated boards on Pinterest, you can utilize Pinterest Pincodes to drive traffic and interest towards specific boards. You could have boards that pull in together all your ebooks, workbooks, most popular posts, product recommendations, etc.
- Have banners on your website that direct your users to your Pinterest boards
- Share your Pincode on social media
- Include your Pincode on flyers
- Add your Pincode to your business card
You could also see real benefit by having your work featured on one of the curated boards for a company utilizing Pinterest Pincodes. For instance, if your niche area is home improvement, then being featured on The Home Depot’s upcoming Built In Pins campaign could do wonders for your blog’s traffic.
Image credit: Pinterest
Summary
As with all of Pinterest’s business tools and marketing innovations, Pinterest Pincodes will inevitably be easy to come to terms with, but a challenge to truly master. However, if you pay close attention to the performance of your pins, and their associated Pincodes, you will gradually develop a better understanding of what does and does not work for your business.
This, in turn, will enable you to cultivate valuable insights into the needs of your audience, and the varieties of content which most appeal to them. As a result, you will be able to more effectively drive sales, by developing a content schedule and marketing strategy that has been optimized for your audience.
About Victoria GreeneVictoria Greene is a branding consultant & freelance writer. On her blog, VictoriaEcommerce, she shares tips on ecommerce and how writers can hone their craft. She is passionate about using her experience to help writers and marketers develop their skills online, especially on social media.
Have you used Pinterest Pincodes yet? If so, share one in the comments below. We’d also love to hear about your experience using them. If you haven’t used them yet, do you think you will try them? Why or why not?
I am learning new things every time I visit your blog. Pinterest code is a new term for me. I will try to implement this is in my blog. Thanks
Hey Kristen, glad it’s been helpful for you!
Hi Marianne,
It was a great read! I am new to Pinterest, and I want to make the most of my efforts. I learned a lot from this article. I did not know much about the pin codes, and I was unaware that they can be of any help. But after reading your article, not only do I know more, but I think I will be able to use them for my business as well. Thanks a lot, for sharing your amazing insights with us, it was a great read.