Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series focused on optimizing SEO and websites to help floral businesses get more sales. Check out this collection of resources on the Floral Education Hub for more digital strategy guidance.
When people think of SEO (search engine optimization), social media might not be the first thing that comes to mind. That’s a missed opportunity because younger generations are leaning into social media to perform searches. Pinterest, for example, boasts 1 billion monthly visitors, about 40% of whom are under 45.
These social users aren’t just browsing; they’re buying. According to Pinterest, 55% of its users are searching for products to purchase. Despite Pinterest’s ability to connect shoppers and businesses, it’s underutilized by many business owners, says Nicole Donnelly, founder of AI Smart Marketing.
“It has so much value,” she says, noting that her business’s Pinterest account sees 43 times more monthly visitors than her business’s website. Donnelly credits this to careful SEO management. We spoke to her and Liza Roeser, AAF, founder and CEO of Fifty Flowers, a Pinterest power user whose page has 10 to 20 million monthly impressions, about how to make Pinterest work for you.
Establish Your Storefront
First, you have to create a Pinterest business account (if your business has a personal account, you can convert it to a business account in the settings). Then, claim your business website in Pinterest’s settings. This will enable you to track user interactions so you know how many people you’re reaching, the content they’re engaging with, and whether they’re clicking through to your website. The best part? It’s all free.
Florists can showcase their entire catalog through individual pins that include descriptions, prices and links that take users to your website’s shopping cart. If you’ve claimed your website, you can create rich pins, which automatically update price information when you update your website.
To drive local business, Pinterest promotes pins from businesses in the user’s area, so make sure your profile and pins include geographical keywords such as “from your downtown Detroit florist.”
Create Quality and Quantity
Pinterest promotes pins based on a variety of metrics, including the quality of pinned images and videos. That’s because users are more likely to click on something that looks great, not just good, and Pinterest wants to keep users engaged.
“It needs to be extremely polished,” Roeser says. “It needs to be the best of the best.”
Pinterest also promotes pins that appear to come from experts. This is established, in part, by how much the creator appears to know about a topic. For example, a florist with 50 pins under a board named “Summer Wedding Bouquets” will be viewed with more authority than a florist with 20 pins under a similarly named board.
“The more you feed the engine, the more times you’re going to show up,” Roeser says. “The more pins you have and the more information and keywords that you target, the more relevant your brand will be when people search.”
Hop On Trends
Pinterest is crawling with the latest trends, which florists can tap into. Use this link to see what’s hot and develop clever ways to jump in and get noticed. Current trends include summer nails, self-care, and date night beauty.
“For florists, it would be so easy to fit into these trends,” Donnelly says.
For example, post a photo of flowers held by someone who recently had their nails decorated with summery colors or designs alongside the description: “A whimsical bouquet is the perfect complement for stunning summer nails.”
While some trends come and go, others — including those related to seasons or holidays — are cyclical. If you build Pinterest boards this year for summer bouquets or Fourth of July flowers, they’ll be relevant again in subsequent years. Add to them annually to include new designs that incorporate the latest trends.
Staying on top of trends doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Donnelly suggests small shop owners set aside an hour per week or 10 minutes per day to see what’s gaining steam and find creative ways to leverage a trend or two.
Play the Long Game
While including keywords for current trends increases the odds of a pin being noticed, it’s not a guarantee.
“You never know how it’s going to perform until it does or it doesn’t,” Roeser says. “We posted one the other day and within two days it had hundreds of thousands of views. … There are others that just sit dormant.”
Regardless of a pin’s popularity, Fifty Flowers never takes it down. It may just need more time to marinate.
“The longevity of pins is a significant advantage,” Roeser says. “It will just organically build. Unlike other platforms where posts quickly get buried in the feed, Pinterest pins can continue to generate traffic for months and even years.”
Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
